Phaeohyphomycoses in a Free-Ranging Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) from Southern Brazil Isabela Guarnier Domiciano • Camila Domit • Cariane Campos Trigo • Brı ´gida K. de Alca ˆntara • Selwyn A. Headley • Ana Paula F. R. L. Bracarense Received: 10 February 2014 / Accepted: 3 June 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract This report describes the occurrence of mycotic infection in a loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, found on Mostardas beach in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil. The specimen was observed alive, emaciated, and died the following day. A necropsy was performed soon after death and tissue samples routinely processed for histopathological and molecular evaluation. Significant pathological altera- tions included multifocal to coalescing, 0.5–4 cm in diameter nodules were observed throughout the peri- toneum and kidneys that revealed caseous, grayish content when sectioned; histopathological evaluation revealed severe peritonitis and nephritis associated with intralesional fungi. Fungal PCR that targeted the internal transcribed spacer region of fungi revealed three different species of fungi: Cladosporium clado- sporioides and Alternata arborescens within the kidneys while Ampelomyces sp. was identified within peritoneal granulomas. C. cladosporioides and A. arborescens are melanized fungi that produce phae- ohyphomycosis in a wide range of species. However, the importance of the identification of the mycopar- asite Ampelomyces sp. DNA within the peritoneal granulomas remains unclear. Keywords Alternaria arborescens Á Ampelomyces sp. Á Cheloniidae Á Cladosporium cladosporioides Á Fungal disease Á South America Introduction The loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) (IUCN Red List Status ‘‘Endangered’’) inhabit coastal and oceanic waters of Atlantic, Indic, and Pacific oceans [1, 2]. In Brazil, this species occurs from the states of Para ´ (north) to Rio Grande do Sul (south), and nests primarily on the coasts of Bahia and Sergipe, northeastern Brazil [1]. There are few doc- umented reports of mycotic infections in sea turtles [3], particularly when the incidence of mycoses is compared with other reptiles, birds, and mammals [4]. I. G. Domiciano (&) Á S. A. Headley Á A. P. F. R. L. Bracarense Laboratories of Animal Pathology, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Rod. Celso Garcia Cid, Km 380, CP 6001, 86051-990 Londrina, Parana ´, Brazil e-mail: isabela.guarnier@hotmail.com I. G. Domiciano Á C. Domit Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation, Universidade Federal do Parana ´, Beira Mar Avenue, PO Box 61, 83255-976 Pontal do Parana ´, Parana ´, Brazil C. C. Trigo Coastal, Limnology and Marine Study Center, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Tramandaı ´ Avenue, n. 976, 95625-000 Imbe ´, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil B. K. de Alca ˆntara Laboratories of Molecular Biology, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Rod. Celso Garcia Cid, Km 380, CP 6001, 86051-990 Londrina, Parana ´, Brazil 123 Mycopathologia DOI 10.1007/s11046-014-9769-x