Two cases of pseudohermaphroditism in loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta
Artículo de investigación publicado en Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
3 de septiembre de 2013
Two juvenile (curved carapace lengths: 28 and 30 cm) loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta with precocious male external characteristics were admitted to the ARCA del Mar rescue area at the Oceanogràfic Aquarium in Valencia, Spain, in 2009 and 2010. Routine internal laparoscopic examination and subsequent histopathology confirmed the presence of apparently healthy internal female gonads in both animals. Extensive tissue biopsy and hormone induction assays were consistent with female sex. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of pseudohermaphroditism in loggerhead sea turtles based on sexual external characteristics and internal laparoscopic examination. Our findings suggest that the practice of using external phenotypical characteristics as the basis for gender identification in sea turtles should be reevaluated. Future research should focus on detecting more animals with sexual defects and their possible effects on the sea turtle population
Crespo JL., Garcia-Parraga D., Gimenez I., Rubio-Guerri C., Melero M., Sanchez-Vizcaino JM., Marco A., Cuesta JA. y Munoz MJ.
 | Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA). Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA). |
 | Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
| Servicio de Inmunología Viral y Medicina Preventiva (SUAT). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
 | Estación Biológica de Doñana. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). |
| Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (ICMAN). Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). |
| Rara Avis Biotec. | |
 | Oceanogràfic. Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Generalitat Valenciana. |
