IOWA ACADEMY OP SCIENCE 
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spots thus formed have usually a small yellow center and occasionally 
other light marks, and are frequently extended below and fused with the 
adjacent spots, restricting the median yellow band to a bar (as in 
marginata) , but this is not the rule. The plastron is pale, and has a 
large dark patch that occupies the middle and sends out, prominent ex- 
tensions along the transverse sutures. 
12. Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus). — Snapping Turtle. The snap- 
ping turtle is apparently common in this region, but it is perhaps more 
characteristic of the larger streams than the bodies of quiet water. 
However, it was found rather commonly in Virgin Lake, Palo Alto 
county, and a single individual was taken on land near the outlet of Lost 
Island Lake, in Clay county. It was quite common in the Ocheyedan 
river, west of Spencer, young turtles being numerous in the ponds in the 
abandoned channels. 
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