Differences in the Skull Morphology between Juvenile and Adult Green Turtles: Implications for the Ontogenetic Diet Shift

Abstract

Skull morphology was compared between juvenile and adult green turtles by geometric morphometrics. The size of the orbit and length of the supraoccipital in relation to the centroid size were larger in juveniles than in adults, while the relative sizes of the infratemporal fossae and parietal were larger in the latter than in the former. The difference in the relative length of the supraoccipital did not predict the maintenance of functional equivalence of trophic structures, probably reflecting a functional trophic change with growth.