The carapacial scute pattern is a conserved trait in sea turtles that provides taxonomic information, although hatchlings with aberrant scute numbers are commonly described in all extant species. These anomalies have been associated with reduced individual fitness, but very little is known about their occurrence in the juvenile and adult portion of the population. Here, we compared the frequencies of major non‐modal scute patterns (i.e. number of vertebral/coastal scutes ≠ 5, MNMSP) in hatchling, juvenile and adult loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from the Central Tyrrhenian Sea. 20.5% of the analysed hatchlings exhibited MNMSP (N = 1047, range 0–52%). These individuals were significantly lighter than modals, but no other morphological difference was observed. Hatchlings from relocated nests (N = 241) had a lower rate of scute variation compared to those from natural nests (N = 806, MNMSP frequencies 10.37 and 23.57% respectively). The proportion of MNMSP decreased in early juveniles (12.1%, N = 149, SCL_st < 41 cm) and even further in late juveniles/adults (4.8%, N = 124, SCL_st > 41 cm). These results are coherent with those from previous studies and suggest that individuals with modal scute pattern may have a greater survival rate. However, selection against abnormal scute patterns may not occur within the first few days of life, as previously suggested, but it is probably a much slower process that may require several years. It is unlikely that alterations of the scute pattern affect survival directly; they may be a phenotypic expression of underlying morphological or physiological anomalies that stem from environmental stressors similar to those causing scute variations during embryonic development.

中文翻译：

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龟的甲壳虫纹状异常：它们是否表明孵化的成活率？

尽管在所有现存物种中通常都描述了具有异常的卵壳数量的幼体，但甲壳动物的卵壳模式是海龟中的一个保守特性，可提供分类学信息。这些异常与个体适应性降低有关，但是对于它们在青少年和成年人群中的发生知之甚少。在这里，我们比较了第勒尼安海中部孵化，幼年和成年的龟（Caretta caretta）中主要的非模态瓢虫模式的频率（即，脊椎/沿海瓢虫的数量≠5，MNMSP）。被分析的幼体中有20.5％表现出MNMSP（N = 1047，范围为0–52％）。这些个体比情态个体轻得多，但是没有观察到其他形态差异。 与自然巢穴（N  = 806，MNMSP频率分别为10.37和23.57％）相比，搬迁的巢穴（N = 241）的孵化出的卵壳变异率更低。MNMSP的比例在早期少年中下降（12.1％，N  = 149，SCL _st  <41 cm），甚至在后期青少年/成人中进一步下降（4.8％，N  = 124，SCL _st> 41厘米）。这些结果与以前的研究结果相吻合，表明具有模态模式的个体可能具有更高的存活率。但是，如先前所建议的那样，可能不会在生命的最初几天之内进行针对异常侦察模式的选择，但这可能是一个非常缓慢的过程，可能需要几年的时间。铲除模式的改变不太可能直接影响生存。它们可能是潜在的形态或生理异常的表型表达，其源自环境胁迫，类似于导致胚胎发育过程中变异的那些。