THE LUTH, OR LEATHERY TURTLE. 19 



aneously the head, which lay about three or four feet from the tub, on the ground, opened 

 its mouth with a slight hissing sound, let go its hold on the stick, and the part of the 

 neck adhering to the head expanded, as if also wind was blown into it, and both body 

 and head lay motionless and dead. After having taken out thirty-four eggs, I took out 

 the heart, which, strange to say, was still throbbing with life, contracting and expanding. 

 I put it upon a plate, where it kept on beating until about noon the following day." 



The shape and general appearance of this creature may be learned from the en- 

 graving better than by a page of description, and it is only necessary to point out 

 that, in this species, the front edge of the carapace is furnished with a great number 

 of tooth-like points, all radiating from the shell. These teeth, or tubercles, distinguish 

 it from another American species, appropriately termed the Unarmed Trionyx (Trionyx 

 muticus). 



BEFORE taking leave of the Soft Turtles, we must cast a casual glance at two rather 

 curious species. The one is the TVRSE (Tyrse, or Trionyx Nilbticus), a native of Africa, 

 as its name imports. This animal is found in the Nile, and other African rivers, and 

 is a good representation of the American reptile, being very fierce, strong, and vora- 

 cious, and said to devour the young crocodiles, just as the snapping turtle eats young 

 alligators. The shell of the Tyrse is rather convex, but often is flattened along the 

 line of the vertebrae, and its back is olive-green spotted with yellow or white. 



The other species is the DOGANIA (Dogania snbplanns, or Trionyx subplanus). This 

 curious-looking reptile is an Asiatic species, and is found in India. Its neck seems 

 preternaturally long, and supports a very large head, broad behind, and produced into 

 a conical muzzle in front. The shell is rather oval, much flattened, and quite conceals 

 the conical tail. Its color is brown, mottled largely with yellow; the head is also yel- 

 low and brown. The ribs are not fully united together until the animal has attained a 

 rather advanced age. 



WE now arrive at the TURTLES, a group that can be distinguished by many unmis- 

 takeable marks. Their feet are very long, those of the fore limbs being longest, flat, 

 expanded at the end, and often furnished with flattened claws. In fact the feet are 

 modified into fins or paddles, in order to suit the habits of these reptiles, which only 

 feel themselves at home in the water, and are often met at sea some hundreds of miles 

 from the nearest land. The ribs of the Turtles, instead of being united throughout 

 their length, as in the tortoises, are only wide, flat, and united for part of their length, 

 the remaining portions being free, and radiating like the spokes of a wheel. 



These reptiles inhabit the seas of the torrid and the temperate zones, and their food 

 is mostly of a vegetable nature, consisting of various seaweeds, but there are a few 

 species which are animal feeders, and eat creatures such as molluscs, star-fish, and other 

 marine inhabitants. Several species are remarkably excellent for food, and caught in 

 great numbers for the table, while others are equally useful in supplying the beautiful 

 translucent substance known by the name of tortoiseshell. Their head is rather globu- 

 lar, and their jaws are naked and horny, and are capable of inflicting a severe wound. 



THE first example of the Turtles is the LUTH, or LEATHERY TURTLE, so called from 

 the soft leather-like substance with which its shell is covered. 



This species is found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, where it grows to 

 a very large size, often weighing more than sixteen hundred pounds, and measuring 

 eight feet in length. Being a very good swimmer, owing to the great development of 

 the limbs, especially the fore legs, it ventures far out to sea, and is occasionally driven 

 to strange countries. Specimens of this reptile have been taken on the coast of France, 

 and one or two on our own shores. These individuals were rather large, weighing 

 about seven or eight hundred pounds. 



The Leathery Turtle feeds on fish, Crustacea, molluscs, radiates, and other animals, 

 and its flesh seems to be hurtful, causing many symptoms of poisoning in those who 

 eat it. It resorts in numbers to the Tortugas, or Turtle Islands, of Florida, for the 

 purpose of laying its eggs, which are generally about three hundred and fifty in number, 

 and are laid in two sets. 



