1909.] THE CAYUGA LAKE BASIN, N. Y. 385 



basin is similar to the mountains of Pennsylvania. The seventeen 

 species are distributed among the following families : 



Proteidae i species. Pleurodelidae i species. 



Ambystomidse i " Bufonidse i " 



Plethodontidae 5 " Hylidae 2 



Desmognathidse i " Ranidse 5 " 



Reptilia. — Twenty species of reptiles are known within our limits. 

 The lizards are represented by a single specimen of the Ground Liz- 

 ard, Leiolopisma laterale, found just northeast of Caroline on the 

 divide between Sixmile Creek and a branch of the Susquehanna. 

 Twelve species of snakes are known, three of which are now very 

 rare. The rattlesnake so far as we know is met with only occasion- 

 ally in the region about McLean, while the blacksnake and pilot 

 snake are confined to the extreme southern portion of the basin near 

 Newfield and Danby. 



There are seven species of turtles, representing four families as 

 follows : 



Trionychidae i species. Kinosternidas i species. 



Chelydridse i " Emydidse 4 " 



Only three of the seven species, the snapping turtle (Chelydra ser- 

 pentina), Agassiz's painted turtle {Chrysemys marginata) , and the 

 wood tortoise {Clemmys insculpta) are found distributed throughout 

 the basin. The other four are confined to the extreme northern por- 

 tion. The musk turtle (Terrapene odorata), a species fairly widely 

 distributed east of the Mississippi, was first found in this basin 

 in the fall of 1908 and proved to be common in the Seneca 

 River near the Erie Canal. The Soft-shelled turtle {Aspidoncctes 

 spinifer), a species of more northern and western distribution, is 

 very rare at the south end of the basin but found fairly common 

 about Montezuma. The Speckled tortoise (Clemmys guttata) is 

 widely distributed in central and eastern United States but in this 

 region is confined to the vicinity of the Junius Ponds north and west 

 of Waterloo. Muhlenberg's turtle (Clemmys mithlenbergii) , a spe- 

 cies limited in its range to eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 

 the Hudson Valley, is the only more eastern form found here aside 

 from those of wide distribution. 



