CHELONIA. 51 



Ge7i. 1. SPHARGIS. Menem, fLulh.J 



Testa cute coriacea tecta, pedes mutici. 



The shell is deeply longitudinally grooved and covered with 

 a coriaceous skin, the feet are long and the places of the 

 claws are supplied by small coriaceous scales. 



The fore-feet when the animal is young are very long, 

 and they become more proportionate as it grows older. 



The Genus Coriudo, of Dr. Fleming ; Dermochelis, of 

 M. de Blainville, Diet. S. N ; and Scytina, of Dr. Wagler. 



1. Sphargis coriacea, {Coriaceous Luth.) Testa ovata, 

 postice acuta 3-carinata. 



Test, coriacea, Lin. Lacep. H. Q. O. t. 2, f. 1, cop. 

 E, M. t. 4, f. 2, Daud. Rept. t. 10, f. 1, and Coriaceous 

 Turtle, Shaw Zool. iii. t. 21. Spinous Tortoise, Penn. 

 Brit. Zool. ii. t. 1, cop. Shaw Zool. iii. t. 21. Sphargis 

 mercurialis, Merrem. 



Junior. Pinnis anterioribus longitudine testae, corio testae 

 cicatricoso subtuberculato. Tuherculated Tortoise, Penn. 

 Phil, Trans. Ixi, f. 4, 5, cop. Schoepf, t. 29. Testudo tuher- 

 culata, Gravenhorst. 



Habitat in Mari Mediterraneo, rara ad Oram Comitatus 

 Dorset Angliae, (v. Mus. Brit.) 



Prof. Gravenhorst considers the young and old as forming 

 two species ; but all the characters that he gives are incident 

 to age. 



Cuvier has indicated a Dermochelis Atlantica of Lesueur, 

 but I do not find it described. 



Gen. 2. CHELONIA, Brongn. (Turtle.) 



Testa scutellis cornels tecta, pedes unguiculati. 



The dorsal shell is covered with ] 3 discal plates, placed rn 

 three longitudinal rows, but as in the land tortoises they are 

 sometimes more numerous. Dr. Kuhl has seen a speci- 

 men in which they were divided into 25. The marginal 

 plates 25 or 27, being 12 or 13 nearly equal pairs, with a 

 broad nuchal one in front, the caudal pair as in all the water 



