CHAPTER XLI 

 ORDER OF TORTOISES, TERRAPINS, AND TURTLES 



CHELONIA 



OURELY there are few intelligent persons to whom a live 

 ^ turtle does not appeal. From the impregnable box tor- 

 toise to the grim alligator terrapin, the giant tortoise of 

 Galapagos, and the marine monsters of the Gulf Stream, 

 the diversity in form and habit is very, great. Fortunately, 

 however, a fixed knowledge of twelve species will give a 

 very good foundation on which to build up this Order. 



GENERAL CHARACTERS. A member of the Order of Tur- 

 tles is a reptile which has its skeleton on the outside of its 

 body, and its vital organs completely incased in a box of 

 bone, called a shell. The top half of the shell is called the 

 car'apace, and it is formed by the widening of the ribs until 

 they grow together and firmly unite wherever their edges 

 meet. The lower portion of the shell is called the plas'tron. 

 The carapace of a male tortoise is hollowed out underneath, 

 but that of the female is flat. The shell has an opening at 

 the front end to receive the head, neck and fore legs, and the 

 rear is open to afford space for the hind legs and tail. The 

 shell of a turtle is a citadel of refuge, into which its owner 

 withdraws its head and feet whenever threatened by ene- 



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