THE HAWK'S- BILL TURTLE. 175 



slender as it may be, upon which, the present 

 species is included in the Fauna of Great Britain. 

 This we shall not in the present instance much 

 regret, as it is a very interesting species, and 

 one which possesses a commercial value, so 

 that we shall avail ourselves of the example of 

 our predecessors, and include it amongst our 

 number. 



The Chelonians are divided into families for 

 the purposes of classification ; one of these in- 

 cludes the Thalassians, or Sea-Turtles, to which 

 both species we shall have occasion to enumerate 

 belong. In this family the fore-limbs are con- 

 siderably lengthened, and all are modified into 

 flappers, or paddles for swimming. Turtles 

 seldom leave the sea, except to deposit their 

 eggs, though some accounts state, " they will 

 crawl up the shores of desert islands in the 

 night, and clamber up the edges of isolated rocks 

 far at sea, for the purpose of browsing on certain 

 marine plants." They may be met with far out 

 at sea, floating motionless upn the water, as if 

 dead. They are good divers, and can remain a 

 long time beneath the surface of the water. 

 Their food consists chiefly of marine plants, 

 whilst some of them do not object to a delicate 

 crustacean, or to appropriate molluscs as their 

 chief articles of food. 



At the breeding season these reptiles seek a 



