REPTILES 235 



2 lbs.; legs and head spotted; plastron yellow; young individuals whit- 

 ish, with black concentric lines; head without stripes: salt marshes 

 from Massachusetts to Florida, where it feeds on crustaceans and 

 mollusks; highly prized for food. 



Subspecies of M. centrata 



M. c. centrata (Lat.). Cape Hatteras to Florida. 



M. c. concentrica (Shaw). Size smaller; concentric lines on each 

 plate very distinct: Massachusetts to Cape Hatteras. 



M. pileata (Wied). Similar to M. centrata; carapace with a more 

 or less tuberculate keel and black or brown in color, with distinct 

 concentric lines on each plate: Gulf coast. 



Subspecies of M. pileata 



M. p. pileata (Wied). Color black or very dark brown; top of head 

 dark: Gulf coast, from Florida to the Mississippi River. 



Fig. 135. — Grapletnys geographica {from Fowler). 



M. p. littoralis (W. P. Hay). Color light brown; top of head white: 

 coast of Texas. 



M. p. macros pilota (W. P. Hay). Each plate of carapace with a 

 large central yellow or orange blotch: west coast of Florida. 



5. Graptemys Agassiz. Map turtles. Carapace depressed and 

 with a keel; plastron without a hinge and immovably joined with the 

 carapace; head covered with a soft skin; lower jaw with a dilatation at 

 the tip: 2 species. 



Key to the Species of Graptemys 



3] A triangular yellowish spot back of eye; keel not serrate. . . .G. geographica. 



a2 A transverse cresent back of eye; keel serrate G. pseiidogeographica. 



G. geographica (LeSueur) (Fig. 135). Body dark brown and marked 

 with a network of greenish and yellowish Hues; plastron yellow; length 



