Morphometric pattern in Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758)(Cheloniidae) hatchlings from nests with different embryo development rates.

The geometric morphometric analysis of the shell of Caretta caretta hatchlings revealed that morphological variations may be related to incubation duration. Based on the overlapping of anatomical landmarks of the carapace and the plastron, it was possible to discriminate hatchlings from slow and fast developing clutches. Carapace and plastron of hatchlings from nests where incubation lasted less than 55 days are rounder as compared to the hatchlings from nests where incubation took 67 days.