Paleopathology of a Lower Miocene Carettochelyid Turtle from the Moghra Formation, Egypt

This study examines two articulated peripheral plates of a carettochelyid turtle from the Moghra Formation (Early Miocene, 19.6–18.2 Ma) in Egypt. This research represents the first record of shell pathologies in an African carettochelyid. The specimens were analyzed through detailed macroscopic observation and computed tomography (CT) imaging. To characterize the observed anomalies, a comparative analysis was conducted based on standardized clinical and veterinary osteopathological methodologies. The results revealed significant external and internal structural alterations, including irregular globular outgrowths and internal remodeling evidenced by high-density bone formation. These features enable the identification of pathological conditions that differ from the bioerosive traces and other surface modifications that have been documented previously in the turtle fauna of the Moghra Formation.