544 



COLLEGE ZOOLOGY 



FIG. 447. The hawk r s-bill turtle, Cheloniaimbricata, 

 young. (From Gadow.) 



The hawk's-bill or tortoise-shell turtle, Chelonia imbricata 

 (Fig. 447), has the shields of its carapace arranged like the 



shingles on a roof. 

 These shields, of 

 which a large speci- 

 men yields about eight 

 pounds, are the " tor- 

 toise " shell of com- 

 merce. The shields 

 are detached either 

 after the turtles have 

 been killed and im- 

 mersed in boiling w r ater 

 or after the living 

 animals have been 

 suspended over a fire. 

 In the latter case the 

 animals are liberated 

 and allowed to regenerate a new covering of shields. The re- 

 generated shields, however, are not, as supposed, of commercial 

 value. Hawk's-bill turtles are smaller 

 than the logger-head and green turtles, 

 reaching a weight of about thirty 

 pounds and a carapace length of 

 thirty inches. They are carnivorous, 

 feeding largely on fish and mollusks. 



Family DERMOCHELYID^E. LEATH- 

 ERY TURTLE. The single species of 

 this family, Sphargis coriacea (Fig. 448) , 

 is the largest of all living turtles, some- 

 times attaining a weight of a thousand 

 pounds. It has a leathery covering 

 over the shell instead of horny shields. 

 It inhabits tropical and semitropical f YlG - 4 4 8 V~ The leather y 



turtle, opnargts coriacea, 



seas and goes to land only to deposit young. (From Gadow.) 



