1879. | The Leather Turtle. 633 
THE LEATHER TURTLE. 
BY JOHN FORD. 
N all the realm of nature few avenues are more attractive to 
the student than those which lead into the ocean, for though 
trodden from time immemorial, a peculiar glamor still haunts 
the almost impenetrable veil beyond which they end. Such 
a mysterious charm might of itself awaken an interest in the 
minds of men. But an incentive far more potent is found in 
the hope that behind this shadowy veil thousands of unknown 
forms of life are hidden, awaiting only the coming of some mod- 
ern Aladdin at whose touch the doors of their habitations shall 
fly open and their strange and weird beauty be revealed. 
That myriads of living creatures do people these wondrous 
depths is shown by the appearance, at intervals, of the more 
venturesome ones on our shores, inciting the careful observer to 
renewed efforts in the study of their forms, their habits, and their 
previous surroundings. 
It is true that many problems regarding the latter must of 
necessity remain unsolved, yet much may be studied and much 
be learned by patient and persistent endeavor. 
With this purpose in view I have collected a few Gin respect- 
ing the recent advent of specimens of Sphargis coriacea, a species 
as little known to the general reader, perhaps, as any other of 
like dimensions found in the Atlantic. The animal has indeed 
been referred to by a number of writers, but in all probability 
their stock of information has, in most cases, been derived from 
hearsay rather than from direct examination of specimens. In 
an English work on general zodlogy, published by Dr. George 
Shaw in 1802, we are informed that the coriaceous tortoise is a 
native of the Mediterranean, albeit specimens had been taken 
now and then on the coast of England; and of one captured in 
1729 near the river Loire, in France, the author remarks: “ It is 
Said to have uttered a hideous noise when taken; its mouth at 
the same time foaming with rage and exhaling a noisome vapor.” 
He also adds, that according to Lacepede, “the Coriaceus tor- 
toise is one of those with which the Greeks were well acquainted, 
and he supposes it to have been the species particularly used in 
the construction of the ancient lyre or harp, which was at first 
