400 



CHELONIA 



CHAP. 



by the frontals. The fifth and eighth cervical vertebrae are 

 l)iconvex. 



This i'umily, still represented by nearly thirty species, which 

 are divided into eight genera, is restricted to jSTotogaea, namely. 

 South America and Australia. 



Chelys fimbriata, the '• Matamata," the only species of this 



Fig. 87. — Skull of Chcl ijs fimbriata. x 1. A, Dorsal view of skull ; B, side view of skull 

 ami hyoid apparatus. Cop, copular piece ; F, froutal ; ./, juyul ; L.o, lateral 

 occipital ; Mund, inaudible ; 0/^ opisthotic ; Orb, orbit ; Par, parietal ; Pt.f\ post- 

 frontal ; Pbj, pterygoid ; q, quadrate ; Qj, Quadrato-jugal ; Sq, sijuainosal ; I, II, 

 First and second brauchial arch. 



genus, inliabits the rivers of Guiana and Northern Brazil. Besides 

 the nuchal, there are seven neural plates ; the last pair of costals 

 form a median suture. Nasal bones are absent. The jaws are 

 very weak. The Matamata has a very peculiar appearance. The 

 nose is produced into a long, soft tube, at the end of which open 

 the tiny nostrils. The eyes are very small, and {\w orbits are 

 placed very near the anterior end of the skull, wliile the parietal 



