168 LAND TORTOISE FROM AFRICA. 
scribed it in his Prodromns to the Kcenigsberg 
Transactions, under the name of erosa, in order to 
distinguish it from the denticulata of Linnaeus, 
which he had ascertained to be a different animal. 
The next notice we have of it is by Mr. Bell, whose 
description was drawn up chiefly from the shell of 
an adult specimen, on which he founded the present 
genus. He calls it castanea, from the chestnut 
color of the carapace, and considers it a new species. 
Mr. Gray, in his Synopsis Reptilium, describes it 
under the name of Kinixis erosa, retaining the 
generic name of Bell, and the specific appellation 
of Schweigger. In this he is followed by Dumeril 
and Bibron, in their Natural History of Reptiles, 
now in course of publication. But inasmuch as 
Shaw was the first to describe the animal, although 
in its young state, it is evident that his name should 
be retained. The very strongly marked denticula- 
tions which characterize this species, differing, as 
it does, in this respect from the others which belong 
to the genus, make it, moreover, quite appropriate. 
Habits and Geographical Distribution. — Not much 
is known of the habits of this animal in its native 
haunts ; in a state of captivity its movements ap- 
peared remarkably sluggish, being seldom found at a 
great distance from the part of the garden in which 
it was deposited. He generally selected a shady 
place alongside the fence or wall, and in the neigh- 
borhood of running water, of which he drank at 
times profusely. His food consisted of fruits and 
vegetables, chiefly, as apples, pears, Irish and Sweet 
