TURTLES AND BATRACHIANS OF THE LAKE REGION. 



481 



dense growth of a stalked branched protozoan, Opercularia. Later it was 

 found that larger Musk Turtles harbored considerable masses of the proto- 

 zoan on the plastron, this being frequently entirely covered, so that the 

 turtles were practically botanical gardens above and zoological gardens 

 below. Neither the alga nor the protozoan appears to do the turtles any 

 injury. The algae above may assist the tiu-tle in concealment; the protozoan 

 below is self-supporting, feeding on minute organisms. The turtles in the 

 muddy waters of Lost Lake are much more heavily overgrown than those of 

 the clearer waters of Lake Maxinkuckee. 



The Musk Turtle is a harmless creature and certainly does some good as 

 a scavenger. It should, therefore, be protected. 



So far as we are informed, it is never utilized as food by man; its small 

 size and disagreeable odor preclude such a possibility. It is the smallest 

 species in the lake. In the following table are given the weights and measure- 

 ments of examples of the species, the first 51 of which were caught by us in 

 the Outlet Bay, November 1, 1904, by means of a small dipnet, and after- 

 ward sent to the American Museum of Natural History. 



