Ol . 



AMERICAN TESTUDINATA. 



Part II. 



edge alcove, first at the hind end, and thence forward successively; but, as the 

 front tooth is longer than the others, it reaches the plane of the alveolar edge 

 above before those which are nearest to it on each side. The whole horny 

 surface of the mouth is rough, and its ridges sharp and pointed. As the head 

 is high and narrow, the upper surface is small, and the cheeks large; conse- 

 quently the field of scales is small on the top of the head, and those on each 

 side large. The row of scales encircling the large scale in the middle of the 

 skull is regular, and consists of seven scales. This row reaches partly down on 

 the sides; below them there is a field of from fifteen to twenty scales on the 

 cheeks, not counting the very small ones about the articulation of the jaws. 

 In front of the circle of seven scales, there is one pair of long ones, which reach 

 down to the nose. 



The body is oblong, broad across the middle, not keeled or flattened above. 

 It has a narrow marginal rim. The scales are everywhere thin and flexible, and 

 meet edge to edge, being nowhere imbricated. 



Thus far, only two well chai'acterized species of this genus have been noticed; 

 the common green Turtle of the Atlantic Ocean, and the mottled Turtle of the 

 Pacific. At least, I can only distinguish them in this way; and I must call in 

 question the statements which report Chelonia Mydas, as found in the Indian 

 Ocean, the Red Sea, and China, as well as those according to which the mottled 

 Turtle, Chelonia virgata, would also occur in the Atlantic.^ 



Chelonia Mydas, Sckv. The green Turtle of the Atlantic' is nowhere so common 

 as about Ascension, where the largest numbers are caught. It is very common 

 on the Bahamas and among the West Indies, especially at Cayman's Island, where 

 large numbers breed; also in the Bay of Honduras and Campeachy, and along the 

 coasts of Guiana and Brazil. It also inhabits the coasts of Florida, and of the 

 southern United States bordering upon the Gulf of Mexico; but it is seldom 

 found as far north as the thirty-fourth degree of northern latitude, and is rarely 

 caught as far north as Sandy Hook. It is never seen along the coast of New 



^ It is not surprising that seamen sliould mistake 

 the two kinds of green Turtles wliich occur in the 

 Atlantic and in the Pacific, as they are closely allied, 

 and vary both to some extent in color, so that the 

 radiated variety of the green Turtle (Chel. Mydas) 

 is often darker and more extensively tinged with 

 chestnut brown than the Pacific species, (Chel. 

 virgata,) which is occasionally quite as green as its 

 Atlantic representative. Statements respecting the 

 geographical distribution of these species should 



therefore be sifted with the utmost care, as it is prob- 

 able that the indications of the presence of Chelonia 

 virgata in the Atlantic are owing to a confusion in 

 labelling the specimens. 



^ The names most frequently applied to this spe- 

 cies are Testudo Mydas, Chelonia Mydas, Testudo 

 viridis, Chelonia viridis, Caretta esculenta, and Che- 

 Ionia esculenta. For fuller references, see Dumeril 

 and Bibron, Erpet. gener., and Dr. Holbrook's N. 

 Amer. Herpetology. 



