The present study aims to describe the ontogenetic changes in the skull of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta by focusing on the stages of development in the western South Atlantic Ocean. Our hypothesis is based on the premise that changes in feeding habits will reflect changes in the shape and/or size of the skull. The existence of changes in skull of the loggerhead turtle were analyzed using traditional and geometric morphometrics on skulls collected from stranded individuals in the southern Brazilian coast. As a general result, a transformation pattern was observed: from younger specimens with smaller, elongated and flattened skulls towards a larger, rounded and more robust skull in older specimens. It is suggested that these skull changes are associated with the diet shift of the loggerhead turtle specimens, providing the skull with greater mechanical resistance and enabling a change in feeding strategy from soft organisms to hard-shelled preys. This result highlights the importance of southern Brazilian coast for the life cycle of the loggerhead turtle. In this region, the individuals undergo the process of ontogenetic diet shift, changing their skull shape to adapt to the newly occupied niche and ensuring the ecological success of the species.

中文翻译：

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南大西洋西部红海龟（Caretta caretta）沿海发育阶段的头骨个体发育变异

本研究旨在通过关注南大西洋西部的发展阶段来描述红海龟 Caretta caretta 头骨的个体发育变化。我们的假设基于这样一个前提，即进食习惯的变化将反映头骨形状和/或大小的变化。使用传统和几何形态测量学对从巴西南部海岸搁浅个体收集的头骨进行分析，分析了红海龟头骨是否存在变化。作为一般结果，观察到了一种转变模式：从具有较小、细长和扁平头骨的年轻标本到较旧标本中较大、圆形和更坚固的头骨。建议这些头骨变化与红海龟标本的饮食变化有关，为头骨提供更大的机械阻力，并能够改变从软生物到硬壳猎物的进食策略。这一结果突出了巴西南部海岸对红海龟生命周期的重要性。在该地区，个体经历个体遗传饮食转变的过程，改变它们的头骨形状以适应新占据的生态位并确保物种的生态成功。