TURTLES, TERRAPINS, AND TORTOISES 41 



within reach of the infuriated animal ! I saw the top of 

 a man's toe bitten clean off by a trionyx which was being 

 ' staked,' and, as these animals are both active and ferocious, 

 it is always advisable to send a bullet through their brain 

 as soon as possible. So tenacious of life, however, are these 

 creatures, that their heads bite vigorously after being 

 completely dissevered from their bodies." 



The Nile Trionyx, T. trtunguis, grows to almost as large 

 a size as the latter species. It is common in the Nile, 

 and is also found in Syria, the Senegal, and the Congo. 

 It is olive above, closely dotted with pale yellow in the 

 young ; the lower surface is white, with indistinct dark 

 network. The Arabs have a certain respect for this turtle, 

 as they say it searches for the eggs of the crocodile 

 digging them out and devouring them. 



In the New World the Soft-shelled Turtles are repre- 

 sented by four species, none of which exceed eighteen 

 inches in length. The commonest form is T.ferox, which 

 inhabits the rivers of the South-Eastern States, from 

 Georgia to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. 



