(CPM) 
Ralph De Sola, Federal Writers’ Project. 
ALBINISTIC SOUTH AMERICAN TORTOISE (Testudo denticulata ). Length: 1 
foot. Range: Tropical South America and found on a few West Indian islands. 
Albinism, lack of pigment, is seldom encountered in turtles. This speci¬ 
men is perhaps unique. 
In captivity Greek tortoises thrive on vegetables, bread and milk, and 
water. Peddlers sell them in England as pets, often claiming that they 
eat the black beetles that infest homes. However, being vegetarians, the 
captive tortoises refuse this diet and die. 
When they receive proper care, they live quite long. The famous 
tortoise owned by Gilbert White was kept for fifty-four years though its 
total age was not known. An even more venerable specimen traced by 
Flower was the ancient Greek tortoise owned by Archbishop Laud of Can¬ 
terbury who placed it in his garden in 1628. It lived for one hundred and 
two years, and then it was accidentally killed by a gardener. 
Many other tortoises of similar size and habits live in the Old World. 
These include the Iberian tortoise of Spain and North Africa; the hinged- 
back tortoise of Abyssinia; the seventy-five pound leopard tortoise of East 
Africa; and the handsome star tortoise of India. 
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