Holoprosencephaly and other morphological abnormalities in the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis

Abstract

This study constitutes the first descriptions of morphological abnormalities in the silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis from a near term embryo obtained in the Gulf of California, Mexico. External exploration and X-ray images were taken to describe the specimen, which revealed that the embryos deformities were located in the cephalic region suggesting a holoprosencephaly disorder. The analyzed images evidenced a deformed oval chondrocranium with both nasal capsules pointing upwards and the rostrum pointing downwards, in which the palatoquadrate cartilage was deformed with signs of prognathism.