183 



THE LEATHERY TURTLE. 



(Sphargis coriacea. ) 



Tins Turtle (Plate 11, Fig. 1) differs materially 

 from the preceding in several points. The carapace, 

 instead of being clad with plates, is covered with a 

 tough, leather-like skin. Along the upper shell are 

 seven distinct ridges, running longitudinally ; these 

 are sharp and slightly toothed in the adult animal, 

 but rounded in the young. It appears to be a 

 native of the Mediterranean Sea, but even there is 

 not at all common ; it is found also in the Pacific, 

 Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The claims of this 

 turtle to be regarded as British are founded upon a 

 passage in Borlase's " History of Cornwall," and 

 Pennant's " British Zoology." Borlase records that 

 two were taken on the coast of Cornwall in the 

 mackerel nets, of a vast size, a little after Midsum- 

 mer, 1756 ; the largest weighed eight hundred 

 pounds, the lesser near seven hundred. Pennant 

 adds, that a third, of equal weight with the first cf 

 the above, was caught on the coast of Dorsetshire, 



