Two cases of pseudohermaphroditism in loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta

ABSTRACT: Two juvenile (curved carapace lengths: 28 and 30 cm) loggerhead sea turtles Carettacaretta with precocious male external characteristics were admitted to the ARCA del Mar rescuearea at the Oceanografic Aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in 2009 and 2010. Routine internal laparo-scopic examination and subsequent histopathology confirmed the presence of apparently healthyinternal female gonads in both animals. Extensive tissue biopsy and hormone induction assayswere consistent with female sex. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of pseudo-hermaphroditism in loggerhead sea turtles based on sexual external characteristics and internallaparoscopic examination. Our findings suggest that the practice of using external phenotypicalcharacteristics as the basis for gender identification in sea turtles should be reevaluated. Futureresearch should focus on detecting more animals with sexual defects and their possible effects onthe sea turtle population.KEY WORDS: Sex development disorder · Loggerhead turtle ·