1 62 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



TEMMINCK'S SNAPPER 



The tiL'o "cvhite points I'isibU on the lower jaiu represent the pair of 'worm-like appei 

 dages ivhich the creature uses as a bait to attract or capture fish 



just emerging from their sandy 

 nest. The majorit\" were assisted 

 to the sea, and a few, reserved 

 ip. the interests of science, were 

 liberated in a bath of sea-water 

 to ha\e their first swim. Snap- 

 shut pliotograplis were taken, one 

 of which, reproduced on page 561, 

 serves to iUustrate the great relative 

 length of the paddle-like limbs at 

 this early stage and the variety of 

 postures assumed during natation. 

 Of the typical Marine Turtles 

 three distinctly characterised 

 species are recognised by zoologists. 

 These are the GREEN Tlrtle, 

 indispensable for soup at alder- 

 manic banquets ; the Hawksbill, 

 or tortoiseshell-producing turtle; 

 and the Li icu.ERHEAD. Of these three, the green turtle and the loggerhead more nearlj- 

 resemble one another, and are apt to be confounded b_\' the uninitiated. Such an error is ve\y 

 readily detected when the Chelonian comes to the table, the flesh of the loggerhead being 

 rank and utterly unfit for food. In order, however, to be wise before the event, and to a\'oid 

 a grievous misdirection of culinary energy — turtle being a standard dish in the coral seas — 

 it is only necessary to count the number of large shield-like plates that flank each side of the 

 central series in the creature's carapace. In the true green or edible turtle there are only 

 four pairs of these large lateral shields, while in the loggerhead there are never less than five, 

 and sometimes more. The loggerhead-turtle also, as its name implies, has a conspicuously 

 larger and coarser head than the esculent species. The fact that while the green turtle is a 

 strict vegetarian, feeding entirely on seaweeds, the loggerhead is altogether carnivorous, readily 

 accounts for the diametrically diverse gastronomic properties of these two Chelonians. Both 

 species attain to a considerable size, over 3 feet in length (the loggerhead being the larger), 

 and are found inhabiting the same waters throughout the tropics. 



The Hawksbill, or true tortoiseshell-producing turtle, never attains to quite as large 

 dimensions as the two preceding species, though its carapace may measure as much as 2 feet 

 6 or 8 inches long. The structural feature that at once distinguishes the hawksbill from 

 either the green or loggerhead species is the character of the horny shields developed on 

 the surface of the carapace. Instead of the edges meeting in juxtaposition, as in those two 

 forms, they overlap one another, like the scales of a fish, and are notable for their thickness 

 and their exceedingly beautiful but variably marbled patterns. It is these marbled horny plates 

 which constitute the tortoise-shell of commerce. In young individuals the substance is thin 

 and very transparent, but thickens with advancing age, until in old individuals the plates 

 may vary from | to | inch in thickness. Like the two preceding species, the hawksbill, within 

 tropical seas, enjoys a cosmopolitan distribution. Its habits, like the loggerhead's, are essentiall}- 

 carnivorous; but while the flesh is coarse and rank, the eggs are valued for the table. 



A remaining member of the Marine Turtle series is the so-called Ll'TH or Leathery 

 Turtle. This Chelonian dilTers so materiall}- in structure from the foregoing species as 

 to be referred to a distinct family. The horny plates, so conspicuous in all the other 

 types, are entirely absent, the bonj- carapace, which is distinctly seven-ridged longitudinally, 

 being covered with a homogeneous leather-like skin. Both jaws are formidably hooked and 

 cutting throughout their edges, and the paddles are destitute of the two rudimentary claws 

 found in the preceding species. The leathery turtle grows to an immense size; specimens 



