TRUE REPTILES. 221 
by its more elegant shape, hooked bill, and large scales, 
having, like all the others, long, fin-like flippers. 
VALUE.—The scales 
of the hawkbill are 
greatly valued in com- 
merce. Oil from the 
green turtle’s eggs is 
used in dressing leath- 
er, and in the manufac- 
ture of soap. The eggs 
are not the luxuries gen- 
erally supposed, and are 
best when immature, 
and dried in the sun. 
Fic. 266.—Hawkbill turtle. 
In the soft-shelled turtles (Zrionychide) the body is 
flat and circular, the shell being supple, like rubber or 
leather. They are carnivorous, and one species is common 
in the St. John’s and other rivers of Florida and the South- 
ern States. The American species are generally one foot in 
length, but East Indian specimens have been caught weigh- 
ing two hundred and forty pounds. Allied are the snap- 
ping-turtles (Chelydide), forty-four species of which are 
known. The shell is elevated in front and low behind ; 
the head large, and jaws strongly hooked, the neck long 
and snake-like. They attain a length of five feet, and are 
the most ferocious of their kind. The three American 
species range from Florida to Canada. The eggs are 
spherical, and deposited in the ground. 
The land turtles (Zestudinide) have high, arched 
shells, a broad sternum, and elevate the body in walking, 
instead of dragging it along. One hundred and twenty-six 
species are known. The terrapin, painted, spotted, and 
box turtles are familiar American forms. The latter are 
remarkable in that the plastron is composed of two parts, 
movable upon a single axis, so that the soft parts of the 
animal can be completely boxed in. They are found in 
dry woods, and attain a great age. 
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