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Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

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DAO 153:45-49 (2023)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03719

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Nephrolithiasis in a giant Pacific octopus Enteroctopus dofleini

Samantha M. Hughes1,*, Freeland Dunker2, Elise LaDouceur3,4

1Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, MS 39762, USA
2Steinhart Aquarium, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
3Joint Pathology Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
4Zoetis Reference Laboratories, Salt Lake City, UT 84107, USA
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Managed care of cephalopods can be complicated by numerous factors including infectious and non-infectious disease, environmental stressors, and anatomic and physiological changes associated with senescence. The current report describes a unique case of nephrolithiasis in a senescent, >2 yr old female Pacific octopus Enteroctopus dofleini housed in a public aquarium. Clinical signs included generalized external pallor, inappetence progressing to anorexia, lethargy, and a slow healing mantle abrasion over a period of a year. Due to the animal’s declining condition, humane euthanasia was elected. At necropsy, multiple, small, approximately 1-5 mm diameter crystalline deposits were reported throughout all sections of the renal appendages. Histopathology identified a large crystal expanding and rupturing a focal tubule, causing necrosis, ulceration, and hemocytic infiltration. Crystalline stone analysis revealed that the nephrolith was composed of 100% ammonium acid urate. Additional changes to the digestive gland included marked atrophy with fibrosis correlated to the animal’s history of hyporexia/anorexia secondary to senescence. To our knowledge, this is the first report of nephrolithiasis in E. dofleini.


KEY WORDS: Nephrolithiasis · Senescence · Giant Pacific octopus · Invertebrate · Aquarium


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Cite this article as: Hughes SM, Dunker F, LaDouceur E (2023) Nephrolithiasis in a giant Pacific octopus Enteroctopus dofleini. Dis Aquat Org 153:45-49. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03719

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