Veterinární Medicína (Sep 2020)

Death of a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) from ingestion of an eel (Myrichthys ocellatus)

  • Radan Elvis Matias de Oliveira,
  • Juliana Maia de Lorena Pires,
  • Jael Soares Batista,
  • Fernanda Loffler Niemeyer Attademo,
  • Daniel Solon Dias de Farias,
  • Augusto Carlos da Boaviagem Freire,
  • Aline da Costa Bomfim,
  • Laize Regina Palhares de Lima,
  • Rysonely Maclay de Oliveira,
  • Simone Almeida Gavilan,
  • Flavio Jose de Lima Silva,
  • Moacir Franco de Oliveira

DOI
https://doi.org/10.17221/83/2020-VETMED
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 65, no. 9
pp. 415 – 420

Abstract

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Gastrointestinal perforation in sea turtles may be associated with the ingestion of solid waste; however, other factors, including the ingestion of marine organisms, may cause intestinal perforation. Herein, we report, presumably, the first case of a death of a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) from ingesting a live goldspotted eel (Myrichthys ocellatus) and describe the necropsy findings. The adult female loggerhead sea turtle was registered alive by a team of the Cetáceos da Costa Branca Project of Rio Grande do Norte State University (PCCB-UERN). The animal died in captivity after 8 days of an attempted rehabilitation process, and the carcass was immediately sent for necropsy. After incision, an encapsulated structure in the cranial region of the left lung was identified as a specimen of the ingested eel. The histopathological examination of the lung showed fibrin and numerous leukocytes, mainly macrophages, in the alveolus and bronchioles. The necropsy revealed that the ingestion of a live goldspotted eel (M. ocellatus) caused a gastric perforation in the turtle; this resulted in the displacement of the eel to the celomatic cavity with its cranial portion in the left lung, leading to sepsis and the consequent death of the turtle.

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