DISEASE IN WILDLIFE OR EXOTIC SPECIES Multiple Congenital Malformations in a Dicephalic Spur-thighed Tortoise (Testudo graeca ibera) C. Palmieri * , P. Selleri † , N. Di Girolamo † , A. Montani * and L. Della Salda * * Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo and † Clinica per Animali Esotici, Rome, Italy Summary A 22-day-old dicephalic spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca ibera) died following a history of lethargy, an- orexia and absence of defecation. The two heads were anatomically similar with independent reaction to ex- ternal stimuli. The carapace showed doubled first and extra second vertebral scutes. Radiography and transplastronal ultrasonography, performed when the animal was alive, revealed two symmetrical stomachs and two asynchronous hearts. These findings were confirmed by necropsy examination. Oesophagus, liver, gallbladder and trachea were also duplicated. Other malformations included pyloric valve atresia of the left stomach, focal stenosis of the transverse colon and liver hypoplasia. Dicephalism rarely occurs in Testudinidae and its pathogenesis, still unclear, is discussed. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: congenital; dicephalism; malformations; tortoise A wide variety of developmental anomalies has been reported in Reptilia (Frye, 1991) and duplications are most common in chelonians (Rothschild et al., 2012a). In a review of congenital lesions, Hildebrand (1930) referred to what may have been the first scientific observation of a double chelonian monster. Since then, isolated, sometimes redundant, reports of dicephalism of unnamed and named species abound (Rothschild et al., 2012a) but, to the authors’ knowledge, they are limited to the description of ex- ternal gross features. Although it is difficult to assess the frequency of dicephalism, turtles of the family Emydidae (Chrysemys spp., Emys spp., Malaclemys spp., Mauremys spp., Pseudemys spp., Terrapene spp. and Trachemys spp.) seem most commonly affected. Among Testudinidae, dicephalism is rare, having been described in one Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) (Stojanov, 2000), two spur-thighed tortoises (T. graeca ibera) (Caullery, 1931; Vellard and Penteado, 1931), one Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo her- manni)(Reichenbach-Klinke and Elkan, 1965) and in the Siamese twins of an Eastern Hermann’s tortoise (T. hermanni boettgeri)(Sailer et al., 1997). This case report presents the first detailed clinical and post-mortem evaluation, supplemented by additional diagnostic tests (radiography and ultraso- nography) and a complete history, of a dicephalic spur-thighed tortoise with multiple congenital abnor- malities. A captive-born, 17-day-old dicephalic spur- thighed tortoise (Supplementary Fig. 1) was referred with a history of lethargy, anorexia and complete ab- sence of defecation. The tortoise was born in Abruzzo (central Italy) after 74 days of incubation (tempera- ture 25e32  C, humidity 60e90%), together with four other eggs, all of which were infertile. The breed- ing animals (estimated age 25e35 years) were of un- known origin, although were most likely from Turkey or Bulgaria, based on their phenotypes. The birth weight of the dicephalic tortoise was 11 g. The two heads were morphologically similar with independent reaction to external stimuli. The tortoise exhibited disturbances of voluntary movement coordination (e.g. walking in circles or in a zigzag line). The Correspondence to: C. Palmieri (e-mail: c.palmieri@uq.edu.au). 0021-9975/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2012.11.244 J. Comp. Path. 2012, Vol. -,1e4 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com www.elsevier.com/locate/jcpa Please cite this article in press as: Palmieri C, et al., Multiple Congenital Malformations in a Dicephalic Spur-thighed Tortoise (Testudo graeca ibera), Journal of Comparative Pathology (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpa.2012.11.244