340 



CHELONIA 



(in the Northern States about June), are likewise good to eat. 

 The first act of the young creature on leaving the shell is said to 

 be snapping and biting. In captivity they are often very sulky, 

 and refuse food stubbornly for many months, perhaps for a whole 

 year, and apparently without much harm to themselves, since 

 they lie quietly in the distant corner of the tank, now and then 

 slowly rising to the surface to breathe. Fresh- water algae grow 

 on the shell and in the mud which settles on it, and since this 



FIG. 74. Macrodemmys temmincki, "Alligator Turtle." x . 



happens also in the wild state, they are rendered as inconspicuous 

 as old rotten logs. In order to attract fishes they protrude a 

 pair of worm -like, pale pink filaments from the tip of the 

 tongue. 



Macrodemmys temmincki , the " Alligator Turtle." In size arid 

 general appearance much like the other Snapping Turtle, but the 

 dorsal shields have each a strong and prominent keel, and these 

 three series increase in size with age. The costal shields are 

 separated from the marginals by an additional series of about four 

 supramarginals, well shown in the illustration. The shields of 



