THE REPTILES 



195 



sionally met with, and at sea several turtles exist, some of 

 them of great size. Among these is the leather-turtle, 

 found in the warmer waters of the Atlantic, lazily floating 

 at the surface or actively engaged in capturing food. They 

 attain a length of from six to eight feet, and a weight of 

 over a thousand pounds, and are sometimes captured for 

 food when they come ashore to bury their eggs in the sand. 

 By this same method the loggerheads, the hawkbills, and 

 the common green turtles are also captured in consider- 

 able numbers. These are of smaller size, and the second 

 named is of considerable value, as the horny plates cover- 



FIG. 117. Hawkbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). 



ing the shell furnish the tortoise-shell of commerce. These 

 plates are removed after the animal is killed, by soaking 

 in warm water or by the application of heat. 



184. Food and digestive system. Some reptiles, among 

 which are a number of species of lizards and the box- and 

 green turtles, are vegetarians, but the great majority are 



