Abnormalities in the axial skeleton of a Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus

Authors: Kirk EJ, Nutman AW
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 36, Issue 2, pp 91-92, Jun 1988
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Aquatic animal, Marine life, Sea mammal, Wildlife
Subject Terms: Anatomy, Pathology, Skeletal/bone/cartilage
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: Although Risso`s dolphin, Grampus griseus Gray, 1828, has a world-wide distribution, in New Zealand waters only 12 individuals (including those in five strandings) have been reported.  None of the 12 is stated to have been malformed. We report the presence of abnormalities in the vertebral column and 13th ribs of a female Risso`s dolphin found dead at Mahia, Hawkes Bay, on 28th October, 1987. The 305 kg cadaver was 2.85 metres long. We later estimated that had the vertebral column been normal, the animal`s length would have been 3.10 metres. The cadaver had a bulbous head, four pairs of teeth on each side of the mandible, a large, caudally placed dorsal fin, a uniform gray coloration broken ventrally from caudal neck to anus by a clearly demarcated, symmetrical whitish-pink area of varying width and numerous longitudinal cuts approximately…

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