Hurler — Herpetology of Missouri. 247 



a bare spot of ground about three feet in diameter. I 

 heard a noise which sounded like a rat gnawing a bone. 

 At first I could not locate the noise. I soon found, how- 

 ever, that it came from the bare spot of ground. Care- 

 fully stepping closer, I found a large barn rat gnawing the 

 front edge of the shell of a Box Turtle, which lay on its 

 back. The rat soon saw me and ran for the barn. I picked 

 up the turtle, which was covered with blood. This came 

 from the place where the rat had gnawed the shell and 

 also from one hind leg which the rat had bitten. The 

 turtle was very, very fat, so fat that it could not entirely 

 close the shell. The rat had evidently attacked the hind 

 foot, which the turtle was unable to draw in under the 

 shell. I wonder whether the rat attacked the turtle while 

 travelling. Did the rat turn the turtle over to prevent 

 it from getting away, or did the turtle turn on its back 

 to better protect itself? The turtle could not have been 

 turned over by accident as the ground was perfectly flat." 

 Mr. Whelpley also states that the Box Turtles are trav- 

 eling toward water at the present time (July 25). The 

 food of the Box Turtle consists largely of vegetab.io mat- 

 ter and berries, although the larvae of insects are eaten 

 as well as earthworms and slugs. Fat specimens are un- 

 able to close both lobes of the plastron simultaneously — 

 the pressure of one-half of the lower shell upon the fleshy 

 part forces open the other. 



99. Terrapexe kinosternoides Gray. Three-toed Box 

 Turtle. 



Emys Jcinosternoides, Emys cinosternoides, Cistudo triunguis, Cistudo 

 Carolina var. triunguis, Cistudo clausa var. triunguis, Cistudo Caro- 

 lina var. cinosternoides, Terrapene triunguis. 



Description. — Shell as in the preceding species. Hook of upper jaw 

 notched, bicuspid. No trace of web between the digits. Only three 

 clawed functional digits on the hind limb. 



The zygomatic arch is more incomplete, the quadrato-jugal is reduced 

 to a very small remnant, which has the shape of a triangle. The num- 

 ber of phalanges on hind foot is 2-3-3-2-1. (Baur.) 



Color. — The carapace of odd specimens is yellowish (clay color). 



