

Observations on the Chelonians 



of North America. VIII. 



DR. R. W. 5HUFELDT, C. M. Z. 5. 



Young of the Southern Soft-shelled Turtle 







Soft-shelled turtles of the family 

 Amydidae constitute a very conspicuous 

 and rather numerous group of fresh 

 water chelonians, of which we have but 

 four or five species, out of nearly thirty, 

 in this country. Southern Asia, Africa 

 and the East Indies are the regions where 

 the majority are found, and they belong- 

 in several genera. On the other hand, 

 the North American species all fall in 

 the same genus — the genus Amiyda — of 



which we have four quite distinct species. 

 These are the Southern Soft-shelled 

 Turtle (A. jerox), the Spiny Soft-shelled 

 Turtle (A. spinifer), the Brown Soft- 

 shelled Turtle (A. uiutica), and Emory's 

 Soft-shelled Turtle (A. emoryi). The 

 first-named is found from Georgia to 

 Florida and westward as far as Louisi- 

 ana ; the Spiny occurs in the central part 

 of the United States; the Brown has the 

 same range as the Spiny ; and, finally. 



