The first report of disease in a basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)

Few diseases have been reported in any species of shark and none in the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) despite the latter being the subject of targeted hunting for over two centuries. This is the first report to describe the clinical signs and gross and microscopical pathology in a diseased bask...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Comparative Pathology
Main Authors: Dagleish, Mark P, Baily, Johanna, Foster, Geoff, Reid, Robert J, Barley, Jason P
Other Authors: The Moredun Research Institute, Institute of Aquaculture, The Scottish Agricultural College, orcid:0000-0002-2242-7078
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2010
Subjects:
basking shark
elasmobranch
inflammation
Cetorhinus maximus
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1893/23258
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2010.02.001
http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/23258/1/Dagleish_et_al_JCP_2010.pdf
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Summary:Few diseases have been reported in any species of shark and none in the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) despite the latter being the subject of targeted hunting for over two centuries. This is the first report to describe the clinical signs and gross and microscopical pathology in a diseased basking shark that was live-stranded on the east coast of Scotland. Pyogranulomatous meningoencephalitis was present together with multifocal, predominantly non-suppurative, myocarditis with myocyte necrosis, oedema and haemorrhage. Additionally, there was full thickness ulcerative and fibrinonecrotizing dermatitis with underlying granulomatous inflammation. The aetiology could not be determined, but the lesions were suggestive of an infectious process, possibly bacterial.

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