882 TURTLES OF GENUS MALACLEMYS—HAY. 
With the evidence before us, we must, it seems to me, accept the 
name pseudogeographica tor the species under consideration. To reject 
it will be to ignore Gray’s statements, repeatedly made, that his lesweurti 
is asynonym of geographica, as well as the plain language of his de- 
scriptions. It may be a very objectionable name, but the laws of pri- 
ority must be rigidly observed. 
The masticatory surfaces of M. geographica are much broader than 
those of M. pseudogeographica, and we might infer therefrom that the 
food of the two species is not the same. In Volume xx of the Bulle- 
tins of the Essex Institute, Prof. Harry Garman has made the observa- 
tion that the broad surfaces of M. geographica.are employed in crush- 
ing the shells of mollusks, the remains of which he found in their 
stomachs. In the stomachs of M. pseudogeographica, on the other 
hand, he found the remains of a species of sedge, as well as some 
animal matter. During the last spring, at a meeting of the Indiana 
Academy of Sciences at Lake Maxinkuckee, in northern Indiana, three 
or four of us, within a few hours, captured about thirty specimens of 
M. geographica. These specimens were almost invariably taken in the 
water near the shores of the lake where the bottom was covered with 
the shells, living and dead, of Vivipara contectoides. Seven of the 
terrapins were taken home and kept some days in a washtub partially 
filled with water. When they were taken out, there were found on the 
bottom of the tub large numbers of the opercula of that water snail. 
In the alimentary canal of one terrapin were found these opercula, as 
well as the remains of crayfishes, and what appeared to be the cases of 
some species of caddis-worm. The masticatory surfaces of the older 
specimens were found to be much worn. The crushing surfaces of Dr. 
Baur’s recently described M. oculifera are rather narrow, while the 
cutting edges of the jaw are very sharp. The indications are that the 
food does not consist of mollusks, but rather of some soft vegetable 
and animal substances. 
Most, if not all, the species of this genus are extremely variable in 
the size of the head. In the paper referred to above, Prof. Garman 
attempts to give us the characters that distinguish geographica from 
pseudogeographica, and among such differential characters is the size of 
the head relative to the length of the carapace. Geographica is stated 
to have a large head; pseudogeographica a much smaller head. He also 
presents measurements that appear to prove his position. Dr. Hol- 
brook long ago described a specimen of geographica under the name of 
Hmys megacephala, the name being suggested by the massive head. 
Some years ago Dr. Gray suggested that the large head might be a 
sexual character, but he did not state which have the big heads, the 
males or the females. Through the kindness of Mr. Stejneger, I have 
been permitted to examine all the specimens of both species that are 
in the National Museum, and I have also examined a number of speci- 
mens of both the species in my own collection. I find that the size of 
the head is not a specific, but a sexual, character, and that it is the 
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