38 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



the river, are perfectly round and somewhat larger than 

 a hen's egg. 



In the family CnELYDiOi^ the neck, which is long, 

 although bending under the margin of the carapace, 

 remains always exposed. It is represented by eight genera, 

 inhabiting South America, Australia, and New Guinea. 



The Matamata Terrapin, Chelys fimbriata, certainly 

 the most remarkable member of the family, inhabits the 

 rivers of the Guianas and Brazil. The shell, which often 

 carries long filamentous algae, is very rugose and provided 

 with three series of protuberances, thus simulating stones 

 in the water. The extremely flattened head is more or less 

 triangular in shape and covered with warts, while the nose 

 is produced into a long, soft tube. This depression of the 

 head is one of the most striking peculiarities of this animal, 

 being paralleled by two other vertebrates only, namely, the 

 toad Pipa, and the fish Aspredo, both of which inhabit 

 the same rivers as does this terrapin. The chin and neck 

 afford yet another remarkable feature, being provided with 

 a number of movable fleshy appendages which, in the 

 water, somewhat resemble small worms, these " whiskers " 

 being believed to serve the useful purpose of attracting 

 the fish upon which the creature feeds, the latter being 

 snapped up before realizing their mistake. 



The Matamatas at the Zoological Gardens are by no 

 means exclusively fish-eaters, being just as fond of meat. 



The Long-necked Terrapin, or Snake-necked Terra- 

 pin, Chelodina longicollis, is so called on account of the 

 extraordinary length of its neck, which, when fully ex- 

 tended, exceeds that of the shell, a length of nearly a foot. 

 This terrapin, an exceedingly common species inhabiting 



