Hay — Batrachians and ReptHes of D. C. 143 



49. Chelydra serpentina (Linn.)- Snapping Turtle. 



Shell hich in front, low and notched behind, and with three keels, a 

 median and two lateral, which become obsolete with age; body heaviest 

 forward; head and neck verj' large, the snout narrowed forwards; jaws 

 strongly hooked and very powerful; tail long, its upper margin with a 

 crest of horny compressed tubercles, its ventral surface with two rows of 

 moderate scales: plastron small, cross shaped, with nine plates be- 

 sides the very narrow bridge; claws, 5-4, strong; soft skin everywhere 

 with wrinkles and warts; fore-arm, hands, and feet with large scales. 

 Carapace dusky brown or black, head and neck brown, plastron and soft 

 skin whitish or yellow. This species, it is said, sometimes attains a 

 length of \\ feet, but the largest specimen which I have seen in this 

 locality was 2 feet long. It is fairly common in the marshes, ponds, and 

 shallow waters about Washington. 



50. Kinosternon pennsylvanicum (Bosc). Eastern Mud Turtle; 



SkilJpot. 



Body oval; carapace with three indistinct keels, evident in the young 

 but entirely disappearing in the adult; plastron large, almost tilling the 

 opening of the carapace, its anterior and posterior lobes movable on the 

 fixed central portion, the anterior lobe rounded and with a single gular 

 scute, the posterior lobe notched behind; head of moderate size. Males 

 with two patclies of sharp edged scales on the hind legs and the tail 

 ending in a horny point. Carapace horn color or brown, plastron yellow 

 or brown; soft skin above, brownish with yellow spots; head and neck with 

 yellow stripes; skin of lower surfaces yellow. Length, about 5 inches. 



Fairly common in the marshy parts of the District. 



51. Aromochelys odoratus (Bosc). Marsh Turtle; Stink Pot. 



Body oval but much narrower in the adults than in the young; the 

 carapace with a more or less prominent median keel; plastron narrow, 

 lacking much of filling the opening of the carapace, only its anterior lobe 

 movable; gular scute single; posterior lobe of plastron notched behind; 

 head large, snout projecting, jaws strong, the lower one hooked. Tail 

 of males coiled at tip and furnished with a small nail. Carapace brownish 

 or horn color, often spotted or striped with dark brown; upper surfaces 

 of head, neck, and limbs brown, the lower surfaces paler; plastron yellow; 

 head with two yellow stripes on each side. Length, 5 inches. 



This disagreeable and repulsive turtle is often met with in the marshes 

 about the citjlb-nd can usually be obtained with ease at Four Mile Kun 

 or the Bennings Swamp. It is sometimes taken by the angler on his 

 hook. 



52. Pseudemys rubriventris (LeConte). Red-bellied Terrapin; Slider. 



Body oval, less rounded and less elevated in the adults than in the 

 young; alveolar surface of jaw broad and with a longitudinal, tuberculated 



