1 Eye, 2 Mouths: 'Cyclops' Puppy in the Philippines Born in Rarest Condition

Recently in Tangalan Aklan, in the Philippines, a new male puppy was born with one eye in the middle of its forehead. This is confirmed to have resulted from a rare congenital condition that results in only one eye being formed in the center of the head.

The owner, Amie de Martin took to his Facebook page to share the photos of this newly birthed puppy. He captured the pale skin of the puppy with a large round eye stuck in the center of its forehead, and the tongue sticking out at both sides of the mouth not fully formed.

An Interview with a Local News Outlet Reveals More about the Puppy

Speaking with a local news source in his area, Boracay Island News Network, Martins shared the photos of the pooch which lacked a nose as well, as he also spoke about the rarity of its condition. A staff of the local news source in his comment mentioned that the puppy was of a mixed breed; an Aspin and Japanese Spitz breed. He further gave a hint that it was one of the six puppies birthed in the area on February 6, Saturday evening.

Further discourse about the birth of the rare unnamed male puppy revealed the reason for its appearance, the puppy is said to have a condition identified as Cyclopia, a birth defect that results from the abnormality of the development of the two hemispheres which leads to deformity of the head and face.

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The Rare Condition; Cyclopia

Cyclopia is an extreme form of holoprosencephaly, a congenital disorder that is characterized by the embryonic prosencephalon failing to divide into two equal parts in the cavity of the eye orbits. A symptom of this disorder shows the missing of the nose or its lack of functioning altogether. This condition according to research shows that is prevalent in 1 out of 16,000 cases in animals, and 1 out of 200 miscarried fetuses.

This condition has been revealed to be caused by defects in genes, and also toxins that can be capable of misdirecting the diving process of the forebrain. One renowned cyclopia-causing toxin is known as cyclopamine, which is one of the components of the Veratrum Californicum plant. This plant is popularly known as corn lily or false hellebore and is most likely ingested by grazing animals which results in the birth of cyclopia offspring.

(Photo : Sergio Souza)

Previous Cases of Cyclopia

Previous cases of cyclopia births have been discovered. In 1665, a British description about a colt with no sign of a nose in its usual place, an absurd growth on the forehead, and a united eye was told. Also, a 46-year-old Sweden woman had given birth to a child with the same features on March 1, 1793, who died two hours later.

The puppy unable to survive died shortly after being born. Following Martin's decision to preserve its remains as a family remembrance, the puppy is to be injected with formalin today, February 8.

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