TURTLES. 



453 



Cmosternum has four representatives in the rniteil States, of wliich C. pouim/l- 

 vanicu7n, the mud-tortoise, very generally distributed over the southeastern two thirds 

 of the United States, is of small size and resembles the previous species, thou<rh the 

 plastron is divided in to transverse jjortions, the anterior and posterior of which are 

 capable of more or less vertical motion, enabling the retracted head and limbs to be 

 more thoroughly protected. It is an animal which readily takes the bait, and is of no 

 little annoyance to the angler. Other species are found in the southwestern parts of 

 the Union. 



TESTUDrNiD.E embraces those turtles which have the shell very convex and whose 

 feet are developed for a terrestrial life. The toes are distinct, the feet club-shajied, and 

 the caudal plates united. The North American representatives are two in number, 



.V'.^ 



tW/ 



0/U 





Fig. 2G1. — Cinostermitn pennsylvanicum, mud-turtle. 



Testudo Carolina and T. agassizii, the latter of the southern Pacific and the region 

 around Sonora. The former, the common ' gopher,' the shell of which is often fifteen 

 inches in length, is a strong animal, and is more or less gregarious, troo))s being 

 often met with in the pine-barren country. Though in confinement they eat at all 

 times of the day, they are said to be, naturally, of nocturnal habits, making midnight 

 raids on the farmers' sweet potatoes, bulbous plants, and melons, and retiring to their 

 burrows during the wanner portions of the day, or on the approach of showers, where 

 they also hibernate. These homes are inhabited by a single pair, and are dug to a 

 length of four feet, the interior being large and sjiacious, while the mouth is only the 

 size of the larger animal. The negroes, in capturing the ' gophers,' sink a deep pit in 

 front of the hole, and the unfortunate animals, on sauntering out, as they are obliged 

 to daily, droj) in, and are unable to escape. The females are considerably larger than 



