8 VERTEBRATA. - REPTILIA. 



take the form of a horny beak, with sharp edges, the 

 under-mandibles shutting into the upper with great 

 force and effect. The eggs of the Tortoises are 

 covered with a hard shell, as in Birds, and are gene- 

 rally round, or nearly so. The genera are scattered 

 over both continents. 



Testudo* the Land Tortoises. 



The shell is here considerably arched, supported 

 by a solid bony frame, soldered by its edge to the 

 sternum. The legs appear as if the ends had been 

 cut off; the toes are very short, and united, having 

 five claws on each of the fore-feet, and four on the 

 hind, thick and conical. They feed chiefly on vege- 

 tables. 



The commonest species is that which is so often 

 domesticated in this country, the Greek Tortoise (T. 

 Grceca). In size it is usually from six to eight 

 inches, and inhabits the countries bordering the Me- 

 diterranean, where it feeds on leaves, fruit, and in- 

 sects. On the approach of winter it digs a hole, in 

 which it remains torpid during the cold weather. 

 The venerable Gilbert White has given some inter- 

 esting particulars of this species. " A Land Tor- 

 toise, which has been kept for thirty years in a little 

 walled court belonging to the house where I am now 

 visiting, retires underground about the middle of No- 

 vember, and comes forth again about the middle of 

 April. When it first appears in the spring, it dis- 

 * The Latin name of the genus, 



