A Rubber Band Around an Atlantic Croaker

A rubber band permanently girdled an Atlantic croaker, Micropogon undulatus, resulting in considerable malformation and pathological alterations of the fish. On 12 July 1973 at Graveline Bayou, Jackson County, Mississippi, Mrs. Buster Blades caught on hook and line a 175 mm standard length (102.1 g) croaker that she immediately separated from the rest of her catch as a suspected parasitized fish. Later upon closer examination, she realized that a rubber band encircled the fish, and so she brought the fish to us. The band had deformed the prepelvic isthmus, restricted movement of the pectoral fins, and permanently encircled the fish through a hole in the dorsum. Much of the elasticity was lost, but the band was entire and free to rotate through the perforation below the first dorsal fin. The tissue above the perforation, including the tissue of the dorsal fin, was complete and not severed, although several scales were regenerated. These observations, in addition to the malformed ventral area, suggest a lengthy association between band and fish.