52 EMYS SERRATA. 



Dimensions. Length of shell, 12 inches; breadth, T^ inches; length of sternum, 

 II5 inches; greatest elevation, Hi inches. 



Habits. The Emys serrata lives in ponds and pools of stagnant water, in the 

 neighbourhood of which they hibernate. During the spring and summer season 

 they are seen by hundreds basking in the sun, apparently asleep. They rest on 

 the margins of the pond, or on some little islet, or on the trunks of fallen trees, 

 from Avhich, when disturbed, they plunge suddenly into the water, and disappear. 

 They live chiefly on such small reptiles as they can seize and devour; when in 

 confinement, however, they will eat vegetable substances, of which the purslain 

 (Portulacca oleracea) appears to be their favourite food. 



Geographical Distribution. The range of this animal is very limited, reach- 

 ing only from Virginia to Georgia. I have never seen them beyond these points; 

 south, its place is supplied by the Emys Floridana; north, it is represented by the 

 Emys rubriventris; nor does it reach far into the interior of the country — I am 

 not aware of its existence two hundred miles from the coast. In the neighbour- 

 hood of Charleston they are abundant, and are brought to market in great 

 numbers; their flesh is considered good, but it is by no means as dehcate as the 

 Emys terrapin, or the Emys reticulata. 



General Remarks. Daudin* was the first to describe this species of Ejiiys 

 under the specific name serrata, from a specmien furnished him by Bosc, accom- 

 panied by a tolerable plate, at least of the sternum. He speaks of it as follows: — 

 "Bosc, the naturalist, has lent me two Tortoises he brought with him from North 

 America, which are closely allied. He has described one mider the name Testudo 

 reticulata, and I shall give the other the name of Testudo serrata, the marginal 

 plates having each two incisions." To the list of synonymes already given, may 

 be added perhaps the Testudo scripta of Schoepff",! which many naturalists 

 consider the yomig of this species. This cannot be positively determined, for 



* Hist. Nat. des Rept., torn. ii. p. 14-1. j- Hist. Test., p. 16, tab. iii. fig. 3. 



