. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. 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 &quo
. Birds of other lands, reptiles, fishes, jointed animals and lower forms;. Zoology; Birds; Reptiles; Fishes. 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. EUROPEAN TORTOISE j^ Sortoise^i shelly or carapac^j constitutes a port- able house^ ivhcrein the animal can entirely ivith draiv for shelter in inclement iveather^ or ivhen attacked by enemies. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecad, booksubjectfishes, booksubjectzoology
