A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 695 



at a smaller price. It is taken in seines, in the same manner. When 

 confined in the turtle ponds it is apt to bite the Green Turtles, being 

 more pugnacious. It is carnivorous in its diet, feeding upon fishes, 

 mollusks, crustacea, small sea-turtles,' etc. These and all the other 

 sea-turtles are said to be very fond of the Portuguese man-of-war 

 (Physalia), which they eagerly devour, shutting their eyes to avoid 

 the stings of its tentacles, which they continually brush away with 

 their flippers, and when thus feeding they are so preoccupied that 

 they can easily be approached by a boat and captured by hand.* In 

 confinement they will eat meat and fish of all kinds, as well as turtle 

 grass and purslane. This turtle never becomes so large as the Green 

 Turtle, seldom exceeding 150 pounds in weight, even in the West 

 Indies, though specimens much larger are sometimes taken. Those 

 caught about the Bermudas are generally much smaller.f In the 

 West Indies and on the Florida Keys they breed at the same season 

 as the Green Turtle, and lay their eggs in the same way. The eggs 

 are well flavored and much sought after as food by the natives, like 

 those of the Green Turtle. The flesh of the young Hawksbill is 

 considered palatable, and is often sold in our markets, but that of 

 the old ones becomes tough and oily, so that it is not valued as 

 food. In fact, it is said to be often very unwholesome in the West 

 Indies, having purgative properties, perhaps due to the food that it 

 eats there. 



The shells or dermal plates of this and the similar Pacific species, 

 known as tortoise-shell in commerce, is of considerable value, when 

 taken from large adult specimens. A large turtle may yield 12 to 

 15 pounds of shell, of different grades. The dorsal plates are the 

 thickest and most valuable, but all are utilized. » 



This species ranges from Florida and the Gulf States to Brazil, 

 and throughout the West Indies ; it is rarely seen as far north as 

 South Carolina. 



d. — The Loggerhead [Thalassochelys caretta (L.) True. =zT caouana 



(Bon.) Fitz.) 

 Figure 49. 



The Loggerhead is now rare in Bermuda waters, occurring only 

 sporadically. Probably it was much more common in early times, 

 for though the early writers did not distinguish the different species, 



* See Mr. Garman's account, in Bulletin U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 25, p. 294. 

 f Governor Lefroy stated that the largest one taken in many years weighed 

 150 pounds. 



