144 Hay Batrachians and Reptiles of D. C. 



ridge; jaws coarsely serrated, the upper with a prominent hook on each 

 side of the median notch; a row of large scales along the outer edge of 

 the fore feet; neck with scales; loose skin "between legs scaleless. 

 Color exceedingly variable, dusky with irregular red markings above; 

 marginal plates with much red; plastron red or partly yellowish; head 

 and neck brown with reddish lines. Length, 6 to 8 inches. 



A rather common species and probably the best known, as it is brought 

 in numbers to our markets and sold for food. It is to be looked for in 

 the same localities as the preceding. 



53. Chrysemys picta (Hermann). Painted Turtle. 



Shell broad and low, the surface very smooth, and with no traces of a 

 keel; plates of carapace arranged in four, nearly straight, transverse 

 rows; upper jaw with a small tooth on each side of the median notch, 

 alveolar surface narrow and with a low, smooth ridge on each side for 

 about half its length; plastron broad and flat, truncated behind. Greenish 

 black above, the plates margined with paler; marginal plates marked 

 with bright red; plastron yellowish, often blotched with brown; head 

 and neck with yellow stripes. Length, 4 to 5 inches. 



Our most common species. It occurs in great numbers in the low 

 marshes along the river and the Eastern Branch. An energetic collector 

 once brought me fifty specimens of this turtle which he had secured in 

 one afternoon in the marsh near Bennings. 



54. Clem my s guttatus (Schneider). Speckled Tortoise. 



Shell low, broad, and without traces of keel except sometimes in the 

 young; nuchal scute very narrow; plastron large, its posterior border 

 slightly emarginate; upper jaw slightly notched in front, alveolar surface 

 very narrow; legs and feet all covered with scales, those of the front 

 limbs large and overlapping; tail long, that of the male bringing the 

 vent beyond the end of the carapace. Color black above, often with 

 reddish-brown tints; each scute with from one to twelve round orange 

 spots; plastron red, orange, and black, the latter usually predominating; 

 head black, with orange dots, neck and soft skin about legs with more or 

 less red. 



Very common in about the same localities as all the preceding. 



55. Malaclemmys centrata (Latreille). Diamond-back Terrapin. 



Carapace broad, rather depressed and rising gradually to the central 

 ridge, the plates which cover it always with numerous concentric, low 

 ridges; upper jaw not notched in front, alveolar surface smooth. 

 Greenish or almost black, plates of both carapace and plastron usually 

 with dark concentric lines. Length, 4 to 12 inches. 



There is a single record for this turtle within our limits and was prob 

 ably based upon some individual which had escaped from the market. 



