Abstract
During three sampling trips carried out over the continental platform of the Gulf of Tehuantepec 15 free-ranging specimens and 3 embryos with morphological abnormalities were collected. Abnormalities consisted of developed pectoral fins that were not fused interiorly, pectoral fins that were not completely developed, anophthalmy, absence of a clasper, an abnormally developed liver, and neoplasia of the liver. Eighty-three percent of specimens were captured relatively close to each other, in waters adjacent to the estuaries of the lagoon systems of La Joya-Buenavista, Carretas-Pereyra and Chantuto-Panzacola, at a depth of between 29.0 and 33.0 m. The presence of organochlorines in the region is a probable cause of morphological abnormalities.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the National Commission for the Use and Knowledge of Biodiversity in Mexico (CONABIO). Financial support was received from the project Batoids fishes of the continental shelf in the Gulf of Tehuantepec (Peces batoideos de la plataforma continental del golfo de Tehuantepec, HJ031). The authors would like to thank the Universidad del Mar and Centro Regional de Investigaciones Pesqueras of Salina Cruz for support in collecting organisms in the R/V UMAR and C/V FIPESCO 22. A. Torres was supported by the Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
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Communicated by R. Serrao Santos
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Torres-Huerta, A.M., Meraz, J., Carrasco-Bautista, P.E. et al. Morphological abnormalities of round rays of the genus Urotrygon in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Mar Biodiv 46, 309–315 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-015-0347-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-015-0347-3