1905.] ON THE A^fATOMY OP THE LEATHERY TURTLE. 291 



8. Notes on the Muscular and Visceral Anatomy o£ the 

 Leathery Turtle [Dermoclielys coriacea). By R. H. 

 BuRNE, B.A., F.Z.S. 



[Received Mavcli 20, 1905.] 



(Text-fig-ures 55-73.) 



In May 1904 the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons 

 obtained a specimen of the Leathery Turtle {Dermochdys 

 coriacea L.) from Japan, with the object, mainly, of adding the 

 skeleton to the Museum. 



On account of the rarity of the animal, it was thought advisable 

 to make also a careful dissection of the soft parts, more particularly 

 of those that must of necessity be destroyed in the preparation of 

 the skeleton. 



The notes taken during this dissection, arranged for easy 

 reference and collated with previous descriptions of the anatomy 

 of the animal, form the contents of the present paper. 



The specimen was a young female of the following dimensions :— 



centim. 

 Total length (following the curve of the carapace). . 135 



Length (between the bases of the flippers) 68 



Girth (under fore limbs) 13o 



Girth (midway between the limbs) 140 



Girth (at base of hind limbs) 91 



Length of fore limb, from its point of emergence 



from the body (following the outer curve) 82 



Greatest breadtli of hand 20 



Length of hind limb (tibial border) 33 



Girth of head at hinder extremity of the gape 53 



From point of snout to inner canthus of eye 8-5 



From point of snout to nostril 2*0 



In colour the animal was black above, blotched with irregular 

 white spots, each of which measured on an average 1-2 cm. m 

 diameter. The ventral surface of the body, limbs, and tail was 

 dirty white, marked with irregular longitudinal bands and blotches 



of black. . ■,.-11 



The six longitudinal areas into which the carapace is divided 



by seven bony ridges are approximately of equal breadth— 11 cm. 



in the middle of the trunk,— gradually narrowing towards the tail 

 There are six rows of scutes half embedded in the thick plastral 



integument— a double row along the mid-line, with two single 



rows about 1 1 cm, apart on either side. 



The true plastron-bones (text-fig. 57, p. 298) lie close beneath: 



the deep surface of the integument, and form a ring whose: 



lateral parts lie about half way between the mid-line and the 



lateral margin of the plastron. They do not seem to bear any 



particular relation as regards position to the superficial rows of 



scutes. 



