THE SOFT-SHELLED "TTJETLES" 



329 



The Snapping Terrapin, or Snapping "Tur- 

 tle," ] which is found in the northern states as 

 well as in the South, is a very cross-tempered and 

 savage understudy of the preceding species, and 

 it is ugly in more senses than one. It has a 

 humpy, moss-covered back, a mean eye, a dan- 

 gerously sharp and hooked beak like a horned 

 owl, and a tail that reminds one of the terminal 

 half of a bloated water-moccasin. 



This reptile seldom leaves the waters of the 

 ponds in which it lives. It believes most thor- 

 oughly in the survival of the fittest, and to it the 

 Fittest is "Number One." It is a 

 chronic fighter, and inasmuch as its 

 jaws are very strong, — and, like some 

 men, never know when to let go, — 

 it is a reptile to be either mastered 

 or avoided. It is wholly carnivo- 

 rous in its habits, and is very de- 

 structive to fish and young water- 

 fowl. 



Strange to say, the Snapping Tur- 

 tle is regularly consumed as food, 

 and is often sold in the Centre Mar- 

 ket at Washington. 



THE SOFT-SHELLED "TUR- 

 TLES." 



Trionychidae. 



This Family is of ancient lineage, 

 and wide distribution, its members 

 being found in the rivers of Asia, 

 Africa and North America. Wherever found 

 they may be recognized by very flat and nearly 

 circular shells that are imperfectly ossified, both 

 above and below, and which terminate at the 

 edges in thin plates of leathery skin. The nose 

 is prolonged into a decided proboscis, and the 

 neck is long and flexible. In some species 

 (found in Australia) the neck is so very long 

 it cannot be withdrawn into the shell, but in 

 times of danger it is laid away snugly under 

 the upper edge of the shell, passing over one fore- 

 leg. 



The members of this Family present many 

 anatomical exceptions to the regular order of 

 form among tortoises and terrapins, and by 

 some authors they are placed at the foot of the 

 Order Chelonia. The shell is really very im- 

 1 Che-ly'dra ser-pen-ti'na. 



perfect, the bones being literally few and far be- 

 tween, and the upper and lower shells are quite 

 unconnected by bony structure. The feet are 

 large and strongly webbed, but only the three 

 inner toes are provided with claws. In habit 

 these creatures are persistently aquatic, rarely 

 going upon dry land, and they are both vora- 

 cious and carnivorous. They live upon fish, fish- 

 eggs, frogs, angle-worms, and small mollusks 

 generally. 



The Soft-Shelled "Turtle " 2 is perhaps the 

 most common representative of this Family in 



SOFT-SHELLED TURTLE. 

 As-pidonectes ferox, from Florida. 



the United States. It is found from South 

 Carolina westward through the Gulf states to 

 Texas; up the Mississippi to Indiana, Illinois 

 and the Great Lakes, north and westward up the 

 Missouri to the Rocky Mountains. 



I never shall forget those I encountered in cen- 

 tral Indiana, when fishing with hook and line. 

 The provoking Soft-Shells would persist in swal- 

 lowing hooks that were not baited for them, and 

 the difficulties we had in cutting off their leathery 

 heads and dissecting out our hooks tried our 

 patience very sorely. It was not until many 

 years later that we squared accounts with this 

 species. At Miami, Florida, fine large specimens 

 were fried in batter, and eaten with great relish. 

 When properly cooked, the shell of this reptile 

 is tender, tasty and desirable. 



2 As-pi-do-nec'tes fe'rox. 



