120 



BRANCH VERTEBRATA. 



FIG. 208. 



and the tail posteriorly, while laterally are the two pairs 



of well developed limbs. The jaws, 

 like those of a bird, are without 

 teeth and are covered with horn. 



The Sea Turtles have the feet 

 as broad nippers, adapting them for 

 a pelagic life. At certain seasons, 

 however, they visit the land to lay 

 their eggs, which are deposited in 

 large numbers, two hundred or more, 

 in the sand.* 



The Green Turtle is the most 

 prized of the edible species, and its 



eggs are obtained in large quantities. Large sea turtles 



sometimes weigh a thousand pounds. 



FIG. 209. 





Skeleton of a Marine Turtle. 





Che Id' ni a m^' das. Green Turtle. (>.) 



musical sounds, and thus have given rise to the poetical legend of the origin of 

 the lyre. 



* In the Antilles (an tiil' ) and other breeding-places, the turtle is exceedingly 

 valuable. Its eggs are a delicacy ; its flesh is used for food ; its fat for oil and 

 butter ; its carapax for drinking troughs, bathing tubs, canoes, and roofs to the 

 native huts. The shell of some species constitutes the well-known tortoise-shell, a 

 valuable article of commerce. 



