CLASS III. REPTILIA: ORDER 1. CHELONIA, 



35: 



NiiD^, or Sea- Turtles ; the Trionycid^, or Soft Ihrtoises ; the Chelydid^, resembling the pre- 

 ceding; the Emydid^, induding the Terrapins, and generally distributed over the globe; and 

 the Testudinid^, or Land- Tortoises, familiar to all. 







THE IMBRICATED TURTLE ON LAND. 



THE CHELONKDJi:. 



These, which are the true Turtles, are pre-eminently aquatic in their habits ; the limbs are 

 all converted into large, flattened, fin-like organs, the toes being completely concealed by a com- 

 mon skin. The anterior pair of members is always considerably longer than the posterior, and 

 both the anterior and posterior limbs are frequently furnished with one or two nails on the outer 

 margin, which, however, sometimes disappear as the animal increases in age. The bony case of 

 these animals is too small for the reception of the head and limbs, and these parts are, conse- 

 quently, always more or less protruded. The head is flattened above, and the jaws are homy, 

 very sharp, and beak-like. They are all inhabitants of the sea. They are excellent swimmers, 

 and rarely approach the shore except for the purpose. of depositing their eggs, which they do 

 upon sandy coasts. Most of them feed upon sea-weeds ; but a few also devour mollusea and 

 other small marine animals. The flesh of the former affords a wholesome and delicious food, and 

 they are in consequence much sought after, and imported into Europe and America in consider- 

 able quantities, while the carnivorous species are disagreeable, and even unwholesome, or accord- 

 ing to some writers, poisonous, and they are only collected for the sake of the abundant supply 

 of oil which they yield. 



Genus CHELONIA : Chelonia. — To this belong several species, the best known of which is 

 the Green Turtle, C. midas, found abundantly in the seas of warm climates ; it is also occasion- 

 ally met with as far north as the coasts of Great Britain, in Europe, and of Long Island, in 

 America. Those captured in the waters of the latter are occasionally seen in the markets of 

 New York. In tropical regions it attains a length of five or six feet, and a weight of five to six 

 hundred pounds ; its flesh is exceedingly delicate, and, when not rendered indigestible by the in- 

 genuity of cooks, is a very wholesome food. The eggs of this, and indeed of all the species of 

 turtles, are also eaten, and considered a great delicacy. At the island of Ascension, where these 

 animals appear to abound to a greater extent than in any other ])art of the Avorld, they are generally 

 taken by watching them when they visit the shore to deposit their eggs; they arc then turned 

 over on their backs, and in this helpless position they remain until their captors, having secured 



