Agenesis of the seventh cervical vertebra with spinal cord compression in a goat

A 4-year-old male goat was presented to the Hospital of Bovines and Small Ruminants, University of São Paulo - Brazil, showing fasciculation in all limbs, ataxia progressing to paralysis and opisthotonos. After determination of the vital parameters and the specific evaluation of the nervous system, sensitivity in the region corresponding to the sixth cervical vertebrae (C6) and first thoracic vertebrae (T1) was observed on palpation. Further investigation using X-ray, myelography, and ultrasound revealed the decrease of the intervertebral space between C6 and T1, the presence of spondylosis and the absence of the seventh cervical vertebra (C7), which contained only the vertebral arch and local spinous process and the compression of the spinal cord. Goat congenital malformations are underdiagnosed, therefore, requires further discussion, and studies regarding the genetic variations

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others