226 Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History. 



distance and then bifurcating, its branches continuing back- 

 wards on the under side of the neck. Legs and tail striped 

 with red or yellow. 



Length of carapace, 5.50; width, 3.81; depth of shell, 1.50. 



Throughout the State; common. Cedar Lake, Lake Co.; 

 Nippersink Lake; Oregon; Normal; Peoria (Brendel); Little 

 Fox River at Phillipstown; Mt. Carmel (Nat. Mus.). 



This is one of the commonest turtles of ponds and small 

 lakes, where scores of them may be seen on bright days in sum- 

 mer sunning themselves on partially submerged logs. It is 

 especially abundant in the small lakes of the northern part of 

 the State. Young of this species with a carapace about an 

 inch and a quarter long are very different from the adults. 

 The most noticeable difference is in the form of the head and 

 carapace. The head is more convex above, with shorter snout 

 and proportionately more prominent eyes. The carapace is 

 flatter, less elongate, in some almost circular in outline. The 

 nuchal plate is almost square and is without the anterior notch. 

 With age there is a gradual change in these particulars, the 

 head becoming flatter, the snout more prominent, the cara- 

 pace elongate, and the nuchal plate narrower. Some large 

 specimens have the anterior edge of the first marginal plates 

 sharply toothed, the teeth being large next the nuchal plate 

 and growing smaller outwardly. 



Ohrysemys picta, Herrm. Painted Turtle. 



Testudo picta, Herrmann, Schneider's Schildkr., 1783, p. 348. 

 Emys picta, Say, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1825, IV., p. 211. 

 Testudo picta, LeC, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1829, III., p. 



115. 

 Emys picta, jyum.etBihr., Erp. G(''n., 1835, II., p. 297.— Ilolbrook, 



N. A. Herp., 1842, I., p. 75, pi. 10.— De Kay, Nat. Hist. N.Y., 



I., Zool. III., Kept, and Amph., 1842, p. 12, pi. 5, Hg. 10. 

 Chrysemys picta, Agassiz, L„ Contr. Nat. Hist. U.S., 1857,1., p 



438; II., pi. 1., fig. 1-5.— Smith, (ieol. Surv. Ohio. Zool. and 



Bot., IV., 1882, p. (5t)3. 

 Chrysemys picta [iu part], Davis and Rice, Dull. 111. State Lab. 



Nat. Hist., I., No. 5, 1883, p. 56. 



Carapace about six inches long, depressed, convex, smooth. 

 Nuchal plate about two thirds as wide as long, notched. Dorsals 



