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Turtles are provided with horny jaws, but they
have no teeth. The exoskeleton appears to have
been developed on account of the fact that
these animals need protection from various
materials floating down the streams in which
they live.
Some turtles have the front or back of the
lower exoskeleton hinged so that they are
capable of drawing in their head, legs and tail,
then completely closing up the exoskeleton; these
are known as box turtles.
In the crocodiles and aligatorys the body is
covered with an armor of bony scales. They procure
their prey many times by grasping and pulling
it under the water and thus drowning it. They
themselves do not drownd because the nose
and ears and throat are provided with valves
to keep out the water when the animal goes under.
An aligatore two feet long is aproximently
fifteen years old; one twele feet long may be
reasonably supposed to be seventy five years old.
Both aligators and crocodiles lay eggs in
the sand and depend upon the suns heat to hatch
them.
The horn toads also belong to the reptilia; they
are therefore not toads since toads belong
to the amphibia. They are perfectly harmless and
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