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A coccolithophorid algal dermatitis of the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias L.
Author(s) -
LEIBOVITZ L.,
LEBOUITZ S. S.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal of fish diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-2761
pISSN - 0140-7775
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2761.1985.tb00955.x
Subject(s) - squalus acanthias , spiny dogfish , biology , algae , anatomy , botany , endocrinology
. Skin diseases of sharks and algal diseases of animals are reviewed. A specific progressive skin disease of wild, laboratory‐maintained and display‐aquaria populations of spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias L., observed during a 2.5‐year period at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is described. Skin lesions, from 1mm to over 1cm in diameter, developed in the following sequence: petechial and ecchymotic haemorrhages; dome‐shaped vesicles; larger lesions with central ulceration; and hyperpigmented granulations in the final repair stage. A coccolithophorid algal agent could be demonstrated in skin lesions and is described. Since both sharks and coccolithophorid algae are primitive organisms, the possible evolutionary implications of algal symbionts modified to become pathogens are discussed.