520 Reptiles. 



IV. Chelonian Reptiles. 



THE COMMON, OR GREEK TORTOISE. 

 (Testudo Grceca.) 



THIS animal has a small head, four feet, and a tail, which 

 it can gather within the shell in such a way that the 

 top and tinder part meet together, and so closely, that 

 the greatest strength cannot separate them. The eye is 

 destitute of an upper lid, the tinder one serving to de- 

 fend that organ. The tipper shell, composed of thirty- 

 seven compartments, is convex, and so strong, that a 

 loaded cart can pass over it without injuring the crea- 

 ture inside. In winter, Tortoises are said to bury them- 

 selves in the ground, or retire to some cavern or hole, 

 which the3 r line with moss, grass, and leaves, and where 

 they pass in safe and solitary retirement the whole of 

 this season. The Tortoise is very tenacious of life, and 

 is no less remarkable for its longevity, as it is ascertained 

 that one lived upwards of one hundred and twenty years 

 in the garden of Lambeth Palace. 



This animal is found in most of the countries near the 

 Mediterranean Sea, in Corsica, Sardinia, and some of the 

 islands of the Archipelago, as well as in many parts of 

 the north of Africa. 



