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First observations of intersex development in paddlefish Polyodon spathula
Author(s) -
Schooley Jason D.,
Geik Adam,
Scarnecchia Dennis L.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/jfb.14442
Subject(s) - biology , fishery , development of the gonads , gonad , zoology , disorders of sex development , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , anatomy
This study reports the first cases of intersex (abnormal development of both male and female reproductive tissues in a gonad) paddlefish Polyodon spathula , an Acipenseriform species of large rivers in the central U.S. and in aquaculture worldwide. Despite a large, multi‐decadal data set in Oklahoma, Montana, and North Dakota, intersex development was not observed until 2019, when two individuals were harvested from the Grand Lake/Neosho River stock in Oklahoma. This suggests that intersex development in mid‐water, zooplanktivorous paddlefish is rarer than in bottom‐dwelling sturgeons for which intersex development is regularly observed. Although contaminants are implicated in causing intersex development in other Acipenseriformes, more investigation is needed.