CHELONIA CAOUANA. 167 



Genus CHELONIA. 



Legs adapted for swimming, forming a sort of paddle or 

 fins ; the body enclosed in a horny case ; the jaws are 

 horny, forming a beak like that of a bird of prey, hooked 

 above and below, sometimes serrated on the edges. 



Seldom leaving the sea except at the breeding-season, 

 when the female deposits a large number of eggs in the 

 sand above high-water mark, leaving them to be hatched 

 by the heat of the sun. The eggs are very numerous and 

 perfectly round, and the young are produced within about 

 twenty days. 



The food of the Turtle consists, for the most part, of 

 marine plants, but also of Mollusca and Crustaceans. The 

 tail is very short in all the species. 



Chelonia Caouana. 



Chelonia Caouana, Dum. et Bib. vol. ii. p. 552. 

 Chelonia caretta, Buoh. Faun. Ital. (figured). 



Description. — Carapace nearly heart-shaped, its length 

 greater by one-third than its breadth at the middle ; the 

 plates of which it is composed are not imbricated; they 

 are fifteen in number on the disk, and twenty-five on the 

 margin; the neck-plate is three times longer than wide. 

 In the adult the carapace is even, but in the young and 

 middle-aged there is a distinct dorsal ridge. The two 

 first toes of each claw are furnished with nails, that of the 

 first toe being the strongest, and slightly hooked ; the eye- 

 lids are covered with tubercles. The colour of the cara- 

 pace is dark chestnut-brown ; the limbs of the same, edged 

 with yellow ; the head is bright chestnut ; all the under 

 parts of the body are yellow of various shades. 



The entire length is upwards of 4 feet. 



This Turtle is not uncommon in the Mediterranean, 



