REVISION OF MALACLEMMYS, A GENUS OF TURTLES. 17 



i 'Imracters. -The carapace does not differ greatly in nut line from that of .'/. centrata concentrica, but 

 is nearly always a little less full along the sides between the shoulders and the hips, the sides in most 

 case.- being marly straight: marginal scales behind the bridge revolute; carinae of the vertebral plates 

 always well developed and, except in very old individuals, often more or less expanded at their tips 

 into roundish knob-like excrescences. Notch in front of shell, above the neck, deeper than in the 

 forms previously described. Plastron usually rounded in front, its sides behind the bridge more nearly 

 parallel and the notch between femoral and anal plates deeper than in .1/. centrata. Epidermal plates 

 of both carapace and plastron strongly marked with concentric ridges. Head large and blunt and, 

 owingto greater development of the masseter muscles, apparently swollen back of the jaws; horny 

 covering of the lips strong; eyes protuberant, more so than in M. centrata; top of. head flat. Legs and 

 feet perhaps a trifle smaller proportionally than in .1/. centrata. 



The coloration in this species is very characteristic and will serve to distinguish it at a glance. 

 The ground color of the carapace is a deep blue-black, but near the middle of each plate and covering 

 about two-fifths of its area is a conspicuous orange-yellow spot; the marginal plates are largely orange 

 yellow both above and below and as these plates are revolute, a chain of color encircles the body; the 

 plastron is largely yellow or orange yellow, this color having nearly displaced the dusky brown 

 groundcolor; head and neck a peculiar whitish flesh color, the head almost' unmarked but the neck 

 with numerous small black spots; lips and top of the head white; legs and feet light grayish green 

 with many small specks and spots of dark brown or black; tail grayish and usually unmarked. 



The males are essentially like the females, though much smaller, of course, and with longer tails, 

 but the knobs on the carina' of the vertebral plates seem to be more persistent. 



In the specimens of .1/. macrospilota examined by me, about 100 in number, 1 have observed little 

 variation. Two specimens were almost entirely black, but a close examination of these showed traces 

 of the characteristic orange blotches. In a few individuals the lips and the top of the head were dusk v. 

 When handled, this terrapin shows more readiness to bite than any of the others, and its strong jaws 

 enable it to inflict a painful wound. In one case a piece was cut cleanly out of the palm of an incau- 

 tious investigator. 



It is quite surprising that this beautiful species has escaped the notice of naturalists for so many 

 years, but perhaps the grow i n^r scarcity of diamond-back terrapin in northern waters has only recently 

 led to the appearance of this animal in our markets. My tirst specimens were selected from a barrelful 

 which had been sent from Charlotte Harbor, Florida, to a dealer in Washington. In the summer of 

 1903 I noticed a considerable number of both males and females in one of the pounds at Crisfield, 

 where they had been received from Sand Key, Florida. 



In the markets the "Florida terrapin" does not meet with a ready sale. Its peculiar coloration 

 proclaims it at once as different from the Chesapeake article, and by those who have eaten it, its flesh 

 is said to be somewhat gelatinous and entirely lacking in the qualities which have made the northern 

 species famous. 



Malaclemmys pileata (Maximilian zu Wied). The Louisiana Terrapin. PI. XI, fig. 2. 



1865. Emya pileata Maximilian, I'rinz zu Wied, Veraeichniss der Reptilien welche auf elner Kris./ in Nordlichen America 

 beobachtet werden, pp. 16, 17; pi. I, litis. 2, 3. 



Type. — No. 91ti, American Museum of Natural History (?) the carapace and plastron of an adult 

 male or immature female from New Orleans, Louisiana, collected by Maximilian. 



Distribution. — So far as is known, the range of this terrapin is along the Gulf coast from the region 

 about the mouth of the Mississippi River eastward as far as Mobile Bay, and possibly well along the 

 coast of Florida. 



Characters. — This species is very similar to M. macrospilota in form and sculpture of carapace, size 

 and shape of head, and proportion of parts, but it differs in coloration. The carapace is entirely black 

 or very dark brown, except for the clear orange or dark yellow of the upturned marginal plates; the 

 plastron is yellow, more or less inclined to dusky or olive, and sometimes with cloudings of brown or 

 dusky. The ground color of the head and neck is a gray or green gray, very clear and light on the 

 sides and lower part of the head, but gradually shading into dark olive brown or dusky on the neck, 

 ami everywhere thickly strewn with black or dark brown spots and specks; a large rhomboidal black- 

 ish patch on top of the head covers the entire area from nose to occiput, and touches the eyelid on 

 each side; the horny covering of the upper lip is very broad and usually white, bet often is strongly 



B. B. F. 1904—2 



