REPTILES. 153 



n mile from the water, traveling steadily and in an approximately 

 correct direction toward the lake. At the observed rate of pro- 

 gress they wonld reach the lake in about two days. 



^'For some time I was greatly jinzzled by the fre(pient discovery 

 of newl}^ hatched Graptemys during the months of ^lay and June. 

 Farmers in the vicinity frequently plowed up nests of eggs thai 

 A> ere nearlv ready to hatch. 



'^These facts have been explained by the observation of occasional 

 specimens nesting during the latter part of July. Eggs laid at that 

 time would have onlv about iive or six weeks of steadilv warm 

 weather, in which to develop, and would be retarded by the chill- 

 ing of the ground in October. Thus the well advanced embryos 

 must pass the winter in a condition of dormancy analogous to that 

 observed in hibernating adults. 



"On no occasion have I caught a female nesting whose carapace 

 length w^as less than nineteen centimeters and whose age was less 

 than fourteen years — according to the age record afforded by the 

 annual growth ring on the scutes." 



Hay (1892a, 576) has found sixteen eggs in a large female. 



Range: The species has been reported from: Michigan ( Sager. 

 1839, 301; Agassiz, 1857, 436; Miles, 1861, 232), Ann Arbor (Smith, 

 1879, 7), Eaton County (Clark, 1904, 193), Olivet, and Barry, Kala 

 nmzoo, Kent, Montcalm, Ottawa and Van Buren Counties (Clark, 

 1905, 110). The specimens examined are from: Washtenaw 

 County, Brighton, Livingston County, Pawpaw, Van Buren 

 (Jounty, St. Joseph County, Allegan County, Calhoun County, and 

 Kalamazoo Count v. 



EMYDOIDEA BLANDINGII (Holbrook). 



BLANDING^S TURTLE. 

 (PI. VII.) 



Emys mclcagris, Agassiz, 1857, 442. Smith, 1879, 7. Miles, 1861, 



233. 

 Emydoidea hUuidiugi, Clark, 1902, 193, 19(15, 11(1. Hankinson. 



1908, 236. Ruthven, 1911a, 271. 

 Emys hlandinyli, Thompson, 1911, 107. 



Description: Carapace rigid, covered with horny plates; elon- 

 gated oval in outline, and rather high and convex but not as much 

 so as in the box turtle (Terra pene Carolina). Plastron large, clos- 

 ing the opening of the carapace and attached to it by a ligament. 

 Plastron divided into two movable lobes, the hinge line between the 



