TUAIiASSOCHELTS. 29 



but very feebly denticulated on the edge ; symphysis of lower jaw 

 long ; two pairs of shields anterior to the azygous frontal. Limbs 

 with two claws. Young pale brown above, blackish below ; 

 carapace of adult marbled yellow and dark brown, plastron yellow; 

 shields of head and limbs dark brown with yellow borders. 



Length of shell 850 millim. 



Tropical and subtropical seas. Mainly carnivorous; valuable 

 for its epidermal horny shields (tortoise-shell). Of rare occur- 

 rence on the coasts of the Malay Peninsula, large specimens being 

 very seldom seem. 



Geuus THALASSOCHELYS. 



Fitzing. Ann. AVien. Mus. i, p. 121 (1835). 



Carapace completely ossiGed in the adult. Costal shields five 

 pairs or more. A series of inframarginal plastral shields. Head 

 covered with symmetrical shields. 



A single species. 



25. Thalassochelys caretta. 



Testudo caretta, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 351 (1766). 



Chehnia olivacea, Cantor, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, xvi, p. 619 



(1847). 

 Caouana olivacea, Giintli Rept. Brit. Ind. p. 52 (1864). 

 Thalassochelys caretta, Bouleng. Cat. Chelon. p. 184 (1889) ; id. 



Faun. Brit. Ind., Rept. p. 50 (1890) ; S. Flower, P. Z. S. 1896, 



p. 860 ; id. op. cit. 1899, p. 618. 



Cai'apace of young with three strong keels, of adult arched or 

 tectiform ; dorsal shields juxtaposed : margin serrated posteriorly 

 in the young, formed of 27 (rarely 25) shields. Intergular shield 

 very small or absent. Head large, with very strong, hooked jaws ; 

 symphysis of lower jaw very long ; alveolar surface of horny beak 

 with a median ridge ; two pairs of shields anterior to the azygous 

 frontal. Limbs of young usually with two claws, of adult fre- 

 quently with but one. Young uniform dark brown or blackish ; 

 adult brown above, yellowish beneath. 



Length of shell 1050 millim. 



Tropical and warm seas. Carnivorous, feeding chiefly on 

 crustaceans and molluscs. Of no commercial value. Eare 

 according to Cantor at Penang, whence there is a specimen in the 

 Perak Museum, Taiping. 



