Title |
Unexpected Headless and Tailless Fish in the Stomach Content of Shortfin Mako Isurus oxyrinchus
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Published in |
PLOS ONE, February 2014
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DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0088488 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Sebastián Biton Porsmoguer, Daniela Bănaru, Philippe Béarez, Ivan Dekeyser, Manuel Merchán Fornelino, Charles F. Boudouresque |
Abstract |
The stomach content of 113 individuals of shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus was analyzed. Individuals were sampled at landing in Vigo (Spain) and captured by sea-surface long-liners in the vicinity of the Azores Archipelago and between Azores and the Iberian Peninsula, in March and October 2012, and March 2013. Teleosts constituted the dominant item, mainly Atlantic saury Scomberesox saurus (87% of teleost prey). Among them, 94% were deprived of both head and the caudal fin, while the flesh and bones of the body were preserved. The presence of eye's lenses, the number of which was consistent with the number of fish remains, likely rules out the elimination of the heads before ingestion. There is no obvious explanation for this unexpected and unrecorded pattern of digestion. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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France | 3 | 50% |
United States | 1 | 17% |
Unknown | 2 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 5 | 83% |
Scientists | 1 | 17% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Belgium | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 40 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Student > Ph. D. Student | 9 | 22% |
Researcher | 8 | 20% |
Student > Bachelor | 6 | 15% |
Professor | 3 | 7% |
Student > Master | 3 | 7% |
Other | 4 | 10% |
Unknown | 8 | 20% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 17 | 41% |
Environmental Science | 10 | 24% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 2 | 5% |
Social Sciences | 1 | 2% |
Unknown | 11 | 27% |