CLASS III. REPTILIA; ORDER 1. CHELONIA. 
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NiiDJs, or Sea-Ttirtles ; the Trionycid^, or Soft ToTtoises ; tlie Chelydid^, resembling the pre- 
ceding ; the Emydid^, inckiding the Terrapins, and generally distributed over the globe ; and 
the Testudinid^, or Land-Tortoises, familiar to all. 
THE IMBRICATED TURTLE ON LAND, 
THE CHELOiTIID^. 
These, which are the true Turtles, are pre-eminently aquatic in their habits ; the limbs are 
all converted into large, flattened, fin-hke organs, the toes being completely concealed by a com- 
mon skin. The anterior pair of members is always considerably longer than the posterior, and 
both the anterior and posterior limbs are frequently furnished with one or two nails on the outer 
margin, which, however, sometimes disappear as the animal increases in age. The bony case of 
these animals is too small for the reception of the head and limbs, and these parts are, conse- 
quently, always more or less protruded. The head is flattened above, and the jaws are horny, 
very sharp, and beak-like. They are all inhabitants of the sea. They are excellent swimmers, 
and rarely approach the shore except for the purpose of depositing their eggs, which they do 
upon sandy coasts. Most of them feed upon sea-Aveeds ; but a few also devour mollusca and 
other small marine animals. The flesh of the former afibrds a wholesome and dehcious food, and 
they are in consequence much sought after, and imported into Europe and America in consider- 
able quantities, while the carnivorous species are disagreeable, and even unwholesome, or accord- 
ing to some writers, poisonous, and they are only collected for the sake of the abundant supply 
of oil which they yield. 
Genus CHELONIA : Chelonia. — To this belong several species, the best Imown of which is 
the Green Turtle, C. midas, found abundantly in the seas of warm climates ; it is also occasion- 
ally met with as far north as the coasts of Great Britain, in Europe, and of Long Island, in 
America. Those captured in the waters of the latter are occasionally seen in the markets of 
New York. In tropical regions it attains a length of five or six feet, and a weight of five to six 
hundred pounds ; its flesh is exceedingly dehcate, and, when not rendered indigestible by the in- 
genuity of cooks, is a very wholesome food. The eggs of this, and indeed of all the species of 
turtles, are also eaten, and considered a great delicacy. At the island of Ascension, where these 
animals appear to abound to a greater extent than in any other part of the world, they are generally 
taken by watching them when they visit the shore to deposit their eggs ; they are then turned 
over on their backs, and in this helpless position they remain until their captors, having secured 
