3i 



The statements of authors concerning it are summed up 

 in the words "scarce," "rare," "seldom seen," etc. 1 It is 

 very closely related to Emys earopcza (Schn.) of Europe- 

 Asia, and views have been expressed as to its being identi- 

 cal with it. If so, no facts are known of its occurrence in 

 the vast region lying between our North Central States 

 and the arid region of Central Asia. A statement by 

 Dumeril, that it was found in Japan, has been doubted by 

 Strauch and never seems to have been further confirmed. 2 



As dealers and sailors now-a-days frequently bring over 

 the European species, there is a possibility of finding stray 

 specimens nearby, so that identifications must be carefully 

 made to avoid mistaking the two turtles. 



Our species has a more elongate form and the carapace 

 is arched considerably more than in the European species. 

 The chin and jaws, too, are far more yellow in extent of 

 color. The meagre descriptions of our species seem to 

 indicate it as somewhat more of a terrestrial species, while 

 that of the Old World is quite aquatic in its habits. 



Cistudo Carolina (L.). 

 Common Box Turtle. 



Plastron with a movable tranverse hinge permitting it to 

 shut both lobes tightly against the carapace, so that the 

 animal is completely protected within a bony case ; the 

 plastron when closed forms an obtuse angle, the point of 

 the angle turned out ; the joint of carapace and plastron 

 laterally is also a cartilaginous membrane ; the body is 

 highly arched and the margins of the carapace flare out 

 considerably, especially towards the rear. The toes are not 

 webbed ; the hind feet have four toes. The young have 

 large keels which are gradually absorbed with age. 



The box turtle is very variable in color. The ground is 

 blackish with yellow markings, forming various patterns ; 



1 See also L. Agassiz, "Contributions to the Natural History of the U. S. 

 Vols. I. and II. Boston, 1857. 



2 Op. cit. 



