Morphology of shell formation in eggs of the turtleKinosternon flavescens

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Abstract
Shells from eggs of the turtle Kinosternon flavescens were examined during different stages of development with light and scanning electron microscopy. Prior to initiation of the calcareous layer, organic spheres or cores appear on the outer surface of the shell membrane. Presumably, these cores nucleate deposition of the mineral layer of the eggshell. Growing shell units of the mineral layer are rounded and nodular in shape, crystallites of adjacent shell units do not interlock, and numerous spaces occur between shell units. As growth continues, most of the spaces between shell units are obliterated, and shell units become more elongate in form. The calcareous layer of partially shelled eggs resembles the calcareous layer of flexible‐shelled eggs of emydids and chelydrids. Eggshells assume the morphology typical of rigidshelled chelonian eggs only at an advanced stage of shell formation. These observations indicate that rigid and flexible eggshells may form by fundamentally similar mechanisms, with length of shell growth being the primary determinant of whether shells are flexible or rigid.