ZOOLOGICAL SOCIE'IV Rl'LLKTIN 



143 



lilc.Tr.i.RAi'HS HAWKSKII.I 



>howiii>; the (oi'mation nt tl 



THE CULLECTIUX OF SEA-TL'RTLES. 



OXE of the floor pools at tbe Aquarium is 

 devoted entirely to marine turtles, and 

 tlie few species obtainable along the 

 north Atlantic coast are nearly always on cx- 

 hihiticm. 



The largest of all sea-turtles, the leather- 

 hack I. Ih'i'iiiochclys coriacca) is not on exhibi- 

 tion, but will doubtless be secured during the 

 coming summer, as it is occasionally taken in 

 the large pound nets off the New Jersey coast. 

 A very large specimen, weighing about 1.000 

 pounds, was captured at Cape May during the 

 past summer. Steps were being taken to se- 

 cure it for the Aquarium, when the animal 

 died, apparently on account of rough treat- 

 ment at the hands of the fishermen. 



The Aquarium has two specimens of the 

 loggerhead (Tlialassochclys carctta). a species 

 said to reach a weight of over 1.500 pounds. 

 One of them weighing 250 pounds has been 

 in the .\quarium four years, the other, weigh- 

 ing 270 pounds, has been in the building for 

 one and a half years. The upper shell iti 

 both specimens is three feet long. 



There are several specimens of the .\tlantic 

 green turtle (Chdonia tuydas). most of which 

 are of small size. 



A single individual of the Pacific green 

 turtle (Clielonia firgata). taken ofT the north 

 coast of New Guinea, has been in the Aquarium 

 for seven years, during this time it has grown 

 considerably. When received, its upper shell 

 or carapace was one foot long. .At the present 

 time its length is i foot 10 inches and its 

 weight 50 pounds. 



The hawksbill turtle {lircliHOcliclys iiii- 

 hriciUa), yielding the valuable tortoise shell, 

 is not readily obtainable, but specimens have 

 been kept here for two or three years at a 

 time. 



The hawksbill and green turtles live together 

 amicably, while the loggerheads are constant 

 fighters and require to be penned separately. 

 Their huge jaws are capable of inflicting seri- 

 ous injuries on each other. 



The Pacific green turtle, which was brought 

 in by the ship "Manuel Laguna," is named 

 "Manuel." It was kept for a time in the 

 laboratory and became very tame, crawling 

 across the floor when called at feeding time. 



The food of all of these species in captivity 

 consists chiefly of fresh cod. herring, clam 

 and beef, varied occasionally with sea-lettuce, 

 a green sea- weed common along our shores. 

 They have at times been fed on cabbage leaves. 



The hawksbill does not reach the weight of 

 any of the other species, although it often 

 weighs 300 pounds. 



All of the sea-turtles occur in tropical and 

 ^iih-tropical waters. 



The Pacific species of the hawksbill has been 

 found on our \\'estern coast. The Atlantic 

 species is not uncommon in the Gulf of Mex- 

 ico and northward to North Carolina. All 

 sea-turtles are used as food , green turtles 

 being the most desirable. Green turtles, once 

 very abundant along the shores of the South 

 .\tlantic and Gulf States, are becoming com- 

 paratively scarce. This is due, not so much 

 to the capture of the animals for food, as to 

 the destruction of their eggs. All sea-turtles 



