. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. 154 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD. these limbs take the form of flattened paddles, and in no instance are more than two of the toes provided with claws. Tiie TijR'r(JISKS are snb-divided by zoologists into some six or eight subordinate gr(jups or famihes, for the most part distinguished by the respective modifi- cations of their protective shells. This shell in all tortoises and turtles consists of two essential elements — the upper or back casing, known as the " carapace,"
. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. 154 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD. these limbs take the form of flattened paddles, and in no instance are more than two of the toes provided with claws. Tiie TijR'r(JISKS are snb-divided by zoologists into some six or eight subordinate gr(jups or famihes, for the most part distinguished by the respective modifi- cations of their protective shells. This shell in all tortoises and turtles consists of two essential elements — the upper or back casing, known as the " carapace," and the under one, or so-called " plastron," which covers the ventral surface. In some forms these two elements are completely welded into one another, forming a continuous box-like shell ; in others they are more or less separate; while in yet another series the lower shell is rudimentary. These distinctions have been found to constitute a convenient basis for classification. fn the 'I'rl'E Laxd-turtuisks, which invite first attention, the upper and lower shells are completely united in a box-like form, and the neck, bent in the form of the letter S. can be complete!}' retracted within it. The limbs are club-shaped, co\'ered with horny scales or tubercles, and adapted for walking, the toes being unwebbcd, and pro\ided with strong claw-like nails. Pre-eminent among this t_\'pical terrestrial series come the huge GlANT or , formerly abundant, as their fossil remains indicate, in Southern Europe, India, and North and South America, and now represented 4 iortorsf^ like a turtle^ turntd ofer on ils back^ represents one of the most helpless oj lii-ing animals. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Cornish, C. J. (Charles John), 1858-1906. New York, University Society
Size: 1180px × 2117px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectzoology
