Information on demographic and life-history traits of endangered vertebrate species, such as sea turtles, is crucial for planning management and conservation actions. We applied skeletochronology of phalanges to estimate the age of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, found dead stranded along the beaches of Campania (western Mediterranean) from 2013 to 2017. To obtain maturity data, we examined gonads from a subsample of 7 males and 11 females. Overall, curved carapace length (CCL) ranged from 5.6 to 90.8 cm, but for most turtles (89%) it was 50–79.9 cm. Predominance of stranded females (62%) was recorded. Ten out of the eighteen histologically examined gonads allowed estimating maturity. Based on the lines of arrested growth counting, the estimated age of the examined specimens ranged from 0 (hatchling) to 26 years. The modal age was 14 years for males and 17 years for females. The smallest male with spermatogenetic activity had a CCL of 65 cm and was estimated to be 16 years old. The smallest female with follicular development stage, characterising the transition towards adulthood, had a CCL of 69.5 cm and was estimated to be 20 years old. Anthropogenic factors were responsible for 36% of the mortality of individuals, followed by parasitic/infective pathologies (20%).

中文翻译：

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沿坎帕尼亚（意大利西南部，地中海西部）海滩搁浅的海龟（Caretta caretta）的骨骼年代，成熟年龄和死亡原因

有关濒临灭绝的脊椎动物（例如海龟）的人口统计学和生活史特征的信息对于规划管理和保护行动至关重要。我们使用趾骨的骨骼年代学来估计2013年至2017年间在坎帕尼亚（地中海南部）的海滩上发现死海的龟（Caretta caretta）的年龄。为了获得成熟度数据，我们从7头雄性和11头雌性的子样本中检查了性腺。 。总体而言，弯曲甲壳长度（CCL）在5.6至90.8厘米之间，但对于大多数乌龟（89％）而言，则为50-79.9厘米。记录到搁浅的女性占主导地位（62％）。经组织学检查的十八个性腺中有十个可以估计成熟度。根据被捕的生长计数线，被检查标本的估计年龄从0（孵化）到26岁不等。男性的模态年龄为14岁，女性为17岁。最小的具有生精活动的男性的CCL为65厘米，估计为16岁。最小的具有卵泡发育阶段的女性具有向成年过渡的特征，其CCL为69.5 cm，估计为20岁。人为因素占个体死亡率的36％，其次是寄生虫/感染性病理（20％）。