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Review
. 2013 Mar;3(3):186-90.
doi: 10.1016/S2221-1691(13)60047-7.

Spinal deformities in a wild line of Poecilia wingei bred in captivity: report of cases and review of the literature

Alessio Arbuatti  1 , Leonardo Della Salda, Mariarita Romanucci
Affiliations
Review

Spinal deformities in a wild line of Poecilia wingei bred in captivity: report of cases and review of the literature

Alessio Arbuatti et al. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2013 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To describe the occurrence of various spinal deformations in a captive-bred wild line of Poecilia wingei (P. wingei).

Methods: Fish belonging to a wild line of P. wingei caught from Laguna de Los Patos, Venezuela, were bred in an aquarium home-breeding system during a period of three years (2006-2009). The spinal curvature was observed to study spinal deformities in P. wingei.

Results: Out of a total of 600 fish, 22 showed different types of deformities (scoliosis, lordosis, kyphosis), with a higher incidence in females. Growth, swimming and breeding of deformed fish were generally normal.

Conclusions: Possible causes for spinal curvature in fish are discussed on the basis of the current literature. While it is not possible to determine the exact cause(s) of spinal deformities observed in the present study, traumatic injuries, nutritional imbalances, genetic defects or a combination of these factors can be supposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of such lesions.

Keywords: Kyphosis; Lordosis; Poecilia wingei; Scoliosis; Spinal deformities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. P. wingei.
a: Dorsal; b: lateral (arrow) view of a fish fry showing severe scoliosis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. P. wingei.
Two adult males showing a: mild (arrow) b: severe scoliosis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. P. wingei.
a: Adult pregnant female showing kyphosis (arrow); b: Adult female showing lordosis (arrow); this fish displayed abnormal swimming.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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