Shell pitting is relatively abundant but with unclear character and etiology in extinct turtles, since reports on extant turtles with similar condition do not usually include morphological descriptions, illustrations, or data concerning etiology or pathogenesis. Therefore, the available interpretations on shell pitting in the fossil record of turtles are generally speculative or poorly justified. We analyze herein a mark identified in a partial carapace of a bothremydid turtle from the Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian) fossil site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Central Spain). This mark has been analyzed both through physical examination and by the use of computerized axial tomography scan. The discussion has been established following a differential diagnosis procedure, a presumptive diagnosis was made on the basis of analogy and total or partial similarities with other cases previously documented both in extinct and extant turtle specimens. As a result, information regarding the possible etiology, pathogenesis, and stages of healing of the mark studied here are provided. An ectoparasitic origin is suggested as the most parsimonious hypothesis explaining its etiology, this mark being considered as a pathology. This study represents to the first report of a pathology of ectoparasitic origin in the shell of a bothremydid turtle.

龟壳点蚀相对丰富，但在已灭绝的海龟中具有不明确的特征和病因，因为关于具有类似状况的现存海龟的报告通常不包括形态描述、插图或有关病因或发病机制的数据。因此，关于龟化石记录中壳点蚀的可用解释通常是推测性的或缺乏合理性。我们在此分析了在 Lo Hueco（西班牙中部昆卡）的上白垩统（上坎帕阶 - 下马斯特里赫特阶）化石遗址中发现的蜈蚣部分甲壳中发现的标记。该标记已通过体格检查和使用计算机轴向断层扫描进行分析。讨论是在鉴别诊断程序之后建立的，根据与以前在灭绝和现存海龟标本中记录的其他病例的类比和全部或部分相似性，作出推定诊断。因此，提供了有关此处研究的标记的可能病因、发病机制和愈合阶段的信息。体外寄生虫起源被认为是解释其病因的最简洁的假设，这个标记被认为是一种病理学。这项研究代表了第一份关于在双壳龟壳中外寄生起源的病理学的报告。体外寄生虫起源被认为是解释其病因的最简洁的假设，这个标记被认为是一种病理学。这项研究代表了第一份关于在双壳龟壳中外寄生起源的病理学的报告。体外寄生虫起源被认为是解释其病因的最简洁的假设，这个标记被认为是一种病理学。这项研究代表了第一份关于在双壳龟壳中外寄生起源的病理学的报告。