ORDER CHELONIA. 45 



SUPPLEMENT ON THE ORDER CHELONIA. 



The name of this order is of Greek origin. XexJvji is the 

 name given by Aristotle to the marine tortoise, which is 

 derived from XsXy?, testudo, simply signifying the shell or 

 covering. It must be confessed, that there is some objection 

 against the employment of this term to characterize the order, 

 as it is also applied to designate the subdivision of the turtles. 

 Testudinata is a preferable appellation. 



This order, strictly speaking, consists but of a single genus, 

 that of the tortoises, and one of the most natural that can be 

 well imagined. Linnaeus divided these animals into three 

 sections according to the difference of organization which 

 prescribes a different mode of life to each. The first is that 

 of the marine turtles, the Chelonia of Brongniart ; the second, 

 the river turtles^ Emys of later writers ; and the land to?'" 

 toises, which are the true tortoises of modern authors. 



The tortoises in general possess a very remarkable organi- 

 zation. Nature has compensated for the absence of those 

 active faculties of which they are destitute, by passive means 

 of preservation, far more complete and extensive than what 

 she has accorded to any other genus. Invested with a solid 

 armour, the nature of which has already been pretty fully 

 described, they can shelter themselves within it very effectually 

 from the attacks of all their adversaries, except man, and 

 some few other animals of surpassing size and strength. The 

 body of the tortoise being thus protected by its back-plate 

 and breast-plate — called carapace and plastron by our au- 

 thor, and which terms we have thought it right to adopt — 

 is unprovided with a skin, except on its extremities, and on 



