Stillbirth and neonatal mortality are significant problems in captive breeding of dolphins, however, the causes of these problems are not fully understood. Here, we report a case of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) in a male neonate of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates) who died immediately after birth. At necropsy, a true knot was found in the umbilical cord. The lungs showed diffuse intraalveolar edema, hyperemic congestion and atelectasis due to meconium aspiration with mild inflammatory cell infiltration. Although the exact cause of MAS in this case was unknown, fetal hypoxia due possibly to the umbilical knot might have been associated with MAS, which is the first report in dolphins. MAS due to perinatal asphyxia should be taken into account as a possible cause of neonatal mortality and stillbirth of dolphin calves.

A 10-year-old female sea otter exhibited convulsions, arrhythmia, hyperthermia, forced breathing and anorexia and died after a week. Histopathological examination revealed neoplastic proliferation of small round cells with scant cytoplasm and round or oval nuclei distributed mainly in the thalamus. The proliferation of neoplastic cells was observed in the cerebral parenchyma and perivascular areas. The neoplastic cells were immunopositive for CD3, but not CD20. No neoplastic proliferation of T-cells was found in other organs. Taken together, we diagnosed this case as a primary cerebral T-cell lymphoma. To our knowledge, this is the first case of primary cerebral T-cell lymphoma in a sea otter.

A white, lobular mass was found in the right ovary of a pregnant Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) at necropsy. The mass was unilateral and occupied most of the pre-existing ovarian tissue. Histologically, the mass was composed of diffuse sheets of polyhedral cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and oval nuclei, separated by fibrous connective tissue. Only a few ovarian follicles were observed at the periphery of the mass. Immunohistochemically, the large eosinophilic cells were positive for vimentin and negative for pan-cytokeratins. Based on the histopathological features, the present case was diagnosed as luteoma. In human medicine, luteoma of pregnancy, a tumor-like proliferative lesion occurring in pregnant women, is well described. In veterinary medicine, luteoma associated with pregnancy has never been described. The present study would provide useful information for understanding the characteristics of luteoma in animals.

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