210 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 
rate, formed of 25 shields. Snout very short. Jaws not hooked. 
Horny sheaths of upper jaw with feebly denticulated edge, and 
striated inner surface of lower jaw with strongly denticulated 
edge. Alveolar surface of lower jaw with 2 denticulated strong 
ridges. Symphysis of mandible short. One pair of prefrontal 
shields. Limbs usually with a single claw. Second digit some- 
times provided with a distinct claw in young. Young dark 
brown or olive above, limbs margined yellow. Yellow below 
with a large dark brown spot on hand and foot. Carapace of 
adult olive or brown, marbled or spotted with yellowish. (Bou- 
lenger. ) 
This turtle is sometimes taken along our coast and is of value 
as food. Though most of the examples are usually small the 
Species is said to reach a weight of 1,000 pounds. I saw an 
example at Anglesea during September of 1897. Mr. J. A. G. 
Rehn says he has seen it at Atlantic City, and also seen them 
swimming at sea at the surface of the water. It does not seem 
to breed along our shores, and in fact I have not heard of the 
eggs of any of our large sea turtles having been found there. 
It is herbivorous. Like the logger head it is most abundant in 
the tropical seas, visiting the sandy shores only to deposit its 
eggs. It feeds mostly in deeper water. The cesophagus of this 
turtle is lined with a number of curious long pointed light pro- 
cesses directed towards the stomach, which are probably of service 
in retaining its food. 
Cheloma mydas Agassiz, Contrib. Nat. Hist. U. S., I, 1857, p. 
378.—E. Smith, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. Y., 1898-99, No. 11, p. 13. 
?Aspidonectes spinifer Abbott, Geol. N. J., 1868, p. 799 
(part). 
Family TRIONYCHIDA. 
The Soft Shelled Turtles. 
Body flat, nearly orbicular. Carapace not completely ossified, 
ribs projecting freely towards outer extremities. Carapace and 
plastron without epidermal shields. Head long and pointed. 
Jaws concealed under fleshy lips. Snout long, flexible, tubular 
and pig-like, ending in a proboscis. Ear hidden. Head and 
