Image_1_Case Report: Ambergris coprolite and septicemia in a male sperm whale stranded in La Palma (Canary Islands).JPEG

• Main Authors: Antonio Fernández, Cristian Suárez-Santana, Paula Alonso-Almorox, Francesco Achille Consoli, Zuleima Suárez González, Ignacio Molpeceres-Diego, Claudia Iglesias González, Marta Lorente Hernández, Amaranta Hugo Pérez, José Luis Martín-Barrasa, Laura Iglesias Llorente, Félix M. Medina, Raiden Grandía Guzmán, Diego Llinás Rueda, Manuel Arbelo, Eva Sierra
• Format: Still Image
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Animal Systematics and Taxonomy; Animal Physiology - Biophysics; Animal Physiology - Cell; Animal Physiology - Systems; Animal Behaviour; Animal Cell and Molecular Biology; Animal Developmental and Reproductive Biology; Animal Immunology; Animal Neurobiology; Animal Physiological Ecology; Animal Structure and Function; Veterinary Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care; Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology; Veterinary Diagnosis and Diagnostics; Veterinary Epidemiology; Veterinary Immunology; Veterinary Medicine; Veterinary Microbiology (excl. Virology); Veterinary Parasitology; Veterinary Pathology; Veterinary Pharmacology; Veterinary Surgery; Veterinary Virology; Veterinary Sciences not elsewhere classified; Ambergris; sperm whale; stranding; septicemia; pathology; Physeter macrocephalus; Sperm whale
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1388276.s001; https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Image_1_Case_Report_Ambergris_coprolite_and_septicemia_in_a_male_sperm_whale_stranded_in_La_Palma_Canary_Islands_JPEG/25564254

On the 21st of May 2023, a dead adult male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) of 13 m in length and estimated weight of around 18,000 kg was reportedly stranded at Playa Los Nogales, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. A necropsy was performed 48hpm. A 50 cm diameter and 9.5 kg coprolite was found obstructing the caudal colon-rectal lumen. Necro-hemorrhagic lesions were found in heart muscles and three different bacteria of intestinal origin were isolated and identified (Edwarsiella tarda, Hathewaya limosa and Clostridium perfringens). It is reported a lethal septicemia of intestinal origin associated with ambergris coprolite as cause of death in this sperm whale.