LAND- TOR TOISES. 5 1 



America, and the spurred tortoise (T. calcarata) of Africa, are characterised by 

 their flattened and uniformly brownish-coloured carapaces. On the other hand, 

 the handsome leopard-tortoise (T. pardalis) of Southern Africa, has the carapace 

 highly vaulted, and closely spotted with black upon a yellowish brown ground ; 

 its anterior margin being very deeply notched. 



SIDE VIEW OF SHELL OF BURMESE BROWN TORTOISE. 



(From Giinther, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1882.) 



The fourth group comprises about ten very beautifully coloured 

 Elegant Tortoise. for r j » , . , 



small, or medium-sized, tortoises, the great majority of which are 



confined to South Africa, although the species here figured (T. elegans) is an 



inhabitant of India and Ceylon. All these species are easily recognised by the 



carapace being extremely convex, and either black in colour, with yellow lines 



radiating from the centre of each of the shields of the back, or yellow, or brownish, 



marked with radiating black lines. Frequently, moreover, the shields of the back 



are swollen, so as to form more or less prominent bosses. The Indian species, 



together with an allied one (T. platynota), from Burma, is distinguished from all 



the other members of the group by the absence of the nuchal shield at the front 



of the carapace. Of the other eight species no less than seven are South African, 



while the radiated tortoise (T. radiata) is from Madagascar; one of the best 



known members of the group being the common geometric tortoise (T. geometrica) 



of the Cape, which attains a length of some 5£ inches. In the eyed tortoise 



(T. oculifera) the pectoral shields of the plastron may not meet in the middle 



line, as is the case in some individuals of the Burmese brown tortoise. While the 



elegant and geometric tortoise have the carapace black, with narrow yellow rays, 



in the eyed tortoise the markings take the form of brownish yellow and dark 



brown rays of nearly equal width. 



An admirable account of the habits of the elegant tortoise is given by Capt. 



T. Hutton, from which the following extracts are made. These tortoises are fairly 



common in dry, hilly districts, where they inhabit the high grass-jungles at the 



foot of the hills. Nevertheless, they are by no means easy to find, owing to their 



colour and appearance harmonising so closely with the rocky ground, and from 



their habit of remaining in concealment beneath shrubs or tufts of grass during 



the heat of the day. They are tracked by the Bhils of Meywar to their hiding- 



