183 



THE LEATHERY TURTLE. 



(Sphargis coriacea.) 



This Turtle (Plate 11, Fig. 1) differs materially 

 from the preceding in several points. The carapace, 

 instead of being clad with plates, is covered with a 

 tough, leather-like skin. Along the upper shell are 

 seven distinct ridges, running longitudinally ; these 

 are sharp and slightly toothed in the adult animal, 

 but rounded in the young. It appears to be a 

 native of the Mediterranean Sea, but even there is 

 not at all common ; it is found also in the Pacific, 

 Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The claims of this 

 turtle to be regarded as British are founded upon a 

 passage in Borlase's " History of Cornwall," and 

 Pennant's " British Zoology." Borlase records that 

 two were taken on the coast of Cornwall in the 

 mackerel nets, of a vast size, a little after Midsum- 

 mer, 1756 ; the largest weighed eight hundred 

 pounds, the lesser near seven hundred. Pennant 

 adds, that a third, of equal weight with the first cf 

 the above, was caught on the coast of Dorsetshire, 



