TURTLES. 



101 



with its black shell ornamented with orange-colored 

 dots, and the Snapping Tur- 

 tle, live in fresh-water ponds 

 and streams, coming at times 

 upon the land. Others, like 

 the Salt-water Terrapin, so 

 much prized for food, live 

 in salt-water creeks. Oth- 

 ers, like the Hawk-bill Tur- 

 tle, the Green Turtles, and 

 the Soft-shelled Sphargis, 

 live in the ocean, and only 

 come on shore to lay their 

 eggs. The land and fresh 

 water turtles of North Amer- 

 ica have the shell from four 



Fig. 167. Skeleton of a Turtle. 



to six or eight inches long ; excepting the Gophers and 

 Snappers, which are much larger, having the shell a 

 foot and a half or more in length, and, in some cases, 

 the Snapping Turtle is four feet long from the nose to 

 the tip of the tail. This turtle has the head and neck 

 very large, and the jaws strongly hooked, and it is 

 exceedingly powerful, and very voracious, devouring 

 smaller reptiles, fishes, young ducks, and other small 

 animals. When molested it raises itself on its legs, 

 opens its mouth wide, and, throwing the body forward, 

 snaps its jaws upon its enemy with fearful power. See 

 Figure 170. 



The Hawk-bill Turtle, Figure 171, lives in the warm 

 parts of the Atlantic Ocean, and weighs about two hun- 

 dred pounds, and its scales furnish the material for the 

 beautiful and costly tortoise-shell ornaments. 



The Green Turtles weigh two or three hundred 



