THE REPTILES OF OHIO 161 



before any more eggs are laid. The remainder of the eggs are deposited and the hole 

 is filled up with earth and tramped down quite firmly with the knuckles of the hind 

 feet, right and left feet being used alternately. This treading movement continues for 

 some mmutes and seems to be quite thorough. Although not in any way disturbed, 

 the tortoise left without attempting to cover up the traces of the scratching feet, and 

 anyone who is familiar with the appearance of the tortoise nest would have no diffi- 

 culty in detectmg this one. — The nest was examined and found to be flask-shaped with 

 a narrow neck only an inch and a half in diameter. The depth of the nest was a 

 trifle over six inches and the diameter at the bottom about three inches. The nest 

 contained eighteen rather large spherical eggs of a delicate pink color and with a 

 very thm, brittle shell. 



The same author states that mating takes place during April or May and 

 the nesting season is from the middle of June to the middle of July. He also 

 states that the character of the soil selected for the nest is immaterial and 

 records nests v^^hich were excavated in hard clay, in a rock pile, among the 

 roots of a tree and on a sandy beach. 



It is probable that the eggs hatch in the early fall, but some, as in the 

 case of other species of turtles, do not hatch until spring. 



Glossary 



For the convenience of persons who are not familiar with certain of the terms used 

 in the text a glossary is here included. Reference also should be made to the plates 

 illustrating features of scutellation. Such words as dorsal, longitudinal, serrate, anus 

 and others widely used in zoology are purposely omitted; the novice will find definitions 

 of these terms in any good dictionary. 



5— Male. 

 $ — Female. 

 Abdominal. — One of the fourth pair of scutes on the plastron of turtles. 



AdprESSED. — The fore and hind limbs of lizards stretched at full length toward each 



other and pressed against and parallel to the sides of the body. 

 Alveolar. — The masticatory surface of the jaws in turtles. 



Anal. — The most posterior plate or one of a pair of the most posterior plates on the 

 plastron in turtles. 



Anal Plate. — The scale lying just in front of the anus in snakes, sometimes a single 

 large scale (anal plate single), sometimes divided obliquely into two scales 

 (anal plate divided). 



Angle of Jaw. — The p>oint of juncture of the two jaws. 



Auricular. — Of or pertaining to the ear. 



AzYGOUS. — Single, I.e., not paired. Said of the median dorsal scale posterior to the 

 rostral in Heierodon conlortrix. 



Barbel. — A small fleshy filament on the chin or throat of a turtle. 



Bridge. — The portion of the shell joining the plastron to the carapace in turtles. 



Button. — The horny caudal appendage of newly born rattlesnakes. 



Canthal. — A small plate on the rim of the snout (in Crotahis) between the inter- 

 nasals and supraoculars. 



CaNTHUS Rostralis. — The angle of the head from the tip of the snout to the eye. 



Carapace. — The upper shell in turtles. 



Cephalic Plates. — The large scales on the head. 



Costal. — One of the large scutes lying in the row between the marginals and the 

 verlebrals in the carapace of turtles. 



