LEATHERY TURTLE. 13 



cles. These seven ridges are equidistant, and consist of one 

 along the median line of the back, one on each margin of 

 the shell, and two on each side between the dorsal and the 

 marginal one. The anterior paddles are remarkably long, 

 being more than twice the length of the hinder ones, and 

 somewhat falcate ; the latter, however, are generally broader 

 than the former. They are covered with a perfectly smooth 

 skin. The tail is acute, much compressed at the sides, and 

 extends only to the extreme point of the dorsal shell. The 

 following figures of these parts are from the specimen above 

 mentioned. 



The young individual differs from the adult more con- 

 siderably in this species than in any other species of the 

 order with which I am acquainted. Some of the peculiarities 

 of the former age have already been alluded to ; in addition 

 to which may be mentioned the more full and rounded form, 

 the larger head, the larger and more expanded eye, and the 

 existence of five ridges on the sternum. The eye opens al- 

 most vertically, which gives a peculiar and strange aspect to 

 the young animal. The figures at the head of this descrip- 



