no.1655. N0TE8 o.\ VERTEBRATES PROM i\l>i\\\ ii\ii\. f )(; j 



TRIONYX SPINIFERUS Le Sueur. 

 SPINY SOFT-SHELLED TURTLE. 



\<>i seen alive l>ut a small boy, familiar with the ponds of the 

 neighborhood, informed me that the soft-shelled turtles were some 

 times found in them. His statements were confirmed by finding the 

 mangled remains of one in the road not far from a pond. 



CHELYDRA SERPENTINA (Linnaeus). 

 SNAPPING TURTLE. 



Very common. In the spring they seem to wander a great deal, 

 traveling from pond to pond. The remains of one was found in the 

 cave some distance from the entrance. It had doubtless entered by 



accident and had been unable to sustain life there. A large one killed 

 by a hoy in the neighborhood measured 11 inches in a direct line from 

 the nuchal to the caudal plate. 



TERRAPENE CAROLINA (Linnaeus). 

 BOX TORTOISE. 



Very common: found living in the cave. A pair were soon mating 

 on September 6. I )uring the later part, at least, of the sexual congress 

 the male assumes an erect position with the hinder edge of the cara- 

 pace and hind fret on the ground, the tail hooked under the female, 

 and the head and fore limbs in the air. 



CHRYSEMYS MARGINATA Agassiz. 

 WESTERN PAINTED TORTOISE. 



Wry abundant in the ponds. On one occasion twenty-seven wcye 

 counted on a single log. There were others in the same small pond, 

 and four other ponds within a radius of 200 yards were inhabited by 

 turtles at the same time. 



.MAMMALS. 



The physical characters of the region exert a noticeable influence 

 upon the mammalian fauna. Bats are attracted in large numbers to 

 the caves, in which they spend a considerable portion of their lives. 

 The rocky hillsides ami wood- :i (lord homes for the smaller carnivores 



a- well as for the wood -dwelling rodent-. An ahiindaiit supply of 



seeds of forest trees, shrubs, and vines furnish food for the latter class 

 of animals. 



On the other hand, there are no swamps or large tract- of grassy 

 land in the immediate vicinity, and mammals living in such places 



