194 



ANIMAL FORMS 



abundant but now in many regions well-nigh exterminated. 

 In these species the tail terminates in a series of horny 



rings that produce a buzzing sound like that of the locust 

 when the tail is rapidly vibrated. 



183. Distribution of the turtles. The turtles are perhaps 

 somewhat less dependent upon warmth than other reptiles, 

 yet they too delight to bask in the sunshine, and soon grow 

 sluggish in its absence. In all our fresh-water streams and 

 ponds they are familiar objects, and several species extend 

 up into Canada. Among the turtles the soft shell, the 

 painted and the snapping turtles have the widest distri- 

 bution, scarcely a good-sized stream or pond from the Gulf 

 of Mexico to Canada, and even farther north, being without 

 one or more representatives. All are carnivorous and vora- 

 cious, and the snapping turtles are especially ferocious, and 

 "for their size are the strongest of reptiles." In the woods 

 and meadows the wood-tortoise and box-turtles are occa- 



