336 THE INDO- PACIFIC AND ITS SHORES 



how such a strongly protected reptile could well come to harm. Unlike the luth, the 

 green turtle feeds exclusively on seaweeds ; and it is currently reputed that, after 

 eating its fill, it is in the habit of biting off large pieces of seaweeds and rolling 

 them up into balls which are carried by the retreating tide out to sea, where they 

 afford a food-supply for future occasions. The extensive use of the flesh of this 

 species for food is too well known to require further mention. 



The second member of the group is the hawksbill turtle (C. imbricata), 

 characterised by the beautiful yellow and brown marblings of the horny plates 

 overlying the shell, which in immature specimens overlap one another like the 

 slates on a roof, although in fully adult individuals their edges come into contact 

 with one another. In size this species is somewhat inferior to the green turtle, from 

 which it is broadly distinguished by its carnivorous habit, and the consequently 

 uneatable character of its flesh. The hawksbill affords the main source of supply of 

 commercial tortoiseshell, of which the best quality comes from the Malay Islands, 

 although large quantities are also imported from the West Indies, South America, 

 and the Red Sea. Tortoiseshell, when heated in boiling water or steam, possesses 

 the property of welding together like iron, and it is by this means that large 

 plates are obtained. The highly priced and much admired golden yellow tortoise- 

 shell is obtained by cutting out pieces of this colour from the lower shell and 

 welding them together. 



The third member of the group is the loggerhead (Thalassochelys caretta), 



which differs from the other two by having at least five, instead of only four, pairs 



of horny shields on the sides of the upper shell, and on this account, coupled with 



other differences, is classed in a genus apart. It is considerably the largest of the 



three species, and inhabits all tropical seas. 



In regard to crocodiles, which are more fully referred to in 

 Crocodile. . . . . 



other chapters of this work, it will be sufficient to mention that the 



group is represented on the coasts of the Indo-Pacific by the widely distributed 



Crocodilus porosus, which, as previously stated, ranges from the Mascarene to the 



Fiji Islands, and from Korea to India and the northern coast of Australia, and 



frequently ascending rivers for considerable distances. 



Although properly speaking a member of the land-fauna of that 

 Sea-Lizard. ,, • t , ,. n i i ■ ,■ , „ 



group, the curious sea-lizard (Ambiyrhynclius crxstatus) of the 



Galapagos Islands, the sole member of its genus, may, on account of its marine 



habits, be allowed to occupy a place in the present chapter. This reptile, which 



grows to a length of rather more than four feet, is characterised by the blackish 



colour of its rough skin, and by the presence of a continuous crest of horny spines 



running from the back of the head along the whole length of the back and tail. It 



has the same blunt and shortened head as its lighter-coloured land cousin, Conolophus 



cristatus, referred to in the notice of the Galapagos fauna. The sea-lizard subsists 



solely on seaweeds, which it obtains by diving to a considerable depth. It is a 



member of the iguana family, and formerly was to be met with in large numbers 



on and near its native islands, living, when on shore, on the rocky sea-beaches, 



from which it never departs on the landward side for a distance of more than 



about a dozen yards. Except when diving, these lizards are stupid and sluggish in 



their movements, and may occasionally be seen swimming several hundred yards 



