On the status of Chelonia depressa, Garman
Abstract
The recent species of marine turtles represent the few surviving forms of a once flourishing group, which reached its zenith probably in Late Mesozoic times. There no longer exist such gigantic and diversified monsters as Archelon, Protostega, and Miolania, but such a uniformity of structure prevails that only four allied genera are admitted. It is natural that three of these, which occasionally visit the European coasts, should have been known to Linnaeus, but it is surprising that the remaining two, Colpochelys kempii, Garman, and Chelonia depressa, Garman, should have remained unknown to naturalists till comparatively recently, showing that even now we cannot safely consider our knowledge of the marine turtles as complete.
