First Records of Saddleback Syndrome and Pughead Deformities in the Common Pandora Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Teleostei: Sparidae) from Wild Population in the Northern Aegean Sea, Turkey

Abstract

The first record of the abnormalities, saddleback syndrome and pughead is reported from common pandora Pagellus erythrinus collected from the northern Aegean Sea, Turkey. Externally, the pughead specimen was with a short neurocranium, normal jaws and mouth was closed. There are a significant osteological damages have been revealed by the radiograph of this deformed specimen. The saddleback anomaly is located in the spinous part of the dorsal fin that showed a loss of 8 spines. In addition, few scales of the lateral line were deformed. The radiograph image showed that the whole 8 spines and their supporting pterygiophores were missing. These abnormalities have been considered as an important indicator of environmentally induced stress to the wild fishes. Hence, the present finding highlights the need for closer monitoring of the marine environment and for the identification of the specific factor that causes these abnormalities.