Melanoma and other melanistic lesions in brown bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus from waterbodies in the northeastern United States and Canada: Identification of risk factors

Abstract

Melanistic lesions, including non-raised black areas due to proliferations of melanocytes and melanomacrophages in the dermis and epidermis, as well as raised black areas consistent with melanoma, are described in brown bullhead (BBH) Ameiurus nebulosus from three water bodies in the northeastern United States and Quebec, Canada. First observed in the Vermont portion of Lake Memphremagog, Vermont, USA and Quebec, Canada, the prevalence of melanistic lesions during 2014–2020 was greater than 30% in BBH 200 mm and longer. In 2023, seven sites throughout the lake were assessed, and prevalence ranged from 18% to 42%. In Hermon Pond, Maine, the prevalence was 29% in 2024, and in Village Pond, New Hampshire, lesions occurred in 22% of BBH in 2025. Compared to skin from visibly normal BBH, skin with melanistic lesions had significantly higher concentrations of seven metals, including arsenic, a known carcinogen and zinc. Lesions associated with oxidative damage, such as the accumulation of ceroid/lipofuscin, were also observed in the gill, spleen and kidney tissue of both affected and visibly normal BBH. The progression of lesions, observed by histopathology, ranged from inflammation, signs of oxidative damage, proliferation and necrosis of club cells, and the presence of melanomacrophages and melanocytes in the epidermis to invasive melanoma and suggests chronic exposure of BBH to environmental initiators and promoters of carcinogenesis.