* 



Jackson^s Anatomical Description^ ^c. 



443 



of indebtedness to him, in laboring to present the public 

 with a faithful translation of Kiener's Iconography of 

 Recent Shells. 



ART. XXIL— ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE GAL- 

 APAGOS TORTOISE. Bv J. B, S. Jackso.n, M. D. Read 

 February 1st, 1837- ^ 



In the summer of 1834, Capt. John Downes, of the 

 United States Navy, soon after he returned from his voy- 

 age in the frigate Potomac, made a very valuable present 

 to this Society of two large Land Tortoises. They were 

 the largest and finest specimens out of a number brought 

 by him from the Galapagos Islands, a small volcanic group 

 in the Pacific Oceanj lying under the equator and about 

 110 leagues distant from the South American coast. One 

 of them, which was a male, died in the course of the 

 summer ; tbe other, a female, lived till the weather be- 

 came cold, was kept in a frozen condition through the 

 winter, and dissected in the following spring. Both of 

 the dissections were hastily made, but notes of each were 

 taken at the time ; and these, imperfect as they are, with 

 a few additions which I can safely make, 1 would now 



4 



offer to the Society. 



' The only scientific description which I have seen of 

 this Tortoise, is by Dr. Harlan and may be found in the 

 5th VoU of the Journal of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia. Th^ specific name elephan- 

 topusy which he has given it, is very appropriate, and is 

 founded on a resemblance which has been noticed by 



^ 



Other observers. He considers it as quite distinct from 



