52. CHRYSEMYS 



dark seal brown (almost black); costal bars tinged with cad- 

 mium orange. 



Hurter, in his Herpetology of Missouri gives the follow- 

 ing description of the coloration: 



"Color above greenish olive with narrow yellowish lines 

 following the sutures. Some of the shields are traversed by 

 vein-like lines of the same color. Marginals above with 

 about three transverse lines, the median of which reaches 

 the inner margin of plate and sometimes joins a yellow band 

 along the outer margin. Marginals beneath with a broad 

 band traversed by yellowish stripes. Within the fields form- 

 ed by these stripes are dark circular spots with a yellowish 

 center. The connection between the plastron and marginals 

 has three, sometimes interrupted, yellowish red stripes. The 

 plastron is red with the central region occupied by a large 

 blackish lyriform blotch, which is marbled by pale yellow 

 and sends rays out along the sutures. Head and legs are 

 striped with red. A yellowish stripe from below the nostril 

 in front to the end of the jaw. Two other lines of the same 

 color join at the nose, run to and through the orbit, and end 

 above and below the tympanum. Three other yellowish red 

 stripes, one starting at near the corner of the mouth, the 

 other through the tympanum and the third on the occiput, 

 run parallel along the neck to the body. A yellowish stripe 

 starts at the symphysis of the lower jaw, behind which it 

 bifurcates and with another one in the middle of that space 

 runs back on the lower side of the neck to the body. Besides 

 this the whole head and neck are marked with a number of 

 very narrow yellowish parallel lines. On the front side of 

 the fore legs are four reddish stripes, one on each side and 

 two in the middle, which reach to the end of the fingers. 

 Webs largely pale yellow. On the posterior side of the hind 

 legs are two reddish yellow bands, which start from the 

 body, running nearly parallel and converging at the tail. 



