96 COPEIA 



days they can be seen sunning themselves on rocks 

 in the water, but always ready to disappear at the 

 slightest sign of danger. They are difficult to ap- 

 proach, although specimens have been obtained by 

 swimming up to and taking them by surprise. Dur- 

 ing the breeding season (June, in this region), they 

 have been found at considerable distances from wa- 

 ter. 3 The nests are found in sandy soil, the female 

 depositing her eggs about two inches deep and care- 

 fully smoothing over the surface above the nest af- 

 terward. Without doubt many of these are destroyed 

 by skunks, which "smell out" and devour the eggs of 

 all our turtles each year. This cause alone is suffi- 

 cient to prevent rapid increase in numbers. These 

 terrapins are active here from May to October, with 

 the exception of a short period in August, when they 

 are said to disappear. 4 



Holbrook, 5 in discussing the habits of this spe- 

 cies, says it is found in "streams and rivers of running 

 water, generally preferring those with rocky beds." 

 In the as yet unpublished "Survey of Inland Waters 

 of Massachusetts," by the State Commissioners of 

 Fisheries and Game, I find the following data re- 

 garding three of the larger ponds in which these tur- 

 tles are abundant: Gunners Exchange Pond'. 

 "Greatest depth 25 ft.; middle west shore boggy; sev- 

 eral wide sand beaches; bottom muddy." Boot Pond'. 

 "Area 74 acres; greatest depth 31 ft.; bottom, slight 

 accumulation." Island, Pond'. "Area 50 acres; bot- 

 tom, pebbles, stone, gravel, and brown mud." Thus 

 it appears that a rocky bed is not an essential factor 

 in its e nvironment. 



•>' Dr. F. A. Lucas writes me that lie found a large specimen in 1913 

 in the middle of the road, half a mile from Crooked Pond. He also 

 has seen a broken shell found near Sparrow's Hill, one-half mile 

 from Billington Sea. 



i Mr. Thayer reports finding on one occasion in May, a specimen which 

 had just died, in which the only indication of disease or injury 

 was a nasal hemorrhage. He thinks numbers die from this affec- 

 tion each year. 



5 North American Herpetologv, Vol. I, J. E. Holbrook, M.D., 1842, 

 p. 55. 



