PRIMARY HEPATIC NEOPLASIA IN THREE ADULT BAMBOO SHARKS (CHILOSCYLLIUM PLAGIOSUM AND CHILOSCYLLIUM PUNCTATUM) IN AN AQUARIUM POPULATION.

Neoplasia in elasmobranchs is uncommonly documented. This report describes primary hepatic neoplasia in three adult female bamboo sharks under managed care: biliary adenocarcinoma in a whitespotted bamboo shark (Case 1; Chiloscyllium plagiosum), biliary adenocarcinoma in a brownbanded bamboo shark (Case 2; Chiloscyllium punctatum), and hepatocellular carcinoma in a whitespotted bamboo shark (Case 3). Case 1 presented with extensive cutaneous papillomas and was electively euthanized. At necropsy, a 4-cm-diameter, pale-tan, firm hepatic mass was identified and diagnosed histologically as a biliary adenocarcinoma. Case 2 presented with decreasing body condition despite normal food intake. Coelomic ultrasound and exploratory surgery revealed several large masses in both hepatic lobes, and the patient was euthanized. At necropsy, nine, 1-6-cm-diameter, black to tan, firm hepatic masses were identified and diagnosed histologically as biliary adenocarcinoma with branchial intravascular neoplastic emboli. Case 3 presented for routine health examination and was euthanized for diagnostic purposes after coelomic ultrasound revealed multiple hepatic masses. At necropsy, two 1-3-cm-diameter, brown- and-black mottled, firm hepatic masses were identified and diagnosed histologically as hepatocellular carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry was performed in two of these cases and was noncontributory, likely because of a lack of cross reactivity between antibodies (antipancytokeratin) and elasmobranch tissues.

A novel model of early development in the brine shrimp, Artemia franciscana, and its use in assessing the effects of environmental variables on development, emergence, and hatching.

The brine shrimp, Artemia (Crustacea, Anostraca), is a zooplankton that is commonly used in both basic and applied research. Unfortunately, Artemia embryos are often cultured under conditions that alter early development, and reports based on these cultures oversimplify or fail to describe morphological phenotypes. This is due in part to the lack of a comprehensive developmental model that is applicable to observations of live specimens. The objective of this study was to build and test a descriptive model of post-diapause development in Artemia franciscana using observations made with a standard dissecting microscope. The working model presented is the first to comprehensively place all known "abnormal" embryonic and naupliar phenotypes within the context of a classic hatching profile. Contrary to previous reports, embryos and nauplii with aberrant phenotypes often recover and develop normally. Oval prenauplii may emerge as normal prenauplii (E2 stage). A delay of this transition leads to incomplete hatching or direct hatching of first instar larvae with a curved thoracoabdomen. When hatching is incomplete, retained cuticular remnants are shed during the next molt, and a "normal" second instar larva is produced. By differentiating between molting events and gross embryonic patterning in live embryos, this new model facilitates fine time-scale analyses of chemical and environmental impacts on early development. A small increase in salinity within what is commonly believed to be a permissive range (20‰-35‰) produced aberrant morphology by delaying emergence without slowing development. A similar effect was observed by decreasing culture density within a range commonly applied in toxicological studies. These findings clearly demonstrate that morphological data from end-point studies are highly dependent on the time points chosen. An alternate assessment method is proposed, and the potential impact of heavy metals, hexachlorobenzene, Mirex, and cis-nonachlor detected in commercial embryos is discussed.