﻿402 
  BABCOCK: 
  NEW 
  ENGLAND 
  TURTLES. 
  

  

  Numbers. 
  — 
  It 
  is 
  local 
  in 
  occurrence 
  and 
  nowhere 
  very 
  abundant, 
  even 
  rare, 
  although 
  

   rather 
  generally 
  distributed 
  throughout 
  New 
  Jersey. 
  Ditmars 
  (1907) 
  states 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  

   received 
  several 
  dozen 
  specimens 
  from 
  Staten 
  Island, 
  New 
  York. 
  

  

  Habitat. 
  — 
  This 
  turtle 
  often 
  leaves 
  the 
  water, 
  but 
  is 
  usually 
  found 
  in 
  swampy 
  localities 
  

   near 
  clear 
  running 
  streams. 
  

  

  Breeding 
  Habits. 
  — 
  Muhlenberg's 
  Turtle 
  resembles 
  C. 
  guttata 
  and 
  C. 
  insculpta 
  in 
  its 
  breed- 
  

   ing 
  habits. 
  

  

  Habits.— 
  This 
  turtle 
  has 
  distinctly 
  terrestrial 
  habits 
  although 
  confining 
  its 
  wanderings 
  

   to 
  swampy 
  locations. 
  It 
  is 
  entirely 
  at 
  home, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  in 
  water 
  and 
  rather 
  more 
  

   agile 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  environment. 
  

  

  Food 
  Habits.— 
  In 
  its 
  feeding 
  habits 
  this 
  turtle 
  exhibits 
  one 
  very 
  interesting 
  phenomenon: 
  

   that 
  of 
  feeding 
  with 
  the 
  head 
  out 
  of 
  water. 
  In 
  the 
  progress 
  upward 
  from 
  the 
  lower 
  aquatic 
  

   forms 
  of 
  Chelonians 
  to 
  the 
  higher 
  land-going 
  types, 
  this 
  species 
  is 
  the 
  milestone 
  at 
  which 
  mem- 
  

   bers 
  of 
  the 
  order 
  become 
  able 
  to 
  swallow 
  food 
  without 
  submerging 
  the 
  head, 
  thus 
  extending 
  

   at 
  once 
  their 
  feeding 
  range. 
  

  

  Muhlenberg's 
  Turtle 
  is 
  omnivorous. 
  Surface 
  (1908) 
  found 
  stomach 
  contents 
  of 
  this 
  

   species 
  to 
  contain 
  berries 
  and 
  insects 
  (undetermined 
  fragments). 
  

  

  Enemies. 
  — 
  The 
  eggs 
  and 
  young 
  are 
  destroyed 
  by 
  predaceous 
  fish, 
  birds, 
  and 
  mammals. 
  

  

  Economic 
  Importance. 
  — 
  While 
  this 
  turtle 
  is 
  too 
  small 
  to 
  have 
  any 
  food 
  value 
  commercially, 
  

   it 
  has 
  a 
  distinct 
  part 
  to 
  play 
  in 
  the 
  economy 
  of 
  Nature, 
  as 
  have 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  small 
  fresh-water 
  

   Chelonians. 
  This 
  role 
  consists 
  in 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  injurious 
  insects, 
  which 
  constitute 
  a 
  part 
  

   of 
  its 
  food, 
  and 
  in 
  acting 
  as 
  a 
  scavenger 
  by 
  feeding 
  upon 
  dead 
  animal 
  matter. 
  

  

  