TESTUDO. 3 



The Tortoises show great differences in their mode of life, and may be divided into the 

 following families : — 



A. Toes distinct ; feet for walking, without web between the toes. Shell with homy shields ; caudal 



shields united into one : Testudinid^ or Land Tortoises, p. 3. 



B. Toes distinct; feet for walking and swimming, with a web between the toes; claws 5 (4) — 4.. Shell 



with horny shields ; caudal shields separate : Emtdid^ or Freshwater Tortoises, p. 9. 



C. Toes distinct ; feet for swimming, strongly webbed ; claws 3 — 3. Shell covered with soft skin : 



Trionycidjj or Freshwater Turtles, p. 43. 



D. Feet without distinct toes, fin-shaped : Chelonidje or Marine Turtles, p. 51. 



First Family. 



THE LAND i:OnTOl^Y.^—TESTUDINID^. 



Shell very convex. Toes distinct ; feet club-shaped, for walking ; no web 

 between the toes. Shell with horny shields ; caudal shields united into one. 

 Only one genus is found in British India. 



TESTUDO. 



Testudo, {L.) Oppel. 



Thorax and sternum solid, entirely bony, united Into an Immoveable case ; 

 the upper shell very convex ; sternum concave in males, flat in females ; 

 gular plates not united. Feet club-shaped ; toes very short, not webbed ; 

 five (rarely four) claws anteriorly, four posteriorly. Only one caudal plate. 



The head, feet, and tail can be completely retracted within the shell. These animals are 

 entii'ely terrestrial, being the worst swimmers of the whole class of Reptiles, with the excep- 

 tion of the Chameleon. Their movements are slow. They feed on vegetables, and are 

 easily kept in confinement if not removed to a much colder climate than that of their native 

 country*. They are edible, but of small size, with the exception of the so-called Indian 

 Tortoise, which attains to a length of 4 feet, but which is not found in India proper. 

 The specimens of this gigantic Land Tortoise come either from the Seychelles or from the 

 Galapagos Islands. 



Synopsis of the Indian Sj)ecies. 



Black, with yellow areolse, and with yellow streaks radiating from the areolae . . T. elegans, p. 4. 

 Four claws anteriorly. Pale, varied with blackish ; areolae of the vertebral plates 



behind the centre T. horsfieldii, p. 7. 



Five claws anteriorly. Yellowish, each abdominal plate with a large black blotch 



in the middle ; areolae of the vertebral plates in the centre T. elongata, p. 8. 



* See a more detailed account of their habits under Testudo elegans. 



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