344 CHELONIA 



fore- and hind-limbs, especially the latter, are extensively webbed, 

 and are provided with five short claws. The general colour 

 of the shell is horny brown, either uniform or with darker spots 

 or streaks. The neck and limbs are mottled brown. The only 

 ornamental colouring is a pair of clear yellow broad lines on 

 each side of the head, and a similar streak on each side of the 

 lower jaw. On the chin and upper throat are two pairs of small 

 tentacles. The tail of the male is of about the length of the 

 hind-limbs, while that of the female is so short that its tip 

 scarcely reaches beyond the hinder margin of the carapace. 

 Length of the shell of full-grown specimens between four and 

 five inches. Very young specimens have a rather droll appear- 

 ance, owing to the long and slender neck with the large head, 

 and the humpy back. 



This species is common in the eastern half of North America, 

 from Canada to Texas. It is mainly aquatic, and is one of the 

 dullest and shyest species. My own specimens spend most of 

 their time in the water, invariably in the darkest corners, pre- 

 ferably under a stone or a log, and they do not leave their hiding 

 places until dark, in search of worms, meat, and all sorts of 

 animal food. For months I could never induce them to take 

 food from a stick, or even to eat in my presence, and it was not 

 until after many weeks that one of them at last protruded its 

 head far enough to exhibit the yellow stripes. When taken out 

 of the water they draw in their heads, just allowing the vicious 

 little eyes to be visible, and opening the sharp-edged mouth 

 widely to bite deliberately and furiously at the unwary finger. 

 Some spent the winter in the water, in the greenhouses, feeding 

 as usual, others crept on land, hiding under moss, half buried in 

 the soil, where they slept for several months, but with inter- 

 ruptions in order to soak and to drink. When spring is well 

 advanced they prefer the water for their regular sojourn. Some 

 which had been sent over from New York arrived in a deplorably 

 dried-up condition, the skin being quite flabby and shrivelled, 

 but after a few hours' soaking they came round, and increased 

 considerably in weight, the limbs and neck becoming turgid. 



C. pennsylvanicum of Eastern North America has a larger, 

 more oval plastron. The head is not so strikingly large as in the 

 other species and, like the neck, is brown with yellowish spots, and 

 often has streaks on the sides. The tail of the male ends in a 



