Variations in the number and arrangement of scutes often are used for species identification in hard‐shelled sea turtles. Despite the conserved nature of scute arrangements, anomalous arrangements have been noted in the literature for over a century, with anomalies linked to sub‐optimal environmental conditions in the nest during development. Long‐held assumptions suggest that anomalous scute arrangements are indicative of underlying physiological or morphological anomalies, with presumed long‐term survival costs to the individual. Here, we examined a 25‐year photo database of two species of sea turtle (Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas) captured incidentally and non‐selectively on the eastern coast of Florida. Our results suggest that C. mydas is substantially more variable with respect to the arrangement of carapacial scutes, while C. caretta had a relatively higher proportion of individuals with anomalous plastron scute arrangements. We also show evidence that (a) the forms and patterns of anomalous scutes are stable throughout growth; (b) there is limited evidence for selection against non‐modal arrangements in the size classes that were examined; and (c) that their frequency has remained stable in juvenile cohorts from 1994 until present. These findings indicate that there may not be a survival cost associated with anomalous scute arrangements once the turtles reach juvenile size classes, and that variation in scute arrangements within populations is relatively common.

中文翻译：

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没有证据表明佛罗里达海龟的幼年和成年海龟之间的异常盾甲排列不正常

鳞甲数量和排列的变化常用于硬壳海龟的物种鉴定。尽管鳞甲排列具有保守性，但一个多世纪以来，文献中已经注意到异常排列，其异常与发育过程中巢穴中的次优环境条件有关。长期以来的假设表明，异常的鳞甲排列表明潜在的生理或形态异常，并假定个体的长期生存成本。在这里，我们检查了在佛罗里达州东海岸偶然和非选择性捕获的两种海龟（Caretta caretta 和 Chelonia mydas）的 25 年照片数据库。我们的结果表明，C. mydas 在甲壳盾的排列方面具有更大的可变性，而 C. caretta 具有异常腹甲盾构的个体比例相对较高。我们还展示了 (a) 异常鳞甲的形式和模式在整个生长过程中稳定的证据；(b) 在所审查的尺寸等级中选择非模式安排的证据有限；(c) 从 1994 年至今，它们在青少年队列中的频率保持稳定。这些发现表明，一旦海龟达到幼年大小级别，可能不会有与异常鳞甲排列相关的生存成本，并且种群内鳞甲排列的变化相对普遍。(b) 在所审查的尺寸等级中选择非模式安排的证据有限；(c) 从 1994 年至今，它们在青少年队列中的频率保持稳定。这些发现表明，一旦海龟达到幼年大小级别，可能不会有与异常鳞甲排列相关的生存成本，并且种群内鳞甲排列的变化相对普遍。(b) 在所审查的尺寸等级中选择非模式安排的证据有限；(c) 从 1994 年至今，它们在青少年队列中的频率保持稳定。这些发现表明，一旦海龟达到幼年大小级别，可能不会有与异常鳞甲排列相关的生存成本，并且种群内鳞甲排列的变化相对普遍。