98 Species of Noi^tJi American Tortoises. 



concentric striae ; first vertebral plate pentagonal, the acute 

 angle anterior, the rest hexagonal ; first lateral plate triangu- 

 larly four-sided, the rest oblong, nearly rectangular ; the supe- 

 rior faces more or less angled ; intermediate marginal plate 

 small, oblong, the first unequally five-sided, the second oblong, 

 the rest oblong or square, more or less angled on the superior 

 face, the last on each side, that is to say, the two which are 

 situated over the tail united into one. Sternum yellow, deeply 

 emarginate behind, almost bifurcate ; scapular plates four- 

 sided, projecting forwards so as to form a spade-shaped pro- 

 cess, which is rectangular in front, but oblique behind ; bra- 

 chial plates nearly square, oblique in front, so as to receive the 

 angle formed by the posterior faces of the scapular plates ; 

 pectoral plates oblong, narrow, five-sided ; abdominal plates 

 four-sided, with a projection on the lower side near the outer 

 face, the rest four-sided : sides of the shell rounded in such a 

 manner as to render the marginal plates beneath scarcely dis- 

 tinct ; the wings, likewise, are not distinguishable from the 

 pectoral and abdominal plates; their anterior supplemental 

 plate is oblong, and very narrow ; the posterior triangular. 

 Skin dusky cinereous ; top of the head and cheeks scaly, the 

 scales darker coloured ; neck granulate, speckled with dusky ; 

 chin with a round wart on each side ; jaws finely serrate, the 

 lower yellowish, the upper one the colour of the skin ; legs 

 and tail scaly, fore legs very lai^ge, clavate, spotted beneath 

 and behind with yellow, and furnished behind with a spur point- 

 ing backwards ; hind legs of one colour, furnished with a spur 

 like the fore legs, above which are two large, horny, contigu- 

 ous scales ; feet five-toed ; toes very short, indistinct, claws 

 5-4 : tail very short and thick. 



Plates of the margin twenty-three ; of the sternum twelve. 



Length thirteen inches and a half; height five inches and 

 three-quarters ; length of the spade-form process in front of 

 the sternum two inches. 



Inhabit the pine forests of Georgia and Florida, and are 

 never found north of Savannah river. Dig large and deep 



