66 Journal of the Mitchell Societv [September 



which it gets its name. While the article of diet known as terrapin 

 should come from this species, yet as a matter of fact the sliders are 

 also to a large extent shipped to market, though, so far I know, 

 not from this State. 



One more group of turtles may be alluded to, namely, the soft- 

 shells, which occur in the Mississippi Valley and the Southeastern 

 States, but have not as yet been recorded from North Carolina. 



They have flat, orbicular bodies, a long neck, and a long pig- 

 shaped snout, and though the edges of the lips are fleshy, yet within are 

 sharp-cutting edges which can inflict a painful wound. The species 

 grow to a larger size than any of our inland turtles except the snap- 

 per, and are wholly carnivorous in diet. 



Little has been said about the recorded distribution of our species 

 and actually but little is known. 



Raleigh, as usual, furnishes the best re-.'ords, with 7 species, Beau- 

 fort comes next with 4 marine and 7 inland forms, while no other 

 locality (except Lake Ellis with 6 and Greensboro and Chapel Hill 

 with 4 each) gives us records of more than one or two species. 



Yet we may reasonably infer that excepting the mountain terrapin, 

 which is confined to the mountains, and the diamond-back, which is a 

 salt-marsh species of the coast, our prevailing forms must range from 

 the edge of the mountains to the coast, though some of the sliders 

 probably are only found in the eastern half of the State and the status 

 of a few is quite problematical. 



A key to practically all eastern turtles follows, bj' eastern, I mean 

 forms that are found east of the Mississippi, excluding the strictly 

 Mississippi Valley species. The key will probably enable a tolerably 

 intelligent person to identify most of the forms included with rea- 

 sonable accuracy. 



Species already recorded from North Carolina are preceded by a 

 serial number, the rest are in italics and unnumbered, and the name 

 is followedby the name of State nearest to North Carolina \u which 

 the species has been taken. 



Key to the Turtles of the Eastern United States 



1. Limbs long, flat and paddle like : front limbs with not more 

 than two claws each. IMarine turtles. See 2. 



1. Limbs not paddle like, front limbs with three or more claws 

 on each. Land and Freshwater Turtles. See 6. 



