1244 



Rural School Leaflet 



Female wood turtle, one-fourth natural size 



outer edge. The same coloration is found on the under margin of the 

 carapace. The fleshy parts, except the head and the chin, are a beautiful 



reddish brown or 

 vivid orange-red. 

 The top of the head 

 is black, and the 

 chin is yellow with 

 irregular darker 

 markings. 



The wood turtle 

 is often found in 

 the Eastern States 

 as far north as 

 Pennsylvania. It is not a common fonn in New York. It usually appears 

 from hibernation the last of April. It frequents the paths of upland 

 streams, and the banks of lowland watercourses. In the spring this species 

 may be found in the water, but, in general, it lives on land in damp places, 

 and almost invariably in shady wooded districts. The male has a sweet 

 piping note, which it gives when it approaches the female. This obser- 

 vation has been made in May and June when several wood turtles occasion- 

 ally congregate in woody, sandy flats along some stream. Little is known 

 of the breeding habits. Agassiz says that their eggs are elliptical and 

 gives the dimensions as one and one-half inches long by seven-eighths 

 of an inch in diameter. The food of these turtles is largely vegetable 

 in nature, but some insects, worms, and the like, enter into the diet. 

 Few wood turtles are seen after the last of September; in fact the species 

 is a solitary one except at the breeding season. 



(f) The geographic 

 turtle, or map ter- 

 rapin, is not uncom- 

 mon in the Central 

 States, but it is 

 found rarely along 

 Lake Ontario and in 

 the western part of 

 New York State. It 

 is a broad turtle, 

 mth a more or less 

 depressed shell from 

 eight to twelve in- 

 ches long. On the middle of the back is a keel, or ridge, which is con- 

 tinuous instead of knobbed. In color the carapace is yellow brown or 



Female wood turtle, one-fourth natural size 



