697 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Tslands. 285 
““Loggerhead Key,” in the Bahamas, where it is said to grow abund- 
antly. It is also said to be very fond of the great conch (Strombus 
gigas), and to bite off the spire of the shell in order to extract the 
meat. 
e.—The Leather-back; Trunk Turtle; Leather Turtle. (Sphargis 
coriacea (I.) Gray.) 
FIcure 50. 
This huge turtle now occurs irregularly at Bermuda, but it prob- 
ably bred there in early times, with the others. Its habits are similar 
to those of the Loggerhead, and it has the same wide range, though 
it is less common. 
On the American coast it has occasionally been taken as far north 
as New England and Nova Scotia; it migrates northwards in the 
Gulf Stream and sometimes crosses to Europe. The Leather-backs 
of the Indian and Pacific Oceans are believed to be the same species. 
It grows to a larger size than either of the other species, sometimes 
weighing over 1600 pounds. Many specimens over 1000 pounds in 
weight have been recorded ; such individuals are about 7 feet long. 
Gosse refers to the record, in the local paper, of a specimen cap- 
tured in Jamaica, April 10, 1846, while laying its eggs. Five or six 
dozen eggs, “the largest the size of a duck’s egg,” 
the first nest, March 30th. The size was 64 feet long; 94 feet across 
the flippers ; circumference of neck, 34 feet; length of hind flip- 
pers, 24 feet. 
were found in 
J.—The Bermuda Lizard. (Humeces longirostris Cope.) 
FiGureE 51. 
This lizard, which is a very active species, is by no means common, 
except in particular localities. We saw very few lizards except on 
Castle Island, where they are common among the ruins of the old 
forts and walls, and also in crevices of the cliffs. Although they 
may be frequently seen basking in the sun, it is difficult to obtain 
specimens of them, except by shooting them with dust shot, though 
a few were caught alive by turning over stones. They drop the tail 
very readily. Two styles of coloration were noticed, both in the 
living and preserved specimens. One of these varieties, which is 
distinctly striped with two latero-dorsal light lines, was thought by 
Mr. Garman* to be the young, but among those that we obtained 
* Mr. Garman in Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 25, p. 287, note, gives a detailed 
p) >] ? ID 
description of this species. 
