TRUE REPTILES. 221 



by its more elegant shape, hooked bill, and large scales, 

 having, like all the others, long, fin-like flippers. 



VALUE. The scales 

 of the hawkbill are 

 greatly valued in com- 

 merce. Oil from the 

 green turtle's eggs is 

 used in dressing leath- 

 er, and in the manufac- 

 ture of soap. The eggs 

 are not the luxuries gen- 

 erally supposed, and are 



best when immature, FIG. 266. -HawkbiH turtle, 



and dried in the sun. 



In the soft - shelled turtles ( Trionychickz) the body is 

 flat and circular, the shell being supple, like rubber or 

 leather. They are carnivorous, and one species is common 

 in the St. John's and other rivers of Florida and the South- 

 ern States. The American species are generally one foot in 

 length, but East Indian specimens have been caught weigh- 

 ing two hundred and forty pounds. Allied are the snap- 

 ping-turtles (Chelydidce), forty-four species of which are 

 known. The shell is elevated in front and low behind ; 

 the head large, and jaws strongly hooked, the neck long 

 and snake-like. They attain a length of five feet, and are 

 the most ferocious of their kind. The three American 

 species range from Florida to Canada. The eggs are 

 spherical, and deposited in the ground. 



The land turtles (Testudinida) have high, arched 

 shells, a broad sternum, and elevate the body in walking, 

 instead of dragging it along. One hundred and twenty-six 

 species are known. The terrapin, painted, spotted, and 

 box turtles are familiar American forms. The latter are 

 remarkable in that the plastron is composed of two parts, 

 movable upon a single axis, so that the soft parts of the 

 animal can be completely boxed in. They are found in 



dry woods, and attain a great age. 

 10 



