294 



TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



be the preparation and display, in its proper place, of one side 

 of the skin of the back with its wonderful shield of bony plates 

 nicely articulated together. This remarkable covering of the 

 vital organs seems to have been specially designed to ward ofi 

 glancing bullets, and it has saved the lives of thousands of 



crocodilians. (Of 

 course this shield is 

 not proof against a 

 bullet fired squarely 

 against it.) So far, 

 all collectors and os- 

 teologists have ig- 

 nored this remarka- 

 ble feature of the 

 saurians, but it should 

 have the attention it 

 deserves. 



Turtles and Tor- 

 toises. The skeleton 

 of a tortoise, if mount- 

 ed on its feet in a life- 

 like attitude, has the 

 best part of its anat- 

 omy concealed by its 

 shell. This difficulty 

 Mr. Lucas meets oc- 

 casionally by sawing 

 out and laying back 

 one-half the carapace, 

 to expose the interior. The commonest method, however, is 

 that shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 72), which is 

 self-explanatory. The plastron is hinged at one side, furnished 

 with a latch, and opens like a door. The skeleton is mounted 

 on a single standard, which is split at the upper end like a Y, 

 the arms bent to fit the curvature of the shell, and riveted to the 

 carapace. Each leg is held in place by a small wire attached to 

 the shell at its edge. 



FISHES. There is nothing in the mounting of fish skeletons 

 that has not been fully described in the foregoing pages. Of 



Fig. T2. Skeleton of Turtle, as Exhibited. 



