314 ELEMENTARY ZOOLOGY 



nychidae) with carapace not completely ossified and both 

 carapace and plastron covered by a thick leathery skin 

 which is flexible at the margins; the snapping-turtle 

 (Chelydra serpentind), common in streams and ponds, with 

 shell high in front and low behind and head and tail long 

 and not capable of being withdrawn into the shell ; the 

 red-bellied and yellow-bellied terrapins (Pscudcmys), red 

 and yellow, with greenish-brown and black markings, 

 common on the ground in woods and among rocks and 

 also near water and sometimes in it; the pond- or mud- 

 turtle (Chrysemys), also brightly colored and usually con- 

 fined to ponds and pond-shores; and the box-tortoise 

 (Cistudo Carolina), common in woods and upland pastures 

 and readily recognizable by its ability to enclose itself 

 completely in its shell by the closing down of the lids 

 of the plastron. All of these fresh-water and land-turtles 

 except the soft-shelled turtles belong to one family, the 

 Emydidae, but have somewhat diverse habits. Most of 

 them are carnivorous, but few catch any very active 

 prey. While some are strictly aquatic, others are as 

 strictly terrestrial, never entering the water. The eggs 

 of all are oblong and are deposited in hollows, sometimes 

 covered in sand. The newly hatched young are usually 

 circular in shape, and vary in color and pattern from the 

 parents. 



The ' ' diamond-back terrapin ' ' (Malaclcmmys pahis- 

 tris), used for food, is a salt-water form "inhabiting the 

 marshes along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to 

 Texas. About Charleston [and Baltimore] they are 

 very abundant and are captured in large numbers for 

 market, especially at the breeding season, when the 

 females are full of eggs. Further north they are dug 

 from the salt mud early in their hibernation and are 

 greatly esteemed, being fat and savory." 



Strongly contrasting with the usually small land- and 



