LEATHERY TURTLES. 



43 



Section ATHECiE. 



Leathery Turtles. 



The only living representative of this group is the Luth or Table- 

 Leathery Turtle (Dennocheh/s coriacea, 180, fig. 46), the largest of case " 



Fig. 46. 



Q28Dl'rbc/r; 



Luth, or Leathery Turtle (Dcrmochelys coriacea) ; young specimens ; lower 

 and upper view. (No. 180) 



existing Chelonians, which sometimes measures as much as six and a 

 half feet from the muzzle to the hind border of the carapace, the 

 length of the shell being about four feet. Such a specimen would 

 weigh about half a ton. In common with a number of allied extinct 

 Turtles, mostly referable to the family Sphargida, or Dermochelydidw, 

 the Luth is characterised by the vertebrae and ribs being free from 

 the carapace, which is composed of small polygonal plates of bone, 

 covered with a continuous leathery skin. The limbs are in the form 

 of paddles, and the neck cannot be withdrawn into the shell ; there 



