22 EMYSPICTA. 



surface, and a red line along the superior. The colours of this animal vary greatly 

 in degree; they are always brightest in the young. 



Dimensions. Length of shell, 6^ inches; greatest breadth, 4i inches; length of 

 sternum, 6 inches; elevation, 2^ inches. 



Habits. The Emys picta frequents ditches, ponds and pools, and is abundant 

 in rivers, where the waters are sluggish; it spends almost the whole day basking 

 in the sun on the banks of rivers, or on fallen trees or logs. It is very timid, and 

 escapes rapidly when disturbed. It hybernates early, and is the first to be seen 

 in the spring. Its food is insects, young frogs, earth worms, &c. It takes the 

 hook readily, and is on that account very troublesome to anglers. Its flesh is 

 sometimes eaten, but is not much esteemed. 



Geographical Distribution. The Emys picta has perhaps as wide a range as 

 any of the genus found in the United States. I have seen them along the Atlantic 

 border, from Maine to Georgia — south of this I have no evidence of their exist- 

 ence. They are found in the north-western part of the country, as Dr. Pickering 

 informs me that Mr. W. Cooper has seen them at the Saute de St. Marie, the 

 outlet of Lake Superior. 



General Remarks. This animal was first described by Schneider, under the 

 name Emys picta, by which appellation it is now universally known to naturalists. 

 The colour and marks of this animal being too remarkable to allow it to be con- 

 founded with any other, so is there less confusion in the synonymes than in those 

 of any of our Emydes. 



To the list of synonymes, however, I would add the cinereous tortoise of Brown,* 

 the Testudo cinerea of Schoepft and other naturalists, which is certainly the 

 young of the Emys picta, as was first determined by Palissot de Beauvais, who 



*New 111. Zool., p. 115, tab. xlviii. figs. 1, 2. fHist. Test., p. 18, tab. v. figs. 2, 3. 



