28 TESTUDINATA. CHELONIAD^. 



There is a species common on the tropical 

 shores of the Atlantic Ocean, by some thought 

 to be identical with the above, though distin- 

 guished by other zoologists. It regularly visits 

 the Tortugas, or low^ sandy islets that lie off the 

 point of Florida, for the purpose of depositing 

 its eggs, arriving, according to Audubon, later 

 than the other Turtles, and manifesting less 

 caution in selecting a place adapted for their 

 concealment. The number laid by each female 

 amounts to about three hundred and fifty, de- 

 posited in two parcels. Individuals of this spe- 

 cies, when sorely wounded, or hampered in nets, 

 have been heard to utter loud bellowing cries, 

 audible at the distance of nearly a mile. 



This is the largest of all the Testudinata known, 

 sometimes attaining a length of nine or ten feet, 

 and a weight of sixteen hundred pounds. Its 

 carapace is of a dusky hue, and is marked over 

 its surface into five or six-sided subdivisions, 

 small and obscure, so as not to detract from its 

 general smoothness. 



Family V. Cheloniad^. 



{Turtles.) 



The species of most importance to man are 

 contained in this Family ; one affording an abun- 

 dant and esteemed article of diet, and another 

 yielding a substance of much elegance, which," 

 under the name of Tortoise-shell, is largely used 

 in the arts. Their distinctive characters are, 

 that the head, and particularly the feet, cannot 

 be withdrawn between the carapace and plastron ; 



