International Journal of Marine Science, 2017, Vol.7, No.28, 275-283
275
Research Article Open Access
Occurrence
of Scoliosis, Pugheadness and Disappearance of Pelvic Fin in Three
Marine Fish Species from Turkey
Laith A. Jawad
1
, Murat ÇELİK
2
, Celal ATEŞ
2
1 Flat Bush, Manukau, Auckland 2016, New Zealand
2 Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Fisheries, 48000, Kötekli, Muğla, Turkey
Corresponding author email
International Journal of Marine Science, 2017, Vol.7, No.28 doi
Received: 12 Jul., 2017
Accepted: 28 Jul., 2017
Published: 01 Aug., 2017
Copyright © 2017
Jawad et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Jawad L.A., ÇELİK M., and ATEŞ C., 2017, Occurrence
of scoliosis, pugheadness and disappearance of pelvic fin in three marine fish species from Turkey,
International Journal of Marine Science, 7(28): 275-283 (doi
Abstract
Skeletal deformities such as scoliosis, pugheadness and complete absence of pelvic fins have been described in three
specimens of
Mugil cephalus
Linnaeus, 1758,
Nemipterus randalli
Russell, 1986 and
Sparus aurata
(Linnaeus, 1758). The cases of
scoliosis were with 4 lateral bends, pugheadness with a significant absence of bones from the preorbital region of the fish skull and
the complete absence of pelvic fins accompanied with absence of pelvic girdle.
Keywords
Skeletal anomalies; Abnormalities; Environmental pollution; Vertebral column; Fins; Mediterranean Sea
Introduction
Skeletal deformities are among the fundamental problems in the developmental phase of the fish life, which can
influence morphology, growth and survival of the individuals. Skeletal abnormalities in wild fish populations are
rarely observed either because they are less abundant or because of the decreased viability of the abnormal fish in
their natural habitat (Gavaia et al., 2009; Bogutskaya et al., 2011; Jawad et al., 2015; 2016).
Scoliosis, i.e. the side curvature of the vertebral column, is one severe anomaly that affects this part of the fish
skeleton. It is considered less common than lordosis (Boglione et al., 2013) and it can be found in pre-haemal and
haemal positions (Boglione et al., 1995). Among the cases of vertebral anomalies, scoliosis is the most easily
recognizable in live fish. To confirm such case, the fish needs to be looked at dorsal-ventrally (Boglione and Costa,
2011).
Hickey (1972) described pugheadness deformity as an abnormal osteological condition that results in the
aberration of the maxilla, premaxilla, or infraorbital bones, with variable degrees of severity. The affected
specimens often show bulging eyeballs, acutely steep foreheads, and incomplete mouth closure (Shariff et al.,
1986). Pugheadness is infrequently observed in the wild, particularly in large estuarine systems (Catelani et al.,
2017), but higher incidences of this case were revealed from more polluted waters (Slooff, 1982). Fish specimens
with this type of anomaly can have their mouth partially closed (Jawad and Hosie, 2007; Branson and Turnbull,
2008), which can affect the feeding procedure and hindered growth rate (Shariff et al., 1986).
Aberration or absence of pelvic fins in teleost species has been previously documented and attributed to
congenital or postnatal malformations (Papern, 1978; Alvarez-Leόn, 1980; Graham et al., 1986; Petriki and
Bobori, 2014), as well as to chemical pollution (Slooff, 1982). The entire absence of this pair of fins raises
questions on further acquired functional changes in body morphology as a consequence of environmental
adaptation (Graham et al., 1986). Pelvic fins are generally considered as maneuvering structures. However, their
hydrodynamic function has received little attention compared to the pectoral and median fins (Lauder and Drucker,
2004; Yamanoue et al., 2010).
The present study describes
abnormalities
that have either rarely or never been reported before in the three fish
species studied. Scoliosis has been reported from specimens of
Mugil cephalus
collected from North California
(Schwartz, 2000) and Mie Prefecture, Japan (Maeno et al., 2000), but not from the Mediterranean Sea. The
