BRANCH CHORD AT A: CLASS REPTIL1A 



315 



fresh-water turtles are the great sea-turtles, such as the 

 leather-back, the loggerhead and the green turtles. Some 

 of these animals reach a length of six feet and more and 

 a "weight of nine hundred pounds, and have the feet com- 

 pressed and fin-shaped for swimming. They live in the 

 open ocean, coming on land only to lay their eggs, which 

 are buried in the sand of ocean islands. These egg-laying 

 visits are almost always made at night, and the turtles 





FIG. 124. The giant land-tortoise of the Galapagos Islands, Testttdo sp. 

 These tortoises reach a length of four feet. (Photograph from life by 

 Geo. Coleman.) 



are then often caught by "turtlers." The flesh of most 

 of the sea-turtles is used for food, and from the shell of 

 certain species, notably the " hawk-bill " (Eretmochelys 

 imbricatd] the beautiful "tortoise-shell " used for making 

 combs and other articles is obtained. The common green 

 turtle (Chclonia my das) of the Atlantic coast is the species 

 most prized for food. It is a vegetarian, feeding on the 

 roots of Zostera, the plant known in New England as 

 eel-grass, though farther south it is called turtle-grass. 



