360 
VERTEBRATA. 
THE LEATHERY TURTLE. 
hundred pounds, tliougli half that weight is the more common size. In some cases, the in- 
habitants of the countries where these animals are abundant, convert their shells into boats, 
drinking-troughs for cattle, coverings for huts, and baths for children. This species is exceed- 
ingly voracious, and feeds on moUusca, the shells of which it crushes between its powerful jaws. 
Its flesh is worthless, and its eggs are somewhat musky. It however furnishes an oil that burns 
well. It is found in tropical seas, and not unfrequently in the Mediterranean. 
Genus SPHARGIS : Splmrgis. — To this belongs the Leathery Turtle, 8, coriacea — Tortue 
luth of the French — remarkable for having the surface of the shell covered with a leathery skin 
instead of the usual horny 
plates. It sometimes attains 
a length of eight feet, and 
weighs a thousand pounds. 
It feeds on fish, mollusca, 
and sea-plants. Lacepede 
supposes that the shell of 
this animal was employed by 
the ancient Greeks for the 
formation of their lyres, and 
lience it is called Testudo 
lyra by Bcchstein and others. 
It is a great wanderer ; it 
breeds on the Tortugas and 
Bahamas, and is occasionally seen on the coasts of New York and Massachusetts, as well as those 
of England and France, and is sometimes met with in the Mediterranean. Its flesh is not fit for 
food. De Kay says : " We are not in possession of sufiicient evidence to determine whether the 
large Leather Turtle seen in the Pacific and Indian Oceans belongs to this species." 
THE TEIOis^YCID^ OR SOFT TOETOISES. 
In these the carapace, which, as well as the plastron, is cartilaginous, is stiU more incomplete 
than in the turtles, the ribs being only expanded and united at the base, and running out to the 
margin in the form of the spokes of a wheel. This imperfect carapace is covered with a toiigh, 
leathery skin, which is flexible at the margin, and, as in the turtles, the head and limbs are incap- 
able of being retracted within the case. The head is rather small, and pointed in front ; the neck 
is long ; the horny jaws are covered with fleshy lips, and the nostrils are produced into a short, 
cylindrical trunk. The feet are all short and strong, furnished with five toes which are united 
by a strong web, of which three on each foot are furnished with claws. 
The Soft Tortoises live in the rivers of the warmer parts of Asia and Africa, and species are 
found in the North American waters. They are active, predaceous animals, feeding principally 
upon fish, but occasionally concealing themselves among the reeds and sedges of the banks, 
whence they rush out and seize birds and small reptiles. 
Qenus TRIOISTYX : Trionyx, — This includes the Soft-shelled Tortoise, T.ferox, principally 
known in the rivers and 
lakes of the West and 
South; it is, however, 
met with in the lakes 
of Western New York, 
and is common in Lake 
Ontario. In the South- 
ern States it is said to 
destroy great numbers 
of young alligators. It 
seizes its prey, which 
THE SOFT-SHELLED TORTOISE. couslsts of fish and Small 
