British Reptiles and Amphibians 



in our quarter of the globe is purely accidental. What 

 is known as the Hawksbill Turtle {Chelonia imbricata) 



Fig. 3. — Skeleton and Body Armour of Pond Tortoise (Emys 

 Europaa) illustrating the Skeletal Structure of the Order 

 Chelonia to which the Turtles belong. 



/., Skeleton and dorsal shield (carapace) : from below. //., Ventral shield 

 or plastron. ///., Plastron : from below. IV. , Carapace : from above. 

 (From Schmeil's " Text-Book of Zoology.") 



lays claim to be British from the simple fact that one 

 was caught in the Severn and lived for some few 

 months in an inland pond. This creature is barely a 



48 



