A case report of vertebral deformities with radiological evidence in Schizothorax niger from a Himalayan stream in Kashmir valley, India

This case report documents vertebral deformities in Schizothorax niger, a cyprinid fish native to the Kashmir Valley in India. A deformed specimen was collected from a local fisherman operating in the Tulmulla stream, and ten morphologically unimpaired specimens were collected from the same region for comparative analysis. Radiographic techniques were used to detect skeletal deformities in S. niger. Morphometric and meristic counts were also performed to compare the deformed and unimpaired specimens. The observed deformities included scoliosis of the caudal peduncle and fractures of the preanal caudal vertebrae. The unimpaired specimens had a post-dorsal to caudal fin base length of 63.07 mm, whereas the deformed specimen had a length of 58.44 mm. The caudal peduncle length of the deformed fish was 20.95 mm, whereas that of the normal specimens was 25.39 mm. The Report concluded that the observed aberration may be attributed to a nutritional deficiency, embryonic developmental damage, or abnormal abiotic factors such as temperature, water velocity, chemicals, mutation, or water pollution.