7 ii} tics of California. ^ 



round the State of Washington with the exception of north and 

 south of Seattle. On the mainland of British Columbia they be- 

 gin south of Burrard Inlet, cross the delta of the Fraser, and the 

 international boundary, and end near Snohomish River, Wash 

 ington. M. Lop a tec ki. 



TURTLES OF CALIFORNIA. 



Among the lower forms of vertebrate life, the order Chelonia 

 includes members less variable in form than any other order of 

 reptilia. The body is invariably short and stout, and is in all the 

 known forms protected from above and below by a more or less 

 bony investment, forming a shield-like covering. 



Chelopus marmoratus. This is the common terrapin or turtle 

 that is found in the fresh waler streams and lagoons of California. 

 It is abundant in South California, and may often be surprised on 

 the banks of any of our permanent streams, or in our numerous 

 fresh water lakes. This is the Emys nigra, Nob., described in the 

 Pacific R. R. Report, Vol. X., Part IV., pp. 2-3, which is ac- 

 companied by a lifelike illustration (Plate I). In color it is black- 

 ish above, the upper part of head and neck presenting numerous 

 very small, yellow spots upon a black ground ; anterior extremi- 

 ties with a tinge of yellow; under jaw and throat yellow, with dark 

 colored markings ; plastron yellow in the middle, with large 

 blotches of black or dark brown at the sides, and anteriorly and 

 posteriorly ; under surface of tail and extremities blackish. The 

 carapax is about six inches in length on the average. I have 

 found this species only on the western slope of the mountains, 

 and not in the Colorado Desert region. It extends southward 

 into Lower California. Actinemys marmorata is another syno- 

 nym of this species. 



Testudo agassizii. This turtle, or land tortoise, has a very 

 convex shell, and feet developed for a terrestrial Lfe — which it 

 needs to have, since it inhabits the dry, arid region of the Colo- 

 rado Desert where water is very scarce. The toes are distinct, 

 the feet club-shaped, and the caudal plates united. The species 

 is also found on the Mojave Desert, in Arizona and Sonora, and 

 evidently not rare. 



Sphargis coriacea. Of the sea turtles known in the waters 

 of the Californian coast, the leather-back turtle is of the widest dis- 

 tribution in the temperate portions of the Atlantic, Pacific and In- 

 dian oceans and in the Mediterranean sea. Its habits are little 

 known. An example of this was captured a few years ago near 

 San Diego, and is preserved in the Coronado Museum. 



Eretmochelys squamata. This sea turtle belongs to the 

 Pacific coast fauna, and probably may be found near San Diego. 



'Chelonia mydas. The most valuable of the turtles for food 

 is this, the green turtle. A form of this belongs also to the 



