title: Unexpected headless and tailless fish in the stomach content of shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus.
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.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille University, UM 110, MIO (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography), Campus de Luminy, Case 901, Marseille, France ; Asociación CHELONIA, C/Aristóteles, 3, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Sebastián
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biton Porsmoguer
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille University, UM 110, MIO (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography), Campus de Luminy, Case 901, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bănaru
authors.affiliation: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7209, Département Ecologie et Gestion de la biodiversité, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Béarez
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille University, UM 110, MIO (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography), Campus de Luminy, Case 901, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dekeyser
authors.affiliation: Asociación CHELONIA, C/Aristóteles, 3, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merchán Fornelino
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille University, UM 110, MIO (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography), Campus de Luminy, Case 901, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Charles F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Boudouresque
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004063:Digestion / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D008297:Male; D012754:Sharks; D013030:Spain