Vet Med - Czech, 2020, 65(9):415-420 | DOI: 10.17221/83/2020-VETMED

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

REM Oliveira1,2,3,4, JML Pires2,4, JS Batista1, FLN Attademo2,4, DSD Farias2,3,4, ACB Freire2,4, AC Bomfim2,3,4, LRP Lima2,3,4, RM Oliveira2,4,5, SA Gavilan2,3,4, FJL Silva2,3,4, MF Oliveira1
1 Postgraduate Program in Animal Science, Department of Animal Sciences, Federal Rural University of Semi-Árido - UFERSA, Mossoró-RN, Brazil
2 Cetáceos Costa Branca Project, State University of Rio Grande do Norte - PCCB-UERN, Mossoró-RN, Brazil
3 Vertebrate Morphophysiology Laboratory, Department of Morphology, Bioscience Center - CB, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN, Natal-RN, Brazil
4 Center for Environmental Studies and Monitoring - CEMAM, Areia Branca -RN, Brazil
5 Postgraduate Program in Natural Sciences, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, State University of Rio Grande do Norte -UERN, Mossoró-RN, Brazil

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.

Keywords: Cheloniidae; gastric perforation; septicaemia; Testudines

Received: April 9, 2020; Accepted: July 16, 2020; Published: September 30, 2020  Show citation

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Oliveira R, Pires J, Batista J, Attademo F, Farias D, Freire A, et al.. Death of a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) from ingestion of an eel (Myrichthys ocellatus). Vet Med - Czech. 2020;65(9):415-420. doi: 10.17221/83/2020-VETMED.
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