AMPHIBIA. 



ORDER 



R E P T I L I A. 



TESTUDO. TORTOISE. 



Generic Character, 



Corpus caudatum, lorica os- 

 sea aut coriacea superne et 

 inferne, vel squamis su- 

 perne obtectum. 



Oris raandibula superiore in- 

 feriorem pyxidum instar 

 claudens. 



Body defended by a bony co- 

 vering coated by a horny, 

 scaly, or coriaceous inte- 

 gument. 



Mouth without distinct or 

 proper teeth * ? the upper 

 mandible closing over the 

 lower. 



In no branch of Natural History have more er- 

 rors prevailed than in the attempt to discriminate 

 with precision the several species of Tortoises ; the 

 general similarity being very great, and the indi- 

 viduals occasionally varying much in size, colours, 



* What are called teeth in the generality of Tortoises are no 

 oth«r than the serratures of the mandibles. 



