334 



CHELONIA 



CHAP. 



Western Atlantic from Florida to Brazil and in the Indian Ocean. 

 According to Arassiz it breeds regularly every year in the 

 spring on the Bahamas, on the Tortugas, and on the coast of 

 Brazil, depositing its many eggs on the sandy shore like other 

 turtles. Accidentally it visits the northern coast up to Long 

 Island, and specimens, perhaps carried with the Gulf Stream, have 

 been caught on the coasts of Europe, for instance off Dorsetshire. 

 One was caught near Nantes in 1V29, and is said to have made 



Puttepwoi^thJc 



mDurhc-rj 



Fig. 73. — Sphargis coriacea, the "Leathery Turtle," young specimens, ventral 



and dorsal views, x 1. 



a terrible noise when being killed. This is perhaps the reason 

 why Merreni in 1820 invented the generic name Sphargis, 

 supposed to be derived from acfjapayeo) (I make a noise). It has 

 also been recorded from the Mediterranean. It seems to be 

 entirely carnivorous, living upon Molluscs, Crustacea, and fish. 

 The flesh is supposed to 1)e unwholesome. It is a very curious 

 fact tliat of this rare species only large specimens, besides a very 

 few baby-turtles, are known or preserved in collections, while 

 individuals of intermediate size, say from four inches to three 

 feet in length, have never been recorded. If it were not for the 

 fact that thev are still known to breed, it would look as if the 



