16 CHELONIADiE. 



quent ages of the world, it would be useless now to 

 inquire : but it is not improbable that the seven ridges on 

 the back of the present species may have given rise to the 

 belief that it may have been the favoured animal; particu- 

 larly as seven strings are by some of the ancient writers 

 assigned to the lyre; for Amphion is said to have "built 

 the seven gates of Thebes in compliment to the seven 

 strings of his lyre." This legend is neither overstrained, 

 nor improbable ; for the margin of the shell would afford a 

 very good fastening for the strings, and the arched vault 

 of the back would answer the purpose of a good reverbe- 

 rating cavity. 



This species is found in the Mediterranean, in the At- 

 lantic, the Pacific, and the Indian Oceans. My own 

 specimen, above referred to, was from the latter locality. 



The history of its occurrence on the shores of Great 

 Britain is as follows : — Borlase, in his History of Corn- 

 wall, mentions " two of a vast size which were caught in 

 the mackerel nets off the coast of Cornwall, a little after 

 Midsummer 1756. The larger weighed eight hundred 

 pounds, the lesser nearly seven hundred.'" Pennant states 

 that "a third, of equal weight with the first, was caught 

 on the coast of Dorsetshire, and deposited in the Leverian 

 Museum. " This specimen, if I mistake not, is the one now 

 in the British Museum. " The late Bishop of Carlisle in- 

 forms me,"" proceeds Pennant, " that a Tortoise was taken 

 off the coast of Scarborough in 1748 or 1749. It was 

 purchased by a family then resident there, and several 

 persons were invited to partake of it. A gentleman, who 

 was one of the guests, told them it was a Mediterranean 

 Turtle, and not wholesome ; only one of the company ate 

 of it, who suffered severely, being seized with dreadful 

 vomiting and purging." 



