Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 599 



During its confinement in the box it became much emaciated, and 

 the alga on its back grew to extraordinary thickness and length. 

 An immense bunch of leeches had collected in the hollow between 

 the neck and front legs and would probably soon have caused the 

 death of the turtle. 



Shell high in front, low behind, the body heaviest forward; 

 head and neck very large, jaws strongly hooked and very powerful ; 

 tail long, strong, and with a crest of horny, compressed tubercles ; 

 plastron small, cross-shaped, with 9 plates besides the very narrow 

 bridge ; claws 5-4, strong, the web small ; color, dusky brown, head 

 with dark spots. Size large. 



3. MUSK TURTLE 



KINOSTERNON ODORATUM (Latreille) 



The Musk Turtle, also called the Stink-pot, ranges from the east- 

 ern United States westward to northern Illinois. It is abundant 

 in most parts of its habitat, particularly in the small lakes in the 

 upper Mississippi Valley. At Lake Maxinkuckee it is one of the 

 most abundant species, it being exceeded in numbers only by the 

 Map and, possibly, by the Painted, Turtle. On account of its not 

 having the basking habit well developed it is, however, far less con- 

 spicuous than either of those species. 



The Musk Turtles seem to spend most of their time walking 

 about on the bottom of the lake, and are particularly fond of 

 muddy places, the Outlet region, Green's marsh, Lost Lake and the 

 Inlet being their favorite haunts. They are also found up Au- 

 beenaubee Creek, a region well suited to them. This turtle is not 

 built well for swimming, as it is quite deep in proportion to its 

 diameters. There is, however, an immense amount of individual 

 variation in this respect. It is a strictly aquatic species, and comes 

 out on dry land, or even in the marshes, quite infrequently. It is 

 not so much in evidence early in the spring as the Map and Painted 

 turtles, and is rarely seen basking. The great majority of the 

 numerous examples we have seen were observed in shallow water 

 in such places as Outlet Bay, either walking slowly about on the 

 bottom or partially concealed in the Chara; very rarely have they 

 been observed swimming freely. 



We have observed them during every month in the year except 

 January and February. Our earliest record is March 18 (1901), 

 when one was obtained near the railroad and another was seen on 

 the bottom in Culver Inlet. From that date onward they could be 

 seen any day when the water was smooth and the conditions favor- 

 able for observation. Even after the lake freezes over they may 



