SYNOPSIS OF TORTOISES AND TURTLES 27 



tunate mistake that the name 'tortoise" was not limited 

 to the dry-land species, 'terrapin" to the hard-shelled spe- 

 cies inhabiting fresh water and 'turtle" to the species with 

 flippers which inhabit the sea. To-day the names "tortoise" 

 and "turtle" are applied so indiscriminately through all three 

 of the groups mentioned that they are useless as distinctive 

 titles, and the mixture is mischievously confusing. In the 

 interest of common sense I therefore propose the following 

 revised system of these common names: 



1. All Chelonians of the land only shall be called Tortoises. 



2. All Chelonians of fresh water shall be called Terrapins. 



3. All Chelonians of the sea shall be called Turtles. 



To this at least one person will henceforth try to adhere. 



The following is a common-sense grouping of the members 

 of the Order Chelonia, as found in North America and the 

 seas adjacent: 



SYNOPSIS OF THE ORDER OF TORTOISES AND TURTLES 



Chelonia 

 suborder of land tortoises 



Common Iortoises, , 



t> m , } 1 es-tu-ain i-aae 



Box Iortoises 1 .. . 



EXAMPLES 



Giant Tortoise. 

 Gopher Tortoise. 

 Common Box Tortoise. 



1 By some authorities on the classification of reptiles, the Box Tortoises are 

 placed in the Family Kinosternidae, one of the divisions of the Fresh-Water Terra- 

 pins. If this arrangement should be followed, it would take the Box Tortoises out 

 of the group of Land Tortoises, where they really belong. With this explanation 

 the author elects to preserve the very useful arrangement into land, fresh-water 

 and marine groups, as set forth above, and leave the Box Tortoises in the Family 

 Testud inidae. 



