Image_1_Case Report: Ambergris coprolite and septicemia in a male sperm whale stranded in La Palma (Canary Islands).JPEG (1.56 MB)

Image_1_Case Report: Ambergris coprolite and septicemia in a male sperm whale stranded in La Palma (Canary Islands).JPEG

figure

posted on 2024-04-08, 16:41 authored by Antonio Fernández, Cristian Suárez-Santana, Paula Alonso-Almorox, Francesco Achille Consoli, Zuleima Suárez González, Ignacio Molpeceres-Diego, Claudia Iglesias González, Marta Lorente Hernández, Amaranta Hugo Pérez, José Luis Martín-Barrasa, Laura Iglesias Llorente, Félix M. Medina, Raiden Grandía Guzmán, Diego Llinás Rueda, Manuel Arbelo, Eva Sierra

On the 21st of May 2023, a dead adult male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) of 13 m in length and estimated weight of around 18,000 kg was reportedly stranded at Playa Los Nogales, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. A necropsy was performed 48hpm. A 50 cm diameter and 9.5 kg coprolite was found obstructing the caudal colon-rectal lumen. Necro-hemorrhagic lesions were found in heart muscles and three different bacteria of intestinal origin were isolated and identified (Edwarsiella tarda, Hathewaya limosa and Clostridium perfringens). It is reported a lethal septicemia of intestinal origin associated with ambergris coprolite as cause of death in this sperm whale.