{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T09:30:35Z","timestamp":1786440635418,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786406400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Universidad del Alba"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01rwn3f68","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the second smallest and most abundant of the seven sea turtle species worldwide, currently distributed across approximately 80 countries. However, due to various anthropogenic and environmental pressures, its populations are declining and categorized as \u201cVulnerable\u201d by the IUCN. Postmortem macroscopic and microscopic examination detected spirorchiids and associated lesions in six adult female olive ridley turtles is described herein, with strandings occurring along the Northern and Central-Northern Chilean coast between September 2024 and January 2026. Gross findings included alterations in the gastrointestinal, reproductive, and vascular systems, characterized by transmural granulomatous lesions and mucosal thickening. Histopathological analysis confirmed the presence of these cryptic parasites in multiple organs, including the intestine, reproductive tract, vasculature, liver, spleen, and adrenal glands, with varying degrees of severity. These findings confirm the presence of spirorchiidiasis in olive ridley turtles in Chile, which may have contributed to stranding and mortality events in some individuals. Molecular characterization is essential to determine whether this agent corresponds to a known species or represents a previously unreported spirorchiid taxon in the Southeastern Pacific.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16162492","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T08:09:36Z","timestamp":1786435776000},"page":"2492","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Spirorchiidiasis in Stranded Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) Along the Northern and Central-Northern Chilean Coast"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Carlos A.","family":"Flores Olivares","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Alba, La Serena 1700000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6693-7361","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Pablo Ru\u00edz","family":"Ya\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad del Alba, La Serena 1700000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerardo","family":"Cerda Gaete","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Servicio Nacional de Pesca y Acuicultura, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sof\u00eda","family":"Marambio Cort\u00e9s","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Servicio Nacional de Pesca y Acuicultura, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tom\u00e1s","family":"Pino Damke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Conservaci\u00f3n Humboldt, Non-Governmental Organization, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlos","family":"Sandoval Hurtado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Veterinary Histopathology Center, Puerto Montt 5480000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0787-5216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Constanza","family":"Rodr\u00edguez Latorre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Patolog\u00eda Animal, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia 5090000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerardo","family":"Tapia Miranda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Servicio Nacional de Pesca y Acuicultura, Atacama 1490000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3649-0676","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pablo","family":"Oyarz\u00fan-Ruiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Microbiolog\u00eda, Facultad de Ciencias Biol\u00f3gicas, Universidad de Concepci\u00f3n, Concepci\u00f3n 4081407, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Abreu-Grobois, A., and Plotkin, P. 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