Plates IX-XI
Records of the occurrence of the great marine Leather-back Turtle in the Pacific Ocean are so few that any additional observations are of much interest. Temminck and Schlegel[19] report upon a specimen captured near the Bay of Nagasaki, Japan, in May, 1825. Mr. Swinhoe[20] saw a large one at Amoy, China, in October, 1859. Aflalo[21] has described a pair from Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia. Krefft[22] mentions an example nine feet long from the coast of New South Wales. McCoy[23] figures one caught at Portland, Victoria, Australia, in 1862. Another was harpooned by Captain Subritzky in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, in May, 1892.[24] Boulenger[25] mentions a skull from the Solomon Islands. The species has been recorded from the coast of Chile by Molina[26] and Philippi,[27] and from Guaymas, Mexico, by Mr. Belding.[28]
Thus it appears that the only record of the occurrence of the Leather-back Turtle in the waters of the western coast of the North American continent is the brief note by Mr. Belding in the West American Scientist, which reads as follows:
"I saw at Guaymas a Leather-back Turtle (Dermatochelys) which weighed 1,102 lbs."
I am now able to record the capture of three specimens of this turtle on the coast of California.
Early in January of the present year I received word that a large sea turtle had been caught near Santa Barbara, California, and at once arranged to purchase it for the Academy. A photograph (Plate IX) sent me at the time showed it to be a fine specimen of the Leather-back Turtle. Upon its arrival in San Francisco this turtle proved to be a female measuring six feet and seven inches from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail. Its weight was given on the bill of lading as 800 pounds, but this may have been estimated rather than actually determined. It was secured by Mr. G. W. Gourley and Albert F. Stafford, about January 2, in twenty-five fathoms of water in the open sea about two miles south of Santa Barbara.
Mr. Gourley has given me the following glowing account of its capture:
"Santa Barbara, Cal.,
"Jan. 17, 1905.
"Dear Sir:—Your note of 13th inst. received.... In regard to the details of the capture I will say that the turtle was first seen swimming on the surface about two miles off shore and to the southwestward of the Santa Barbara whistling buoy. I went after it (accompanied by a boy) in an 18 foot sailboat. I had a gaff with a hook on the end of it and bent about 200 feet of rope onto the handle. I had also prepared a number of other ropes with nooses on them to be ready for quick work.
"On approaching the turtle it did not hear the wash of the boat until we were within about 25 feet of it, when it made a rush to windward and started to dive, but the momentum of the boat when I luffed into the wind carried her right along side of him and I dropped the tiller and got forward with the gaff-hook and swung over the side in the weather rigging and got the hook fast in the leathery part of his neck. He immediately sounded and run out the full length of the line—about 200 feet—and towed the boat about half a mile further out to sea. He then came to the surface and we over-handed the line and pulled up close to him again. When he caught sight of the boat he turned and came toward us and threw one of his flippers over the gunwale of the boat, nearly capsizing her.[29] I climbed up on the upper side and shoved him off with an oar. He grabbed the end of the oar and bit the end of it off like a piece of cheese. His movements in the water were very swift; using his fore flipper he could turn almost instantly from one side to the other and his head would project about 18 inches from the body. I succeeded in throwing a noose over his head and later by attracting his attention in the opposite direction got ropes around both flippers—finally having five lines on him—and started to tow him toward the shore. He repeatedly slipped the ropes off from his neck and flippers—several times getting almost entirely free. We were from 11:30 A. M. till nearly 4 P. M. in finally landing him. When about half way to shore he suddenly turned and made a break out to sea, towing the boat stern first with all sail drawing full for several hundred yards with little effort. He emitted at intervals a noise resembling the grunt of a wild boar. There were (when we first tackled him) about a dozen ramoras attached to different parts of the body. Most of them stayed with him all through the struggle and only deserted him when I hoisted him to the deck of the dock. I captured two of them and kept them in a bucket for several days. One was about ten inches long. The turtle lived for four days after taking out of the water—being very lively when first landed and gradually subsiding. I don't think this species ever come out of the water on their own responsibility
"So far as I can learn there has been but one other of this kind ever taken on this coast. It was less than half the size of this and was entangled in a fisherman's net and was wounded in capturing, so that it died soon after. The meat was sold to the hotels here and was very fine eating.
"Respectfully,
"G. W. Gourley."
Inquiry regarding the second specimen referred to in Mr. Gourley's letter finally resulted, through the kindness of Dr. Frank M. Anderson, in my securing from Mr. E. B. Hoyt of San Luis Obispo, a photograph of this turtle, taken soon after its death. Mr. Hoyt tells me that this photograph was taken by himself at Santa Barbara in July or August, 1901. It shows the animal covering more than half the length of the floor of a dray on which it was lying. This photograph is reproduced in Plate X.
The third individual of this species was preserved in the museum at Coronado, San Diego County, which I am told is now a thing of the past. All that I have been able to learn of its history is contained in the following note from Mrs. E. S. Newcomb, who was in charge of the collection:
"Coronado, March 21, 1896.
"Dear Sir:—I am only posted in regard to one marine turtle, which hangs in the entrance of our museum, and provokes various witty remarks from the travelling public.... This turtle was caught off Point Loma [San Diego Co.] by a fisherman, weight 800 lbs. He sold it to the market, where Prof. Ward recognized the skin as belonging to the Harp or Lute turtle, and purchased it for this museum. It has been here eight years. I am sorry my information is so meagre, but it is the best I can give you.
"Yours sincerely,
"(Mrs.) E. S. Newcomb."
With no material for comparison I am unable to form an opinion as to the identity or specific distinctness of the Leather-back Turtles of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans; but Distant's photograph of an individual from South Africa[30] certainly shows a style of coloration very different from that seen in those reproduced here.
A view of the superior surface of the hyoid is given (Plate XI) which makes it evident that the specimen figured by Gervais[31] was incomplete.
San Francisco, California,
August 4, 1905.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE IX.
Photograph of Leather-back Turtle captured at Santa Barbara, California, January, 1905.
Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 3D. Ser. Zool. Vol. IV.
[Van Denburgh] Plate IX.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE X.
Photograph of Leather-back Turtle captured at Santa Barbara, California, in July or August, 1901.
Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 3D. Ser. Zool. Vol. IV.
[Van Denburgh] Plate X.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI.
Hyoid of Leather-back Turtle captured at Santa Barbara, California, January, 1905.
Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. 3D. Ser. Zool. Vol. IV.
[Van Denburgh] Plate XI.
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Third Series
| Zoology | Vol. IV, No. 4[32] |
Issued March 14, 1906
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF THE GENUS
PLETHODON (PLETHODON VANDYKEI) FROM
MOUNT RAINIER, WASHINGTON
BY JOHN VAN DENBURGH
Curator of the Department of Herpetology.
In a small collection of amphibians secured in Washington by Dr. Edwin Cooper Van Dyke, Curator of the Department of Entomology, is an apparently undescribed species of salamander, which I take pleasure in naming, in honor of its collector,
Plethodon vandykei sp. nov.
Diagnosis.—Similar in general appearance to Plethodon intermedius, but much larger and stouter; costal grooves 12-13; toes and fingers webbed, only 2 phalanges of third and fourth toes free; adpressed limbs separated by 1 costal interspace; tail but slightly compressed; paratoid well developed; a dorsal band, not red; lower surfaces black.
Type.—Cal. Acad. Sci. No. 6910, Paradise Valley, Mt. Rainier Park, Washington, Dr. E. C. Van Dyke, July 15-31, 1905.
Description.—General form similar to P. oregonensis, but body not quite so much flattened, tail less compressed, and limbs shorter and stouter; tail cylindro-conic, somewhat compressed in posterior half, nearly equal to length of head and body; head depressed, about width of widest part of body; snout broadly truncate from above, rounded in profile; eyes moderate, smaller than in P. oregonensis, rather prominent, separated anteriorly by nearly twice the length of the orbital slit; nostrils small, near corners of snout, separated by about their distance from pupil; subnasal groove descending nearly to margin of lip; line of lip descending slightly below corner of snout and ascending below posterior edge of orbit; palatine teeth in 2 slightly curved series beginning some distance behind and a little internal to the internal nares, converging obliquely backward, and scarcely separated on the median line; parasphenoid teeth in 1 patch throughout, separated from palatine teeth by an interval equal to distance from nostril to edge of lip; internal nares rather small; tongue large, ovate, not emarginate, attached along median line but free laterally and for a short distance behind; neck a little narrower than body, with large elongate parotoid gland divided by a longitudinal groove running posteriorly and downward from eye to gular fold, other grooves behind, above and in front of parotoid; a groove along vertebral line; costal grooves between limbs 12 on right, 13 on left, not continued to midline either above or below; limbs a little shorter and stouter than in P. oregonensis, anterior with 4 and posterior with 5 digits; digits rather short, with broad rounded ends each with a terminal pad below, inner shortest, third longest, second finger longer than fourth, second toe shorter than fourth which is but little shorter than third; web well developed, extending nearly to end of inner digits, 2 phalanges of third and fourth toes free, feet very broadly palmate; tail slender, slightly compressed in posterior two-thirds, with rather indefinite grooves on proximal half; skin shiny, but roughened above and laterally and pitted below by the mouths of small glands; adpressed limbs separated by about the distance between 2 costal grooves.
A broad band extends along the whole dorsal surface from the snout to the tip of the tail. In the alcoholic specimen this band is dark clay-color, dotted with black on the upper surface of the head. It is broadest on the back of the head and narrowest above the anus. The upper surfaces of the limbs and the side of the snout are clay-color dotted with black. A black line runs from the eye to the nostril. The hands and feet are black dotted with clay-color. The chin and central gular region are white with a few scattered black dots. The sides of the neck and the sides and lower surfaces of the body and tail are intense black with a few scattered whitish dots on the belly and sides of tail and with a zone of crowded white dots along the sides of the neck and body.
Snout to anus 60 Front of anus to end of tail 56 Width of head 9 Nostril to orbit 2 Snout to orbit 4 Snout to gular fold 13 Snout to fore limb 17 Gular fold to anus 47 Axilla to groin 34 Adpressed limbs separated by 3 Fore limb 15½ Hind limb 18½ Heel to end of longest toe 7 Breadth of foot 6 San Francisco, California,
December 21, 1905.
| Snout to anus | 60 |
| Front of anus to end of tail | 56 |
| Width of head | 9 |
| Nostril to orbit | 2 |
| Snout to orbit | 4 |
| Snout to gular fold | 13 |
| Snout to fore limb | 17 |
| Gular fold to anus | 47 |
| Axilla to groin | 34 |
| Adpressed limbs separated by | 3 |
| Fore limb | 15½ |
| Hind limb | 18½ |
| Heel to end of longest toe | 7 |
| Breadth of foot | 6 |
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Third Series
| Zoology | Vol. IV, No. 5 |
Issued March 14, 1906
ON THE OCCURRENCE OF THE SPOTTED NIGHT
SNAKE, HYPSIGLENA OCHRORHYNCHUS, IN
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA; AND ON THE
SHAPE OF THE PUPIL IN THE
REPTILIAN GENUS ARIZONA
BY JOHN VAN DENBURGH
Curator of the Department of Herpetology.