Histologic Findings in Free-ranging Sarasota Bay Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Skin: Mercury, Selenium, and Seasonal Factors

A novel papillomavirus (PV) was isolated from a genital condyloma of a free-ranging bottlenose dolphin inhabiting the coastal waters of Charleston Harbor, SC, USA: Tursiops truncatus papillomavirus type 2 (TtPV2). This novel virus represents the first isolated North American cetacean PV and the first American bottlenose dolphin PV. After the viral genome was cloned, sequenced and characterized genetically, phylogenetic analyses revealed that TtPV2 is most similar to the only published cetacean PV isolated and characterized thus far, Phocoena spinipinnis PV type 1 (PsPV1). A striking feature of the genome of TtPV2, as well as that of PsPV1, is the lack of an E7 open reading frame, which typically encodes one of the oncogenic proteins believed to be responsible for malignant transformation in the high-risk mucosotropic human papillomaviruses (HPVs). TtPV2 E6 contains a PDZ-binding motif that has been shown to be involved in transformation in the case of high-risk genital HPVs.

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A Poorly Differentiated Pulmonary Squamous Cell Carcinoma in a Free-Ranging Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus)

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation ◽

10.1177/104063870301500211 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 162-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ruth Y. Ewing ◽

Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni

Keyword(s):

Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽

Cell Carcinoma ◽

Squamous Cell ◽

Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

Left Lung ◽

Mesothelial Cell ◽

Thyroid Transcription Factor 1 ◽

Poorly Differentiated ◽

Free Ranging

A free-ranging, adult, female offshore bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus) was found freshly dead in 1999 on Ocean Park Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The left-lung and right-lung pleura had multiple white, firm-to-hard nodules with coagulative necrosis. Histologically, the neoplasms were characterized by multiple well-circumscribed, nonencapsulated expansile masses consisting mostly of polygonal cells with fewer circumferential flattened basaloid cells that compressed alveoli, bronchioles, and bronchi. Neoplastic cells stained positive for cytokeratin, with sporadic vimentin staining, and were negative for epithelial membrane antigen, thyroid transcription factor-1, calretinin, and human mesothelial cell antigen. A diagnosis of poorly differentiated pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma with lymph node and renal metastases was made on the basis of histomorphology and immunohistochemical staining. This is the first documentation of pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma in a dolphin.

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Immunocytes of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) : morphologic characterizations and correlations between healthy and disease states under free-ranging and captive conditions

10.25148/etd.fi14051802 ◽

1995 ◽

Author(s):

Gregory D. Bossart

Keyword(s):

Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

West Indian ◽

Trichechus Manatus ◽

Trichechus Manatus Latirostris ◽

Disease States ◽

Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

West Indian Manatee ◽

Free Ranging

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Variability in fatty acid composition of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) blubber as a function of body site, season, and reproductive state

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z05-001 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 82 (12) ◽

pp. 1933-1942 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Asha M Samuel ◽

Graham A.J Worthy

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acid Composition ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Acid Composition ◽

Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

Fatty Acid Analysis ◽

Reproductive State ◽

Fatty Acid Signature ◽

Physiological Factors ◽

Free Ranging

Odontocete blubber has been shown to be variable in composition and can be separated into strata visually, histologically, and biochemically. The purpose of this study was to examine fatty acid composition of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)) blubber, and determine if differences exist between body sites, reproductive states, and (or) seasons. The influence of these variables on blubber composition could aid in the creation of a model that would use fatty acid signature analysis to evaluate diet in free-ranging populations. Blubber samples were obtained from freshly dead animals along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines. Samples from nine body sites were analyzed to investigate site variability, and from one site to evaluate differences due to season, reproductive state, and blubber layer. All body sites of animals sampled in the winter were statistically indistinguishable, indicating that biopsy samples could be obtained from any location on the animal for fatty acid analysis during this season; however, three distinct blubber layers were identifiable, and reproductive states were significantly different in terms of fatty acid composition. Seasonal differences in fatty acid composition were also highly significant for all one-site inner blubber layer samples. Ultimately, the differences in fatty acid composition could have resulted from dietary or physiological factors and need to be examined further.

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Evaluation of Human Interactions with a Provisioned Wild Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) near Sarasota Bay, Florida, and Efforts to Curtail the Interactions

Aquatic Mammals ◽

10.1578/am.32.3.2006.346 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 346-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Petra Cunningham-Smith ◽

Debborah E. Colbert ◽

Randall S. Wells ◽

Todd Speakman

Keyword(s):

Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

Human Interactions ◽

Sarasota Bay

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Mandibular osteomyelitis in the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) (Odontoceti: Cetacea): first case in the Mexican Caribbean

Mammalia ◽

10.1515/mammalia-2018-0136 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 83 (6) ◽

pp. 562-566

Author(s):

Carlos Alberto Niño-Torres ◽

Delma Nataly Castelblanco-Martínez ◽

María del Pilar Blanco-Parra ◽

Roberto Sánchez Okrucky

Keyword(s):

Adult Male ◽

West Coast ◽

Bottlenose Dolphin ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

Marine Mammals ◽

The West ◽

Pathological Conditions ◽

First Case ◽

Mexican Caribbean ◽

Free Ranging

AbstractOral pathological conditions are common in mammals and have been relatively well documented for some wild groups, but are rarely reported in marine mammals. Here, we report for the Mexican Caribbean the first case of mandibular osteomyelitis in a free-ranging dolphin. A bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusadult male (256.5 cm total length) was found stranded dead in the west coast of the State Reserve “Chetumal Bay Manatee Sanctuary”. Herein, we discuss some plausible explanations about the origin of this lesion to improve the knowledge about the species biology.

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