Marine Mammal Parasite of the Month- October 2021 Answer

This parasite is Braunina cordiformis! Remember last time how we said it was heart shaped? Well, cordiform means heart shaped, so its scientific name is actually based on its shape! This parasite is the only species in the family Brauninidae and is found in the fundic (main) and pyloric stomachs and duodenal ampullae. It’s thought that the membrane like structure surrounding the body of the parasite protects the parasite from the acidic nature of the stomach. These flukes attach to the mucous membrane in the stomach in bottlenose dolphins. They cause damage by pulling on the gastric wall and causing the connective tissue underneath to stick out, damaging the the wall’s tissue and the cells in the mucous layer and causing chronic gastritis. However, the level of damage is unknown and there appears to be very little other negative effects.

Posted by fall intern, Adrienne V-H.

References

Dans, S. L., Reyes, L. M., Pedraza, S. N., Raga, J. A., & Crespo, E. A. (1999). Gastrointestinal helminths of the dusky dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obscurus (Gray, 1828), off Patagonia, in the Southwestern Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science, 15(3), 649-660.

Romero, M. A., Fernandez, M., Dans, S. L., Garcia, N. A., Gonzalez, R., & Crespo, E., A. (2014). Gastrointestinal parasites of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncates from the extreme southwestern Atlantic, with notes on diet composition. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 108, 61-70.

Beron-Vera, B., Crespo, E. A., Raga, J. A., & Fernandez, M. (2007). Parasite communities of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) from Patagonia: The relation with host distribution and diet and comparison with sympatric hosts. The Journal of Parasitology, 93(5), 1056-1060.

Melo, O. P., Ramos, R. M. A., & Di Beneditto, A. P. M. (2006). Helminths of the marine tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853) (Cetacea: Delphinidae), in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 49(1), 145-148.

Beron-Vera, B. Pedraza, S. N., Raga, J. A., de Pertierra, A. G., Crespo, E. A., Alonso, M. K., & Goodall, R. N. P. (2001). Gastrointestinal helminths of Commerson’s dolphins Cephalorhynchus commersonii from central Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, 47, 201-208.

Hrabar, J., Bocina, I., Kurilj, A. G., Duras, M., & Mladineo, I. (2017). Gastric legions in dolphins stranded along the Eastern Adriatic coast. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 125, 125-139.

Lombardini, E., Haetrakul, T., Kuit, S. H., Chansue, N. (2019). Gastric Braunina cordiformis and a review of helminth parasitism in the finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaaenoides). Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Pathology, 12(1), 24-26.