THE ABILITY OF TURTLES TO DISCRIMINATE 
BETWEEN SOUNDS 
By Olive Andrews 
Though various investigators have tested the ability of turtles 
to discriminate visually, and have tried to discover how far they 
are able to establish associations as a result of visual stimuli, no 
one has shown that these, or any other, reptiles are even able to 
hear sounds. It therefore seemed desirable to try to determine 
if turtles were able to recognize specific sounds, and to form asso- 
ciations with them. 
The experiments described were carried on at Oshkosh, Wiscon- 
sin. Five native turtles of the genus Chrysemys 1 were used. 
These were kept together in a wooden box four feet long, two feet 
wide, and two feet high (fig. I). The box was kept outdoors 
where the turtles could get plenty of fresh air and sunlight. The 
bottom was covered with fine gravel, and a large shallow pan 
filled with water was placed at one side. 
The turtles were put in the box on July 2, 1915, but over two 
weeks elapsed before any of them became tame enough to take 
food, which consisted of small pieces of earthworms, from the 
forceps at the end of the feeding stick (fig. I). As soon as the 
turtles became tame they were persuaded to climb up out of the 
water onto a board and to take their food while a bell was ringing, 
in order that they might learn to associate the sound of the bell 
with the procuring of food. On July 29, a zinc plate was placed 
on the board (fig. I) and the sound experiments were begun on 
turtles No. I and No. II (fig. II). On August 8, 10, and 15, tur- 
tles Nos. IV, III, and V, respectively, began to feed from the 
zinc plate. Daily tests were made until September 5. After 
that date the turtles became irregular in their eating, probably on 
account of the colder weather. 
1 Thanks are due to Dr. A. G. Ruthven of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michi- 
gan, for identification. 
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