CHARACTERISTICS OF REPTILES. 



15 



are inserted by means of sutures into these plates, and united with 

 each other. A three-branched shoulder and cylindrical shoulder- 

 blade are characteristic of the Tortoises. 



In tropical regions enormous Serpents are found, which are as 



Fig. 3. — Skeleton of a Turtle. 



large in diameter as a man's thigh ; and some are reported to have 

 almost reached forty feet in length. Roman annals mention one 

 forty feet long, which Regulus encountered in Africa during the 

 Punic Wars, and which is fabulously said to have arrested the march 

 of his army. These gigantic Reptiles are not, however, enemies which 

 man has most cause to fear, for their very size draws attention to 



