Aquatic Reptiles 221 



board and grappling with the beast, and 

 towing it in the usual" life-saving " manner 

 to the boat. The use of the Remora 

 sucking fish has already been mentioned. 



The Leathery Turtle is the largest of 

 living turtles, attaining a length of eight 

 feet and a weight of over 1,500 Ibs. The 

 creature, a connecting link with the past, 

 differs from all other tortoises and turtles 

 in its vertebrae and ribs being entirely 

 free and not fused to the carapace. The 

 shell is not made up of a series of im- 

 movable plates, but consists of a sort 

 of leather waistcoat, reinforced with 

 innumerable plates of bone. It has a 

 world-wide distribution, occurring in all 

 tropical seas and occasionally reaching 

 our south coast. 



Sea Snakes are confined, with one 

 exception, to the Eastern Hemisphere, 

 and are descended from terrestrial an- 

 cestors. They show peculiar modifica- 

 tions for a life on the ocean wave, 



