CLASS REPTILIA: ORDER TESTUDINATA. 



1G7 



Cistudo virginlana, Box Tortoise. J. 



Emydidae. The River *- * 



Tortoise is a common 

 North American species. 

 Its sharp-edged jaws are 

 strong enough to bite asun- 

 der a stick half an inch in 

 diameter. It is fond of 

 water-fowl, swimming be- 

 neath the surface and 

 quietly dragging them un- 

 der. About June 10th, in 

 the temperate climates, it lays thirty to fifty spherical eggs. 



For their reception, a 

 hole is scooped in the 

 sand by the hind feet, 

 and then smoothed 

 over and left. This en- 

 tire work is done within 

 fifteen or twenty min- 

 utes. The eggs are 

 hatched by the heat of 

 the sun in about three months, when the young immediately 

 take to the water. 

 Chelydidae. The Bearded Tortoise is at once the type 



Fig. Z80. 



'. 279. 



Chelydra serpentlna, 

 River Tortoise, " Snapping Turtle." 



Chelys matamata, Bearded Tortoise, South America. &. 



and the grotesque member of this aquatic family. Its flesh 

 is highly prized. 

 Trionychidae.* The Fierce Trionyx is destructive to 



* For an interesting account of the great fresh-water tortoise read Bates's " The 

 Naturalist on the Amazon." 



