The Inhabitants of the Aquarium 233 



joined to the carapace. All soft parts of 

 the body are of a somber gray. The neck 

 is fairly long and thin in comparison with 

 the head, which is very thick, but ends 

 rather sharply. The lower jaw terminates 

 in a strong hook and with its knife- 

 like edge and that of the powerful upper 

 jaw forms a dangerous and effective means 

 of defense and aggression. Even small 

 specimens possess power in their jaws, al- 

 together out of proportion to their size. 

 The feet are large and armed with strong 

 claws. The tail is long and slender but 

 very thick at the root and with a line of 

 horny teeth running on the upper side. 



The Snapping Turtle is a voracious and 

 aggressive animal and should, therefore, not 

 be kept in the same aquarium with valuable 

 fishes. It will also dig in the sand, uproot- 

 ing and destroying the vegetation in the 

 aquarium. Full grown it reaches a length 

 of from twenty-four to twenty-eight inches. 

 It is common in stagnant and slowly flow- 



