CLASS REPTILIA. 



119 



1, Tongue of Chameleon. 2, Foot of Chameleon. 



The Chameleon's power of changing color is remarkable, 

 but its range of variation is much more limited than that 

 of its namesake of our Southern States. 



ORDER CHELONIA (ke lo'ni a). 



The members of this order bear a marked resemblance 

 to one another. Every one knows a Turtle. The short, 

 stout body is protected above by a more or less convex 



FIG. 207. 



Skeleton of Tortoise.* 



hard shell, the carapax (kar'a paks), formed by the ex- 

 panded ribs and transverse processes of the dorsal ver- 

 tebrae, and below by a flattened sternal plate, the plastron. 

 From this shell the head and neckf extend anteriorly 



* The same number of pieces is found in the skeleton as in the ordinary 

 vertebrates, the shape and size alone being changed. 



t The long, slender muscles which move the flexible neck are tied to the 

 under side of the carapax. When dried they may be capable of producing 



