MARINE TURTLES AND TERRAPINS 279 



oi carrying a house, however, are obliged to sacrifice 

 looks, grace, and speed. Imagine for a moment a man 

 taking his liouse with him on all his wanderings ! 



The marine turtles and terrapins live in or near 

 the waters of the tropical or semi-tropical seas and 

 only occasionally stray to temperate waters. The 

 turtles are equipped with flippers, which are used 

 only for swimming, except about once a year when 

 the female comes ashore to deposit her eggs. The 

 terrapins, on the other hand, have feet with claws, 

 w^hich are not as well adapted to swimming as 

 flippers, but which are much more convenient for 

 walking, for these animals come ashore more fre- 

 quently and therefore have need for better walking 

 feet. 



All marine turtles and terrapins come ashore one 

 or more times during the summer to lay their eggs. A 

 sandy beach is always selected for this purpose, and 

 the "nest," which consists of a hole dug into the 

 sand with the flippers or feet, is generally made at or 

 somewhat above high-water mark. When the eggs 

 have been deposited in the hole, the animals cover 

 them and carefully conceal the nests by walking over 

 and around them several times. Here the parental 

 care ends, for the mother never revisits her nest. The 

 heat of the sun incubates the eggs, and in a few 

 months they hatch. The young work their way out 

 of the sand and crawl away into a near-by marsh 

 or into the water. Because they are thrown on their 

 own resources at once, the loss among these young, 

 soft-shelled, clumsy, helpless creatures is probably 



