REPTILES, 
The Reptiles form the third class of the back-boned 
animals or Vertebrates, The Mammals and Birds which we 
have just passed, have a covering of fur or feathers respectively, 
necessary to keep their warm blood at a constant temperature. 
In the cold-blooded Vertebrates, the Reptiles, Amphibians and 
Fishes, no such covering is required, and they have scales or 
shields instead, horny ones in the case of Reptiles, bony ones 
in Fishes, or even a bare skin, as in Amphibians, 
The Reptiles readily group themselves into four orders : 
(I) Chelonia ■ Turtles and Tortoises; (2) Crocodiles; 
(3) Lizards ; (4) Snakes, All these four orders are well 
represented in Malaya, in fact in superabundance- 
CHELONIA. 
The most characteristic feature of the Turtles and Tor- 
toises is their bony shell consisting of an upper half (carapace) 
and a lower half (plastron) which encases the body. This bony 
shell is made up of a number of separate plates which are 
immovably united with the thoracic vertebrae and the ribs in 
all Chelonians, except in the Leathery Turtle. There the 
vertebrae and ribs are free, and this turtle forms therefore a 
section by itself. The bony shell is in the great majority of cases 
covered by horny scales or shields. The exception form the 
Leathery Turtle and the Soft Turtles. In the marine Chelonianst 
generally called Turtles, the limbs are paddle-shaped and 
either clawless (Leathery Turtle) or provided with one or two 
claws only. The Fresh-water Turtles (or 'Soft Turtles') have 
only the three inner toes clawed, whilst the terrestrial 
Chelonians, generally called Tortoises, have properly developed 
toes and four or five claws. None of the Chelonians have any 
teeth, differing thus from all other Reptiles. Instead they have 
their jaws covered with horny sheaths. The general Malay 
name for the marine Turtles is ' Penyu ' ; for the Tortoises 
' Kura-Kura ' ; and for the fresh-water Soft Turtles * Labi-Labi 
The Leathery Turtle {Dcrmochelys coriacea) is the 
largest of living Chelonians. It may reach a length of 8 feet. 
Its shell is marked with seven longitudinal keels and has no 
