Reptiles (Reptilia). ny 



relation of the Mackerel, Lichia (fig. 42) is regularly in the Aquarium 

 during the summer months. 



Reptiles (Reptilia). 



Even less than the Mackerels can the Dolphins be exhibited 

 in the Aquarium, in spite of their confidence in man, for which 

 they were famed even in ancient times. Thus the Turtle, Thalas- 

 sochelys (fig. 63) remains the only air-breathing vertebrate which 

 we can introduce to the visitor as an inhabitant of the tanks. 

 In the Mediterranean other kinds of turtles are found, but they 

 do not occur in the Tyrrhenian sea and cannot therefore be placed 

 in the Aquarium. Although the animal appears somewhat help- 

 less and unwieldy, yet the fishermen have to be very cautious in 

 catching it, as it defends itself with its powerful jaws which are 

 able to inflict painful wounds. Even in captivity the turtle con- 

 tinues to bite on occasions, even its own relations. After a time, 

 however, it becomes phlegmatic, floats for hours on end at the 

 surface of the water or lies on the ground, occasionally using its 

 paddle-like limbs to rise up and fill its lungs with fresh air. They 

 stand the cold of winter badly, but some have lasted through 

 several years. Their food consists of small animals such as crusta- 

 ceans, fishes, etc. The turtles can attain a weight of 400 pounds 

 and a length of three feet. The back-shield is brown, while that 

 underneath the body is yellowish. This turtle is in the pleasant 

 position of being quite useless to man. Neither is it slaughtered 

 to make tasty soup nor roasted to remove the upper layer of the 

 shield more easily, for its flesh has an impleasant taste, and its 

 armour is quite unsuited to the preparation of tortoise shell orna- 

 ments. 





