Vol. II, Pt. I] VAN DENBURGH— GALAPAGOS TORTOISES 305 



General remarks. — Testudo becki is a very large "saddle- 

 backed" tortoise with a thick, heavy shell. The female speci- 

 men, however, although evidently an old individual, is small 

 and might easily be mistaken for some of the Duncan Island 

 females. One of the large males is less compressed in front, 

 and somewhat resembles the James Island males. 



Field Notes — April 9 to 16, 1906. — Prepared to go to Bank's 

 Bay, and sailed in the boat with the mate. We had light breezes 

 and were out all night . The skiff picked us up in the morning, 

 and we towed up to the camping beach. The mountain ap- 

 pears very much like the one at Tagus Cove, but has two 

 recent lava-flows running down the side. The vegetation is 

 very dense and green. The flat, however, at this time was 

 getting dry, and the tortoises had evidently gone up higher, 

 as we got only seven. Their trails were numerous and dis- 

 tinct. They fed chiefly on a coarse grass that is abundant at 

 the foot of the mountain. No cactus was found in any of the 

 stomachs examined, and not much water was found in the sac 

 around the heart. This fluid is somewhat oily, and not thin 

 like water. The country at the foot of the mountain is brushy, 

 with some large trees, quite a bit of reddish soil, and some 

 lava-flows fairly well covered. Beck and I went up the coast 

 about three miles to an isolated patch of brush and trees to 

 see if there were any signs of tortoises, but saw none. I should 

 suppose the only chance of their being there would be if they 

 had happened to be along the coast during the wet season, and 

 were then shut off by the recent lava-flows, for the distance to 

 travel from the mountain would be too great. We made a 

 stay of seven days at Banks Bay and collected seven tortoises. 

 All these tortoises had comparatively longer necks than any 

 others measured thus far. We left on the afternoon of the 

 sixteenth and got back to the ship about midnight. 



