70 



Land Tortoises.- 



-EEPTILES.- 



- Fkesii-water Tortoises. 



their heads and biting severely. The female lays her 

 eggs about the middle of summer, depositing them in 

 a little hole, always well exposed to the sun. These 

 eggs are generally from four to twelve in number, 

 spherical in form, wliite, and about the size of those 

 of a pigeon. The female covers them with earth, and 

 leaves them to be hatched by the warmth of the sun, 

 taking no farther care of either them or the young after 

 being hatched, which generally takes place in autumn. 



THE MARGINED TORTOISE {Testudo mavgiaata) is 

 the other European species. This animal derives its 

 specific form from its having the hinder edge of the 

 carapace expanded horizontally, so as to form, as it 

 were, a margin all round. The sliell is of an oblong, 

 oval form, and the upper part is much swollen, and is 

 nearly as high as it is broad. Tlie plastron or breast- 

 bone is somewhat movable in its hinder part, the 

 animal being able to bring it close to the carapace, 

 witliout however being able to touch it. The jaws are 

 strong, sharp-edged, and slightly tootlied on the sides. 

 Tlie tail is conical, thick, and short, scarcely extending 

 beyond tlie edge of the shell. The skin of the legs is 

 imbricately covered with thick, fiat tubercles. The 

 general colour of the head, neck, tail, legs, and cara- 

 pace is deep l)lack, the latter having the areolae of a 

 fine yellow. The under part of the shell is of a dirty 

 yellow. In size this species exceeds considerably the 

 Greek tortoise, being from fourteen to sixteen inches 

 in length, and ten or twelve broad. It is a native of 

 North Africa, being found in Barbary, Algeria, and 

 Egypt. It has lately been found also in Europe, the 

 gentlemen attached to the Fi'ench expedition into the 

 Morea having discovered it there. 



Three species of Land tortoises have been described 

 as natives of India: — 



THE BLACK OK INDIAN TORTOISE {Testudo I iidica), 

 sometimes called the " Elephant Tortoise," is the most 

 remarkable of these. It is a native of the continent of 

 India, of tlie Isle of France and the Seychelles, and 

 is particularly abundant in the Galapagos islands. 

 It is said to be found also in California. It is not 

 improbable, however, as has been stated, that these 

 tortoises are originally natives of the Galapagos archi- 

 pelago, and that they have been carried off these 

 islands by the buccaniers, who used to frequent them 

 ranch, and distributed through various parts of the 

 world. The carapace or shell is about three feet long, 

 compressed in front, and elevating itself above the 

 head at the anterior edge. In old individuals, how- 

 ever, the size here mentioned is far surpassed. A 

 specimen which was for some time kept alive in the 

 Zoological Gardens in London, and mentioned in the 

 Proceedings of the Zoological Society in 183.3 as ori- 

 ginally from the Seychelles, measured along the curve 

 of the back four feet four inches and a quarter, and 

 was four feet nine inches in breadth. Mr. Darwin, 

 in his " Journal of a Naturalist," gives some very 

 interesting particulars in regard to these natives of 

 the Galapagos, but we must refer our readers to his 

 grapliic sketch of them in the above-mentioned work. 



There are not fewer than six species of the genus 

 Trstudo, natives of Africa and the large islands adjoin- 

 ing. Aniong.st these are — 



THE GEOHEXKIC TORTOISE {Testudo geomeirica), 

 one of the most beautiful of the whole family of land 

 tortoises, and — 



THE LEOPARD TORTOISE {Testudo jmrdalis), which 

 is found at the Cape of Good Hope. Only two species 

 of land tortoises are found in America, and both of 

 those belong to the genus Testudo — 



THE GOPHER OR MONGOFA {Testudo Gopher) is 

 a native (and the only one) of North America, being 

 found from Florida to the river Savannah. 



FKESH-WATER TORTOISES. 



</f those there are three families, two of which are 

 numerous in species, living in ponds, marshes, and 

 streams, but coming frequently to land ; the third con- 

 taining fewer species, and which live in rivers and 

 seldom quit the water. The two first families are 

 Pond or Marsh tortoises. They inhabit ponds and 

 marshes, though many live also in moist ground 

 where water fails. They are much more numerous 

 than Land tortoises. The structure of their feet — the 

 toes of which are distinct and movable, furnished 

 with hooked claws, and the plialanges united at the 

 base by means of a flexible skin, which permits them 

 to separate from each other, preserving at the same 

 time their strength and presenting a larger surface — 

 allows tliese animals to walk upon the ground, to swim 

 either at the surface of or at a considerable depth in 

 the water, and at the same time they are able to cling 

 to and climb up upon the banks of lakes and similar 

 tranquil waters, in which for the most part they make 

 their habitual sojourn. Tliey thus form a natural 

 transition between the truly aquatic species, such as 

 the Soft tortoises {Trionycidcej, and Marine turtles 

 {Chelonildw), and the Land tortoises. The habits and 

 manner of life of the two families of which tliese marsh 

 tortoises consist, renders them in fact a natural group, 

 but in some parts of their organization they differ con- 

 siderably. Some, for instance, have a cylindrical neck, 

 covered with a loose skin, which is movable in con- 

 sequence of the slight adherence of it to the muscles, 

 and acts as a sheath ; and this neck they can withdraw 

 entirely within the carapace. The head is nearly 

 conical ; the eyes are placed laterally, and upon the 

 sides of the cheeks ; and the bones of the pelvis or basin 

 are united only to the vertebrae. These are the Cryp- 

 toderes of Dunieril and Bibron, the Terrapens or Emy- 

 didcc of Dr. Gray. 



Other species, again, have the neck long and broad, 

 and covered with a tight skin closely adhering to the 

 muscles under it, so that it is not retractile within the 

 shell, but admits only of being contracted and bent 

 under the side of the shell, either to the right or the 

 left, when the animal is in a state of repose. The head 

 is broad and much depressed, and the eyes are placed 

 near each other on the upper part of the face, and 

 directed upwards. The bones of the pelvis or basin 

 are united not only to the vertebra*, but are also solidly 

 fixed to the plastron or breastplate. These form the 

 Pleuroderes of the French authors, the Chelydes or 

 Chehjdidm of Dr. Gray. 



Of all the families into which the Chelonians aro 



