NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK 



GIANT TORTOISE. 



With a wonderfully rich Chelonian fauna on the western 

 continent to provide for, there is little room to spare for 

 Old World forms, and the temptation to make this col- 

 lection strictly Occidental, is almost too great to be resisted. 

 For the sake of brevity and clearness, only six types have 

 been chosen for special mention. 



The following species taken together fairly represent the 

 different forms of Chelonians, from the highest to the lowest: 



The Alligator Turtle, (Macrochelys lacertina), is the larg- 

 est fresh-water chelonian in North America. In form and 

 temper it resembles the common snapping turtle of the 

 North, and its home is in the Gulf States. The largest of 

 the two Louisiana specimens on exhibition weighs 115 

 pounds. 



The Snapping Turtle, (Chelydra serpentina), which is the 

 most courageous and pugnacious of all turtles, is rather 

 poorly protected by its shell, and must therefore fight for its 

 place in nature. 



The Painted Turtle, (Chrysemys picta), is a species of 

 wide and common distribution, and fairly representative of 

 the host of fresh water terrapins and turtles so common 

 throughout the United States in ponds and streams of all 

 sorts. 



The Box Tortoise, (Cistudo Carolina), lives on land, and as 

 a means of perfect protection has been enabled by nature 

 completely to withdraw its head and legs within its shell, 



