Volume 203, May 2023, Pages 31-35Author links open overlay panel, , , , , , , , , , , Abstract

The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is a large species of shark found in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and is believed to be the longest living vertebrate. Relatively little is known about its biology, abundance, health or diseases. In March 2022, only the third reported UK stranding of this species occurred and it was the first to undergo post-mortem examination. The animal was a sexually immature female, measuring 3.96 m in length and 285 kg in weight, and was in poor nutritional state. Gross findings included haemorrhages in the skin and soft tissues, particularly of the head, and silt in the stomach suggestive of live stranding, bilateral corneal opacity, slightly turbid cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and patchy congestion of the brain. Histopathological findings included keratitis and anterior uveitis, fibrinonecrotic and lymphohistiocytic meningitis of the brain and proximal spinal cord and fibrinonecrotizing choroid plexitis. A near pure growth of a Vibrio organism was isolated from CSF. This is believed to be the first report of meningitis in this species.

Section snippetsFunding

The necropsy was conducted under the aegis of the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, which is co-funded by Defra and the Devolved Government of Wales, UK.

Declaration of competing interests

The authors declared no conflicts of interest in relation to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network and particularly Mick Dawton, Sonya Andrews, Kate Bailey, Alyson Devonshire and Abby Crosby, Professor Rosie Woodruff, Mermaid Pleasure Trips and the staff at Newlyn docks for their assistance with retrieving the animal. They also thank Paul Hancock for providing a facility for the post-mortem examination, Sharon Trew for her assistance with photography, Doug Herdson for his information on the history of the Greenland shark

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