Report on the incidences of skeletal anomalies in three fish species from Bonny tributary (Niger delta), Nigeria

A.P. Ugbomeh, L.A. Jawad, J.J. Frank and G.C. Akani

Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2022, 326(1): 14–22 · https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2022.326.1.14

Full text

Abstract

Three cases of skeletal anomalies in fishes Elops lacerta Valenciennes, 1847 (family Elopidae), Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Cichlidae) and Arius latiscutatus Günther, 1864 (Ariidae) collected in the Elechi Creek, a tributary of the Bonny River (Niger delta) were reported for the first time in the present study. The anomalies are pugheadness, complete absence of pelvic fins and deformed dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins. Three specimens of E. lacerta have shown the case of pugheadness but at different levels of severity. The specimen of O. niloticus showed a complete absence of the pelvic fins. Externally, the area where the bases of the pelvic fins should be found (underneath the pectoral fins) showed a normal scale covering (in scale form and size). Internally and by using radiography, no trace of the pelvic fins and the basipterygia were observed. The specimen of A. latiscutatus showed severe deformation of the finrays of the dorsal, pectoral and ventral fins. The spines of the pectoral and dorsal fins were also deformed. Pollution from Port Harcourt appears to be causing the skeletal deformities described.

Key words

Arius latiscutatus, Bonny tributary, Elops lacerta, fin deformation, Niger delta, Oreochromis niloticus, pugheadness, Port Harcourt, skeletal anomalies

Submitted October 26, 2021 · Accepted January 10, 2022 · Published March 25, 2022

References

Al-Hassan L.A.J. 1988. A case of pugheadedness in the croaker Johnius aneus from Khor al-Zubair, northwest of the Arab gulf, Basrah. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 35: 68–69.

Al-Mamry J.M., Jawad L.A., Al-Rasady I.H. and Al-Habsi S.H. 2010. First record of dorsal and anal fin deformities in silver pomfrets, Pampus argenteus (Stromateidae, Actinopterygii). Anales de Biología, 32: 73–77.

Ayotamuno M.J., Kogbara R.B., Ogaji S.O.T. and Probert S.D. 2006. Bioremediation of a crude oil polluted agricultural-soil at Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Applied Energy, 83: 1249–1257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2006.01.003

Baburao M. 1975. An abnormal specimen of Thryssa malabaricus (Bloch) (Pisces: Engraulidae) without pelvic fins. Current Science, 44: 313.

Bengtsson B.E. 1979. Biological variables, especially skeletal deformities in fish, for monitoring marine pollution. Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society of London, B, 286: 457–484. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1979.0040

Berra T. and Ray-Jean A. 1981. Incidence of teratological fishes from cedar fork Creek, Ohio. Ohio Journal of Science, 8: 225–229.

Bortone S. 1972. Pugheadedness in the pirate perch, Aphredoderus sayanus (Pisces: Aphredoderidae), with implications on feeding. Chesapeake Science, 13: 231–232. https://doi.org/10.2307/1351073

Catelani P.A., Bauer A.B., Di Dario F., Pelicice F.M. and Petr A.C. 2017. First record of pughead deformity in Cichla kelberi (Teleostei: Cichlidae), an invasive species in an estuarine system in South-Eastern Brazil. Journal of Fish Biology, 90: 2496–2503. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13323

Dahlberg M. 1970. Frequencies of abnormalities in Georgia estuarine fishes. Transaction of the American Fisheries Society, 1: 95–97. https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1970)99<95:FOAIGE>2.0.CO;2

Damsgard B., Juell J. and Braastad B. 2006. Welfare in Farmed Fish. Report 5. Fiskeriforskning, Bergen, Norway, 103p.

Daoulas C., Economou A.N. and Bantavas I. 1991. Osteological abnormalities in laboratory reared sea-bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fingerlings. Aquaculture, 97: 169–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/0044-8486(91)90263-7

Dawson C. 1964. A bibliography of anomalies of fishes. Gulf Research Report, 1: 308–399. https://doi.org/10.18785/grr.0106.01

Dawson C. 1971. A bibliography of anomalies of fishes. Gulf Research Report, 3: 215–239. https://doi.org/10.18785/grr.0302.05

Divanach P., Boglione C., Menu B., Koumoudouros G., Kentouri M. and Cataudella S. 1996. Abnormalities in finfish mariculture: an overview of the problem, causes and solutions. International Workshop on sea bass and sea bream culture: problems and prospects. European Aquaculture Society: 45–66.

Fagbuaro O. and Oso J.A. 2011. Skeletal malformations among the Clarias species from fish mongers in Ekiti state. Continental Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 5: 32–37.

Francini-Filho R.B. and Amado-Filho G.M. 2013. First record of pughead skeletal deformity in the queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris (St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago, Mid Atlantic Ridge, Brazil). Coral Reefs, 1: 211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0975-z

Graham J.B., Rosenblatt R.H. and Gibson L.D. 1986. Morphology and possible swimming mode of a yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares, lacking one pectoral fin. Fishery Bulletin, 84: 463–469.

Gudger E. 1930. A pugheadedness in the striped bass, Roccus lineatus and in related fishes. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 61: 1–19.

Gudger E.W. 1959. Article X.-An adult pug-headed brown trout, Salmo fario, with notes on other pug-headed salmonids. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 58: 531–558.

Hickey C.R. 1972. Common abnormalities in fishes, their causes and effects. New York Ocean Science Laboratory, Montauk, Technical Report, 13 p.

Hickey C.R. 1973. Common abnormalities of fishes, their causes and effects. Transaction of the Northeastern Fish and Wildlife Conference, Ellenville, New York, 71–83.

Hickey C.R., Young B. and Bishop R. 1977. Skeletal abnormalities in striped bass. New York Fish and Game Journal, 24: 69–85.

Hore A. and Ahmad M.F. 2010. A wild specimen of Indian Carp, Cirrhinus mrigala (Ham.) 1822 with multiple vertebral deformities. World Journal of Zoology, 5: 167–171.

Hussain S.M. 1979. Records of a clupeoid fish Nematalosa nasus without an anal fin. Hydrobiologia, 63: 185–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00030082

Jawad L.A. and Al-Mamry J.M. 2011. Scale deformities in rohu Labeo rohita (Osteichrhyes: Cyprinidae). Annales: Series Historia Naturalis, 21: 167–174.

Jawad L.A. and Al-Mamry J.M. 2012. Caudal fin deformity in mullet, Moolgarda pedaraki (Valenciennes, 1836) (Pisces: Mugillidae). Croatian Journal of Fisheries, 70: 25–29.

Jawad L.A. and Hosie A. 2007. On the record of pug-headedness in snapper Pagrus auratus (Forster, 1801) (Perciformes, Sparidae) from New Zealand. Acta Adriatica, 48: 205–210.

Jawad L.A., Kousha A., Sambraus F. and Fjelldal P.G. 2014. On the record of pug-headedness in cultured Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758 (Salmoniformes, Salmonidae) from Norway. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 30: 537–539. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.12403

Jawad L.A., Sadighzadeh Z., Salarpouri A. and Aghouzbeni S. 2013. Anal Fin Deformity in the Longfin Trevally, Carangoides armatus. Korean Journal of Ichthyology, 25: 169–172.

Jawad L.A. Thorsen A. and Fjelldal P. 2015. Pug-headedness in the farmed triploid Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758 (Actinopterygii: Gadiformes: Gadidae) in Norway. Acta Adriatica, 56: 291–295.

Jose N., Gangan S.S., Hari M., Nayak B.B. and Jaiswar A.K. 2020. Report of absence of pelvic fin in three species of genus Thryssa (Engarulidae, Clupeiformes) from India. Indian Journal of Geology and Marine Science, 49: 703–705.

Koumoundouros G., Divanach P. and Kentouri M. 2001. The effect of rearing conditions on development of saddleback syndrome and caudal fin deformities in Dentex dentex (L.). Aquaculture, 200: 285–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0044-8486(01)00552-X

Lauder V.G. and Drucker G.E. 2004. Morphology and experimental hydrodynamics of fish fin control surfaces. IEEE J. Oceanic Engineering, 29: 556–571. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.2004.833219

Macieira R.M. and Joyeux J.C. 2007. First record of a pughead Spanish Hogfish Bodianus rufus (Linnaeus,1758). Coral Reefs, 26: 615–615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-007-0229-7

Nӓslund J. and Jawad L.A. 2021. Pugheadedness in Fishes. Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture. https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2021.1957772

Olatunji-Akioye A.O., Adeyemo O.K. and Akomolafe O.T. 2010. Photographic and radiographic study of osteological abnormalities of the head of adult African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). International Journal of Morphology, 28: 719–722. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0717-95022010000300010

Parimala S. 1983. Estuarine gizzard shad Nematalosa nasus (Bloch) without pelvic fins. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 30: 167–169.

Raj A.J.A., Seetharaman S. and Haniffa M.A. 2004. Skeletal deformities in few freshwater fishes from Bhavani River, Tamil Nadu. Zoos Print Journal, 19: 1628–1629. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.ZPJ.1145.1628-9

Sahashi G. 2015. High frequency of deformations in Dolly Varden charr (Salvelinus malma, Walbaum, 1792), an introduced population. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 31(5): 924–926. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.12842

Schneider W. 1990. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the commercial marine resources of the Gulf of Guinea. FAO, Rome, 268 p.

Shariff M., Zainuddin A.T. and Abdullah H. 1986. Pugheadedness in bighead carp, Aristichthys nobilis (Richardson). Journal of Fish Diseases, 9: 457–460. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2761.1986.tb01039.x

Shikano T., Ando D. and Taniguchi N. 2005. Relationships of vertebral deformity with genetic variation and heterosis in the guppy Poecilia reticulata. Aquaculture, 246: 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2005.01.010

Sloof W. 1982. Skeletal anomalies in fish from polluted surface waters. Aquatic Toxicology, 2: 157–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/0166-445X(82)90013-3

Snowden R.J. and Ekweozor I.K.E. 1990. Littoral infauna of a West African estuary: an oil pollution baseline survey. Marine Biology, 105: 51–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01344270

Tiira K., Piironen J. and Primmer C.R. 2006. Evidence for reduced genetic variation in severely deformed juvenile salmonids. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 63(12): 2700–2707. https://doi.org/10.1139/f06-154

Trewavas E. 1983. Tilapiine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. British Museum of Natural History, London, UK, 583 p. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.123198

Tutman P., Glamuzina B., Skaramuca B., Kož V., Glavicґ N. and Lucґicґ D. 2000. Incidence of spinal deformities in natural populations of sandsmelt, Atherina boyeri (Risso, 1810) in the Neretva River Estuary, middle Adriatic. Fisheries Research, 45: 61–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(99)00098-3

Vincent-Akpu I.F. and Babatunde B.B. 2013. Trace Metals in Water, Fish and Sediments from Elechi Creek, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Tropical Freshwater Biology, 22: 13. https://doi.org/10.4314/tfb.v22i1.2

Whitehead P.J.P. 1990. Elopidae. In: J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (Eds). Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). Vol. 1. JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris and UNESCO, Paris: 118–119.

Yamamoto S., Morita K., Yokoyama R., Miyamoto K., Sato M. and Maekawa K. 2013. Incidence of a skeletal deformity (truncated upper jaw) in an isolated population of white-spotted charr Salvelinus leucomaenis. Journal of Ichthyology, 53(10): 889–893. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945213100159

Yamanoue Y., Setiamarga D.H.E. and Matsuura K. 2010. Pelvic fins in teleosts: structure, function and evolution. Journal of Fish Biology, 77: 1173–1208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02674.x