Dr Hancock on Turtles^ S^c. ^^^ 



I should certainly be inclined to doubt this fact, if I had 

 not witnessed it myself in a number of instances in the Esse- 

 quebo, and the same is attested by the Indians, and every one 

 acquainted with the subject. 



The Matta-matta. 



This is a very uncommon species of turtle. The shell is 

 very uneven, marked longitudinally with six prominences, 

 three on each side. The margin of the shell has many angu- 

 lar indentments. Its legs are covered with thick strong scales, 

 and its feet palmated, with five nails on each foot. Its tail is 

 three inches long. 



The most remarkable parts of this animal are the head and 

 neck. The head is angular, depressed or flattened, and re- 

 sembles that of an alligator. The head and neck are dispro- 

 portionately large, and abound with irregular cutaneous ap- 

 pendages or prolongations of the skin, rough and wrinkled, 

 forming a truly distorted and hideous figure. 



The matta-matta forms an anomaly of the turtles as the 

 Pipa does of the frog kind. In fact, there is a remarkable re- 

 semblance in the head : both the matta-matta and pipa have 

 the flat angular front, and are extended at the ears. 



The eyes are small and situate near the nostrils, which, as 

 in other species of turtle, are close to the apex of the upper 

 mandible. The tongue is short, broad, and cuneiform. 



The length of the shell is about 19g inches ; the breadth 14. 

 The breadth of the head is about seven inches, and the girth 

 of the neck 1 4 inches. 



T'he matta-matta that we took near the head of the Repoo- 

 nonie or western branch of the Essequebo, was laying quietly 

 on the surface of the river, and allowed the Caribs to ap- 

 proach and lift him into the canoe without making any resist- 

 ance. 



Whether they are naturally so very sluggish, or sleep in 

 this manner, and, like the owls, see badly by day, seems to me 

 a matter of doubt. The Indians said it was not good eating ; 

 but they used it in default of other food. These turtles are 

 not numerous in Guiana. This was the only one we observed 

 during a journey of near eight months duration. 



