ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neuroanat.
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnana.2025.1626079
This article is part of the Research TopicNew Insights in Marine Mammal NeurosciencesView all articles
The orca (Orcinus orca) pituitary gland: an anatomical, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analysis
Provisionally accepted
Paula Alonso-Almorox1*
Alfonso Blanco2Carla Daniela Fiorito3Jose Carlos Gómez Villamandos2MªÁngeles Risalde Moya2
Javier Almunia4
Antonio Jesús Fernandez5- 1University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
- 2Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
- 33Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos CESIMAR - CONICET, Puerto Madryn, Argentina
- 4Loro Parque Fundación, Tenerife, Spain
- 5Universidad de las palmas de gran canaria, las palmas, Spain
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The pituitary gland plays a central role in endocrine regulation, coordinating vital physiological functions such as growth, reproduction, and stress responses in vertebrates. In cetaceans, and particularly in large odontocetes like orcas (Orcinus orca), understanding pituitary structure is key for advancing neuroendocrine knowledge and informing species-specific welfare and health assessments. Orcas are apex predators and highly social, cognitively advanced marine mammals with significant ecological, cultural, and conservation importance. Despite growing interest in their physiology, detailed morphological studies of their pituitary gland are lacking. This study provides the first comprehensive structural and ultrastructural characterization of the orca pituitary gland, based on postmortem samples from four captive individuals. Using computed tomography, histology, immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy, we describe the gland's organization and cellular composition, highlighting both shared cetacean traits and species-specific features. As concern for the welfare of wildlife under human care continues to grow, generating species-specific anatomical and physiological data is essential for improving care standards and welfare evaluations and inform best practices in the management of cetaceans. These findings contribute a critical anatomical and functional reference for marine mammal research and support efforts to monitor the welfare and health of this emblematic species.
Keywords: ORCA, Pituitary Gland, Histology, Immunohistochemistry, Electron microscopy, Neuroendocrine System
Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 25 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alonso-Almorox, Blanco, Fiorito, Gómez Villamandos, Risalde Moya, Almunia and Fernandez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Paula Alonso-Almorox, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
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