THE REPTILES OF OHIO 135 



places as all the other species of turtles known to occur in northern Ohio. 

 At least one was taken in each month from January to October inclusive and 

 the seasonal peak of abundance was found to be in May. A few were seen 

 swimming under the ice several times in the late fall in a pool at the Toledo 

 Zoo and numbers successfully hibernated in the same pool. Most selected 

 places beneath masses of soggy leaves where they were either partially or com- 

 pletely submerged, but two of them spent the winter under wet leaves several 

 feet from the water. 



Blanding's turtles are omnivorous but the larger portion of their food is 

 apparently of an animal nature. They were seen eating snails, crayfish, earth- 

 worms and fish and such items of carrion as dead fish and dead turtles. In 

 captivity they took all of the above plus lettuce, meat and chopped fish. Their 

 feeding habits and their small size, when compared to snappers, are such that 

 they probably do very little damage on the many muskrat farms located within 

 their range. Instead they furnish an additional source of revenue, in that 

 large numbers are caught and sent to market. 



Pairs were observed mating in captivity a number of times. In almost 

 every detail, including the positions assumed, the use of the head and legs and 

 the use of the tail, the matings were very similar to those of the snapping tur- 

 tle as described under that species. Coupled pairs were always in the water 

 but when lifted out they remained in coitu for some time unless they were 

 treated roughly. The male organ was then withdrawn and they quickly sep- 

 arated. Males were actively pursuing females about the pool on a number of 

 occasions. Although two or three matings were recorded during the summer, 

 the majority were in March, April and early May. 



Practically nothing is known about the nesting and egg-laying habits of 

 Emys blandingii. However, Cahn (1937, 82) states, 



The eggs number from 6 to 10, though the ovaries of a large female will be found 

 to contain hundreds of eggs of various sizes, these, of course, being the supply for 

 future years. The eggs when laid are covered by a tough, white unglazed shell. The 

 average size of eight eggs which composed the complement removed from the oviduct 

 of a large female just about to lay is 36.6 mm. by 25.2 mm. The largest egg was 

 38 mm. by 26 mm. 



A newly hatched juvenile, in which a fragment of the cord was still at- 

 tached to the navel, was found September 3, 1930, on Green Island, Ottawa 

 County, in Lake Erie. This specimen was making its way toward the water 

 down a steep declivity between two masses of rock at one of the very few 

 points on the cliff-rimmed shore up which its mother could have climbed to lay 

 her eggs. Careful search in the vicinity failed to reveal the nest from which 

 the young one emerged. Measurements of this specimen were: carapace length 

 ly^ inches, carapace width 1 ^/so? plastron length U/g inch, depth ^"/^o inch. 



Another very small specimen was discovered floating near the shore in 

 Ladd Lake, Milford Township, Defiance County, on May 16, 193 L It meas- 

 ured 1 ^/lo inch in carapace length and its navel appeared to be entirely healed. 



