The reptiles are vertebrates which are supplied with a horny or bony
skin; they have red, cold blood, breathe by means of lungs, and
generally lay eggs; many of them have no feet. When limbs are
present, however, they do not raise the body far off the ground, for
the elbows and knees are turned outward. Some reptiles pass the
winter in sleep.
=TORTOISES AND TURTLES= (_Chelonia_)
These animals have a wide body, which is enclosed between the arched
shell of the back and the flat shell of the stomach. There are land,
sea, and river tortoises. In some the head and legs can be retracted
inside the shell. Over the outside of the case are horny plates
which, in the hawkbill turtle are of value, as they afford the
tortoise shell used for combs, etc. Turtles never have teeth, the
edges of the jaws being covered with horny material. Most of the
species are carnivorous. The largest species are the marine
leather-backs of the tropics, which occasionally drift north to New
England, and the giant species occurring on the Galapagos Islands,
off the west coast of South America, and on some islands in the
Indian Ocean.
=Land Tortoises= have a high arched shell under which the head and feet
can be retracted. The feet have separate toes, and are adapted for
walking. They are strictly herbivorous. Examples of this family are the
large and strong Gopher-tortoises of the Carolinas, which burrow in the
earth, the massive Amazon Tortoise, used for food by the natives, the
Galapagos Tortoise, and the small Garden Tortoise.
=Mud Tortoise= (_Emys lutaria_) is frequently seen in Italy and the
south of France. It inhabits lakes and slow-flowing waters, and feeds
upon small fish, spawn, frogs, water insects, etc. It lays its eggs in
a hole, which it digs in the bank. Its flesh is edible. Small specimens
are frequently kept in aquariums, and fed with meat, bread, lettuce
leaves, etc.
=Sea Turtles= have flat shells between which the flipper-like feet and
huge head cannot be retracted. There are no nails or separate toes, and
the fore feet are much the larger. The Green Turtle (_Chelone midas_) is
much esteemed as food, with its eggs. It lives in or near the Gulf
Stream, feeds on the roots of eelgrass, comes ashore at night, during
May, and lays nearly one hundred eggs, which hatch in six weeks; the
laying is usually repeated several times every two weeks, near the first
nest. This Turtle may attain a weight of over eight hundred pounds. The
Logger-head Turtle, so-called from its huge head and neck, ranges from
Brazil to Massachusetts, attains a weight half that of the Green Turtle,
and feeds on fish, crustacea, conchs, etc.
The Hawk’s Bill (_Eretmochelys_) has pointed plates that supply the
“tortoise shell” of commerce. A large specimen may yield as much as
eight pounds of the “shell.” The beautiful mottled color and
semi-transparent characters of this material are well known. Its
manufacture is carried on in the East, a fine tortoise-shell being
exported from Celebes to China.
=Snapping Turtle= is a large voracious turtle, common in North America
along stagnant waters and along the southern Mississippi where it
sometimes reaches the weight of thirty pounds. It lives on fishes,
frogs, and shells, and occasionally water-fowl. It has great strength of
jaw and snaps when it bites. When fattened, its flesh is often esteemed
as a delicacy. It is sometimes known as the Alligator-terrapin or
Alligator Turtle.
=Terrapin= is the popular name of many species of fresh-water and
tidal-water tortoises, native to tropical and the warmer temperate
countries. About twenty fresh-water species are found in the United
States. But the terrapin _par excellence_ is the Diamond-back Salt-water
Terrapin, highly prized as a delicacy for the table. It is caught in
salt marshes along the coast from New England to Texas, the finest being
those of the Massachusetts and the northern coasts.
[Illustration: Crocodiles are cruel, but in one way they serve us, by
eating the dead bodies of animals which float down the rivers. But for
the crocodiles these bodies might poison the water. Here we see the
crocodile and the little bird called the ziczac, which picks the food
from between the crocodile’s teeth.]
=CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS= (_Crocodilia_)
These inhabitants of the rivers and estuaries of tropical regions
are somewhat lizard-like in appearance, but in structure they are in
many ways much more specialized. They have a scaly, tough skin on
the back, four powerful feet, and a long tail. They live chiefly in
the water, and only go to the banks to bask in the sun. The jaws are
armed with powerful interlocking teeth, which constitute a deadly
trap. The valvular nostrils are so situated that the animal can
drift along with most of its body submerged, and at the same time
breathe quite easily.
=Alligator= (_Alligator mississippiensis_) is found in the southern
states of North America. It is as voracious as it is bloodthirsty.
Should it perceive an unfortunate mammal drinking or browsing on the
edge of the bank, it sinks below the surface, and rapidly swims toward
the victim by strokes of its powerful, flattened tail. Then comes a
sudden snap, aided, perhaps, by a lash of the tail; should the attempt
prove successful, the prey is held under water till it is drowned, if
too large to be forthwith swallowed. No bullet will pierce the hide on
its back. It deposits its eggs in a kind of nest, which it builds with
grass and mud on the banks, and defends with great fierceness. It
deposits about one hundred eggs in this nest. The alligator is captured
in various ways, but there is danger in hunting it.
=Crocodile= (_Procœlia_) is found in both hemispheres, but especially in
Africa; they swarm on the Upper Nile. The crocodile of the Nile is a
well-known species, not now found farther north than Thebes, but
occurring abundantly farther south and east. Some two or three score of
eggs, with delicate, rough, limy shells, about the size of those of
geese, are laid in sandy cavities in the bank. The crocodile is now
hunted for the perfume of its musk-glands, and also for its skin and
fat.
[Illustration: The alligators have a covering of horny plates, and
terrible jaws and teeth. These teeth are frequently renewed, new ones
forming in place of those worn out. Alligators are, in this respect,
more fortunate than human beings. In America alligators are protected
part of the year, because they kill things which damage the crops.]
=LIZARDS= (_Lacertilia_)
These may perhaps be described as the most average of existing
reptiles, and have a very wide distribution. Examination of a lizard
or its skeleton enables us to grasp very clearly some of the average
characters of reptiles, such as the sprawling limbs and long tail.
Some of the tropical lizards are of very considerable size,
attaining a length of as much as six feet, as in the iguanas of
America, some of which are esteemed as food. These are among the
climbing members of the order, other examples being the geckoes and
chameleons, both of which are animals of small size.
=Chameleons= are proverbial for the way in which they rapidly change
color if placed among fresh surroundings, so as to harmonize with them.
This variable general coloration is protective, because it makes the
chameleon invisible to its foes, and also aggressive, as the insect prey
of the little lizard are thereby lulled into a sense of false security.
The digits are bound together into two groups, and a tongs-like grasping
organ of great efficiency is thus constituted. The chameleon is also
notable for the relatively enormous distance to which it can suddenly
shoot out its sticky club-shaped tongue, for the purpose of seizing
insects or other small creatures.
=Flying Dragon= (_Draco volans_) is found on trees in the island of
Java. It generally frequents the trees along the banks of great rivers,
in the leaves of which are numerous insects, upon which the flying
dragon feeds. As it is as green as the leaves of the trees, it can only
be recognized by an experienced eye. It is hunted for its delicate
flesh, and also for the eggs, which are found deposited, often fifteen
to twenty at a time, in a hollow in the ground.
=Gecko= (_Hemidadylus maculatus_) is a native of the East Indies and
China. At dawn these reptiles creep out of their holes, and with dilated
eyes look around for prey. As soon as they catch sight of it, the clumsy
creatures spring upon it from a distance of four to six inches, with all
the violence and rapidity of an animal of prey. Sucking pads on the feet
of the gecko enable it to cling firmly to the most slippery surface, and
to crawl about without slipping; its claws, which are sharp and
retractile, are also useful to this reptile.
=Iguana= (_Iguana tuberculata_) is found in the East Indies and in South
America. It lives in trees along the banks of rivers, feeding upon the
insects. Its usual color is dark olive green. Its flesh is considered a
delicacy, being tender and very much like that of a chicken. The eggs,
of which the female deposits from four to six dozen at a time, are also
eaten.
=SNAKES OR SERPENTS=
have elongated bodies, covered with plates or scales, and no feet.
Many kinds have no poisonous fangs in the upper jaw. Serpents
reproduce their species from eggs, and feed upon living animals;
those found in colder regions sleep through the winter.