164 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



out claws. Seven longitudinal grooves extend from the neck to the 

 tail, which reminds one of the seven chords of the ancient lyre. 

 Only one species is known. It is found in the Mediterranean and 

 Atlantic Ocean, and is, with the Loggerhead Turtle, the only species 



Fig. 41. Leather-back Turtle. 



found on the British coast. Its body is a light brown, with the lines 

 of the carapace fawn-colour 5 its members black, edged with yellow. 

 It attains the length of six to eight feet, and a breadth of about 

 one-fifth of the length : it sometimes reaches the weight of 1,400 to 

 i, 600 pounds. Its flesh is said to be unwholesome, and, on being 

 eaten, to produce severe vomiting with diarrhoea (Fig. 41). 



The Great Land Tortoises of the Galapagos Islands are from 

 four to six feet in length, four and a half feet wide, and three 

 feet thick, and their weight is from three to four hundred pounds. 

 The neck is long and upright. The head is small, flat, and armed 

 with a short beak. Though the legs are long, the body in walking 

 is never raised more than a foot from the ground, and in conse- 

 quence their movements are ponderous and ungainly. The sight 

 is quick, but the sense of hearing is dull. The species is rapidly 

 becoming extinct, owing to the flesh being eagerly sought after for 

 the oil it contains. 



