Suspected congenital spinal anomaly (kyphosis and lordosis) in a calf of Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) stranded in the Canary Islands

Abstract

A male calf of Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) with a bone deformity (kyphosis and lordosis) was found floating in Los Gigantes, Tenerife. After his death, a full necropsy was performed. Although the cause of death could not be directly attributed to the bone deformity, it probably affected its ability to swim. This type of condition is not frequent to find it in such young specimens and is much less frequent in the populations of cetaceans that have been found stranded on the islands in recent times. That is the reason why in this study we will analyze all the data that could be taken from the specimen, to estimate the cause of death and how harmful this type of deformities can be in cetaceans.