Hurter — Herpetology of Missouri. 249 



does not range eastward to Texas. Missouri localities : — • 

 St. Louis, Iron, Jasper, Johnson, Randolph, Warren, Pet- 

 tis, and Montgomery Counties. In Illinois, Baldwin, Ran- 

 dolph Co., and Addieville, Washington Co. 



Habits. — I myself have only found one specimen of this 

 turtle in a hole occupied by a Rana areolata. Mr. Edgar 

 M. Parker, an enterprising naturalist of Montgomery 

 City, Mo., surprised me with a full set of this species 

 which he had collected on the prairies near Montgomery. 



Suborder CHILOTAE. 



This suborder consists of only one family, the Soft- 

 shelled or Leather Turtles. 



Family Trionychidae. 



Turtles covered with a soft, leathery skin; lips fleshy; nostrils at the 

 end of a flexible proboscis; toes webbed, with three claws. (Stejneger.) 



Genus amyda. 



Head slender, covered with soft skin. Head and neck completely re- 

 tractile. Nostril opening at the end of a fleshy proboscis. Horny 

 coverings of jaws concealed at the sides of the fleshy lips. Body flat- 

 tened, shell covered with a continuous skin, generally cartilaginous at 

 the margins. Digits 5-5, with large webs; first three with claws, the 

 fourth and fifth clawless and concealed in the webs. Aquatic. 



So far I have found only two species in the State, dif- 

 ferentiated as follows: — 



Nostril circular, having no papillae projecting into it from the 

 septum. mutica. 



Nostril crescent-shaped, having a papilla projecting into it from 

 the septum. spinifera. 



101. Amyda mutica Lesuetje. Leather Turtle. Soft- 

 shelled Turtle. 



Trionyx muticus, Gymnopus muticus, Callinia microcephala. 



Description. — Head long, low and pointed in front, descending rapidly 

 in front of the eyes, the margins of the upper and lower jaws being 

 concave outwardly. The horny upper jaw with a cutting edge, which 



