CATALOGUE OF SHIELD REPTILES. 



1. Caretta imbricata. The Caret. 



Shell subcordiform, yellow, brown-marbled ; back keeled, 

 shelving, strongly toothed behind. 



Caretta imbricata. Gray, Cat. Tort. B.M. 53. 

 Chelonia imbricata, Schweig. Prod. 291. 



Gray, Syn. 25. t. 7. f. 2. 



Bum. ^-Bib. Er2). Gen. ii. 547. t. 13. f. 2; Cat. Meth. 

 R. 24. 



Temm. Faun. Japon. 13. t. 5. f. 12, t. 6. f. 4. 



Cantor, Malay. Rept. 13. 



Holbrook, N. A. Herpet. ii. 39. t. 5. 

 Testiido imbricata, Lhm. Syst. Nat. 350. 



Schneid. Schildk. 309. 



Shaio, Zool. iii. t. 26, 27. 



Baud. Rept. ii. 39. 



Schoepff. Test. t. 18 A. B ; t. 17. f. 1, young. 

 T. Caretta, Knorr, Belie, ii. 124. t. 50. 

 Chelonia mnltiscutata, Kiihl, Beytr. 78, monstrosity ? 

 Ch. pseudo-Caretta, Lesson, Voy. Bel. 302. 

 The Scaled Tortoise, Grew, Mus. 38. t. 3. f. 4. 



Seba, i. t. 80. f. 9. 

 Eretmochelys imbricata, Fitz. Syst. Rept. 30. 



Hub. Indian Ocean ; Amboyna ; New Guinea ; Sey- 

 chelles ; Havanna ; Red Sea. 



a, b. Ilalf-grown (stuffed). Shell elongate, narrow. 



d. Young (stuffed). Shell broad. 



f. Very young (stuffed). Wants one fin. 



ff. Adult (stuffed). M. Parzudaski's Collection. 



h. Adult (stuffed). Raines' Island. Presented by Capt. 

 John William Ince, R.N. 



i. Half-grown (stuffed). Mr. Tucker's Collection. 



j. Half-grown (stuffed). 



k. Young (stuffed). Shell narrow. From Haslar Hos- 

 pital. 



l. Young (stuffed). From the Zoological Society. 



Osteology : — 



c. Half-grown (upper shield only). 



e. Lower shield of young. 



m. Skeleton. The Paris IMuseum. 



n,o,p, q. Adult (upper shield only). 



Back of Barn Island. 



Head brown, scales edged or rayed with yellow. Shell 

 yellow, marbled or rayed with rich brown. Sternum yel- 

 lowish-white. 



" In the yoiiny the areola of the sternal shield black." — 

 Cantor. 



" The Caret or Hawkbill Turtle is called Kookeoloo or 

 Kooseomboo by the Cingalese. It is caught on the southern 

 coast of the island (Ceylon), and is very abundant at Point 

 de Galle and Matura. It is rare on the northern part of the 



coast. Some specimens are sold for as much as £4 ; the 

 price depends on the quality of the shell (shields). It is 

 said that the natives remove some of the shields while the 

 animal is alive, and return it to the sea; the shields are 

 said to be reproduced, but for the truth of this we cannot 

 vouch. The natives eat the flesh of this Turtle, but it is 

 unpalatable to Europeans." — Kelaart, Reptiles of Ceylon, 

 181. 



*** The inner surface of the upper and lower jaws with 

 an acute ridge, concentric with the outer edge of the 

 upper and inner of the lower jaw. Shield horny, 

 thick, not imbricate. Young not keeled. 



4. CHELONLA.. 



Discal shields 13, not imbricate, truncated behind. 

 Muzzle short, rounded. Jaws moderate, upper slightly 

 notched in front, and feebly toothed on the side, lower den- 

 ticulated, with a single elongate plate upon each side. The 

 front toe of each fin clawed. Feeding on alga. 



Chelonia, Fleming, Phil. Zool. ii. 271 (1822). 



Gray, Ann. Phil. x. 212 (1851) ; Cut. Tort. B.M. 54. 



Belt, Zool. Journ. iii. 516. 



Fit:. Syst. Rept. 30. 

 Chelonia, sp. 



Chelonia /3, sp., TTagler, Syst. 133. 

 Caretta, sp., Merre?n, Tent. 18. 



Cheloutes franches, Dum. ^ Bib. Erp. Gin. ii. 538 ; Cat. 

 Meth. R. 24. 



Beaks not hooked ; upper jaw with two arched ridges, 

 the inner one slightly marginal, the outer one near the 

 margin, and interrupted by a deep pit in front ; of lower 

 jaw strongly toothed ou the edge, with a strong subcentral 

 ridge, with a large conical prominence in the middle, and a 

 deep pit on each side in front of it. 



The ptervgoids concave, much contracted on each side, 

 in the middle broad ; they and the flattened expanded tri- 

 angular part of the sphenoid form a broad concave space on 

 the back of the palate. 



f The vertebral bones behind the last rib transverse, broad 

 in front, divided by two cross sutures. 



Chelonia § a. Gray, Cat. Tort. B.M. 54. 



1. Chelonia virgata. The Carey. 



Shell short, subtectiform, chestnut, varied with yellow 

 and rayed with brown ; sides strongly arched. 



Chelonia virgata, Schweig. Prod. 291. 

 Cuu.R. ^. ii. 41. 



