166 THE EEPTILES OF NOKTH CHINA, &c. 



and crannies in liouses, caves and rocky cliiits. Tliey can crawl about 

 on flat perpendicular surfaces, each toe being supplied with a sucker, 

 which will even cling readily to glass. They are very plentiful in the 

 houses of Tientsin and Peking. They live upon flies, mosquitoes, 

 centipedes, scorpions and other vermin. Their bodies and heads are 

 flat; they have very wide mouths and prominent eyes. They are of a 

 dull grey colour, admirably adapted to concealment on rock or brick 

 surfaces. They lay large, perfectly white eggs, which being soft when 

 first deposited, stick to the rock, subsequently hardening. The Chin- 

 ese are very much afraid of these harmless little lizards, which they 

 call Shieh hu, (scorpion tiger). They can be easily tamed, and without 

 being placed in confinement will soon learn to come out of their 

 hiding places daily to take milk or water. 



The Terrapin {Clemmys japonica). 



Of the two turtles, or properly speaking, tortoises (the word turtle 

 being used by zoologists to designate certain marine forms in which 

 the front feet are modified into flippers) found in North 

 China, one, the terrapin (Clemmys japonica) does not seem 

 to extend northward much beyond the valley of the Wei Ho 

 in Shensi. At least it is only in that valley and in Anhui that 

 I have found it. The terrapins are water tortoises, usually rather 

 small, with flatter bodies than is usual with the land tortoises. They 

 are vegetarian in diet. 



The mud-turtle or soft tortoise {Trionyx sinensis) is common in 

 all the rivers of North China and Manchuria. This is a member of a 

 group of tortoises, which arc characterized by not having a horny shell 

 as other tortoises and turtles do. They inhabit rivers exclusively and 

 often attain a large size. They make excellent tiu-tle soup. The 

 Chinese mud-turtle is of a greeny-yellow above, lighter and more yellow 

 beneath. It has a long upturned snout, sharp cla\\s on both front 



