Basic HTML Version
International Journal of Marine Science 2014, Vol.4, No.45, 1-5
http://ijms.biopublisher.ca
2
In this study we carried out a morphological
description of a case of lordosis in two teleost species
Carasobarbus luteus
and
Tenualosa ilisha
. This is the
first report about this abnormality in Iraq.
1 Materials and Methods
On 12
th
December 2009 two adult specimens of
Carasobarbus luteus
and
Tenualosa ilisha
with severe
case of lordosis were obtained from Al-Hammar
Marsh, north of Basrah Province 600 Km south of
Baghdad City Capital (30˚40′32.23″ N, 47˚35′03.18″
E) (Figure 1). Measurements for the normal and
deformed specimens (Figures 2 and 3) of the two
species are shown in Table 1. The skeleton of both
normal and abnormal specimens of both species
examined were prepared by boiling the fish to
interpret the skeletal anomaly. The length of the
vertebral column from the anterior margin of the first
vertebra to the posterior margin of the last vertebra is
divided by fish total length to produce a ratio that is
used to compare abnormal with normal fish. The angle
of vertebral deformation was measured from the centre
of the deformity, which in the present cases is located
in the caudal region by means of a digital protractor. To
assess the degree of abnormality in individuals
distorted, we measured the height of the curvature of
the spinal column (HC). This corresponds to the
distance between the tangent to the apical vertebra and
Figure 1 Map showing collection area
Figure 2
Carasobarbus luteus
, 253 mm Total length, normal
Figure 3
Carasobarbus luteus
, 324 mm Total length, Abnormal
Table 1 Body measurements of the normal and deformed
specimens of
Carasobarbus luteus
and
Tenualosa ilishs
.
Normal specimen Abnormal specimen
Carasobarbus luteus
Total length mm
253
324
Forked length mm
216
236
Standard length mm
209
222
Head length mm
41
50
Body depth mm
66
77
Tenualosa ilisha
Total length mm
230
200
Forked length mm
198
164
Standard length mm
180
155
Head length mm
59
48
Body depth mm
57
54
a straight line which passes to the base of the two
vertebrae limiting the curvature. The measurements
were made using a digital calliper with accuracy of
0.01 mm. The depth of curvature (DC) is calculated
according to the formula using the method of Louiz et
al. (2007):
DC = (HC / SL) ×100 (SL = standard length fish)
Abdominal vertebrae are defined as the vertebrae
situated immediately behind the skull and have no
haemal process, caudal vertebrae are those vertebrae