Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/93

 TURTLE two keels, more or less worn off by age ; there are two nails to each limb ; anterior limbs very long and wing-like; the head is protected by 14 scales ; the tail is conical, not extending be- yond the shell. The color is yellowish above, marbled with rich chestnut brown, and yellow- ish white below ; in the young there is a black spot on the four posterior pairs of plates. It' is found in the West Indies, the gulf of Mexico, on the coasts of Guiana and Brazil, and has even strayed to the Mediterranean ; the E. squamata (Ag.) is found in the Pacific and Indian oceans, the best being taken about the Moluccas and Papua. The food consists of sea weeds, crabs, mollusks, and fishes ; in confine- ment it is fiercer than the preceding two ; it rarely grows more than 3 ft. in length ; its flesh is indifferent, and it is said unwholesome, though the eggs are good, and the species is sought after only for its beautiful horny plates, which constitute the tortoise shell of commerce. These are not considered of value unless from an animal weighing at least 160 Ibs., as other- wise they are too thin ; 15 Ibs. of shell from a single one is a large amount, and yet in ani- TURTLE DOVE 81 Trunk Turtle (Sphargis coriacea). mals of the same size the imbricated would be worth 10 times as much as the green turtle. Singapore and Canton are the great marts for tortoise shell. It was consumed in large quan- tities in ancient Rome, even the door posts of the rich being inlaid with it ; the carapace was used as a cradle and a bath tub for children, and as a shield for warriors. The leathery or trunk turtle {sphargis coriacea, Merr.) is so named from having the carapace overlaid by a leathery skin instead of horny plates, smooth in the adult, but tuberculated in the young, and with seven longitudinal ridges ; the head is large, narrowed in front of eyes, with small and circular nostrils, and large eyes with lids opening nearly vertically ; jaws very strong and sharp-edged, the upper with three notches, the hook of the lower shutting into the cen- tral one ; neck short and very thick ; anterior limbs twice as long as the hind ones, the for- mer falcate, the latter the widest ; tail sharp, compressed on the sides, and not extending be- yond the shell ; the color is dark brown above, with lighter spots along the ridges. It is the largest of the turtles, attaining a length of 8 ft. and a weight of nearly a ton ; its food consists of mollusks, crustaceans, fish, sea urchins, and marine plants ; its flesh is of no value, but its shell has been used along the Mediterranean for making small boats, drinking troughs for animals, and children's bath tubs. It is found on both sides of the Atlantic, especially in the tropics, coming north as far as Massachusetts bay, and following the Gulf stream across the Atlantic to the coasts of Europe and the Medi- terranean ; those of E. Asia and S. Africa may perhaps be a different species; none of this genus have nails on the litnbs. It was known to the ancients. The marine species have great tenacity of life under mutilation and depriva- tion of food. Turtles are found as far back as the Jurassic period, continued through the cretaceous, becoming more abundant and ad- vancing further north than at the present day, though they were not so large as the existing species; in the limited strata of the eocene clay of the island of Sheppey more species have been discovered than now exist ; large species have been found in the tertiary of South Carolina and the greensand of New Jer- sey, of several genera. TURTLE DOYE, the common name of several small pigeons, especially of the genera turtvr and ?, characterized by a smaller size than the domestic pigeon, weaker bill, longer toes (the inner exceeding the outer), and a longer and wedge-shaped tail ; they are both arboreal and terrestrial, feeding on the ground, but roosting and nesting in trees. The word turtle signified a dove until the discovery of America, when it was applied to the marine tortoises. In the genus turtvr (Selby) the bill is slender and straight, with the tip slightly arched and acute ; wings long, the second and third quills the longest ; tail moderate, rounded or even ; tarsi almost as long as the middle toe, for the most part naked, and the toes long and slender. There are more than a dozen species, found in various parts of Europe, India, and Africa, in woods and jungles, making their presence known by their pleasant cooing ; from Europe they migrate to the south in winter ; they are generally seen in flocks of about 20, in open cultivated districts, feeding on grain, seeds of grass, &c. ; the nest is made in thick woods, of small twigs loosely put together, and the eggs are two. The common European turtle dove (T. auritus, Selby) is 11 in. long; the head, neck, breast, and back are wood-brown tinged with pearl-gray ; a patch of black feathers mar- gined with white on each side of the neck ; scapulars and wing coverts black, shading into grayish, and edged with buff; lower parts white, as are the tips of the tail feathers except the two middle ones. It arrives in temperate Europe in May, leaving at the end of summer ; it is found also in Asia and Africa, and is only a rare visitor to Great Britain ; it has been supposed to be the origin of some of the small- er partly domestic varieties which are kept only in aviaries. The collared turtle dove (T.