664. REPTILES—EMYDIDZ. 
This is a very beautiful Turtle, the markings varying considerably, 
and the young being more brilliant than the adult. They ishabit still, 
never running water, occurring in ponds and muddy places, where they 
may be seen setting upon the banks or upon logs, but plunging suddeuly, 
if approached. They are decidedly aquatic animals, and are unable to 
survive many days, if removed from the water. They are timid and in- 
offensive, emit a piping note; and after attaining her eleventh year the 
female, in a June evening, digs a perpendicular hole in which she deposits 
her elliptical eggs. 
CHRYSEMYS MARGINATA Agassiz. 
Lady Turtle or Agassiz Turtle. 
Chrysemys marginata, AGASSIZ. 
Chrysemys be llvi, GRAY. 
Chrysemys picia, var. marginata, COPE, JORDAN. 
Color above of carapax varying from bronze green to brown, usnally with a narrow 
vertebral line of yellow margined with biack; anterior margin of each p'ate usually 
with a similar line; second or third costal at times with a bright yellow or red spot; 
marginal plates brown to black, with various yellow or red markings; head brownish, 
with yellow spots or lines; neck, legs, and tail with red lites; plastron yellow, with a 
central dark blotch; carapax flatter, broader, aud more rounded than in Chrysemys 
_picta; vertebral and costal pla'es alternating, never forming transverse rows of three 
each ; first neural quadrangular, with sinuous sides, last heptagonal, the lower sides 
shorter; the three central vertebral shields hexagonal; lateral margin of costal, first 
and last neural chields often with parallel ridges; plastron with the gular and anal 
plates triangular, the remainder quadrilateral; abdominal the broadest, and pectoral 
narrowest. Length of carapax, 6 inches; height of carapax, 24 inches; tail to anus, 1d. 
Habitat, New York ?, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri. 
This species seems to replace Chrysemys picta in the west, and in 
Michigan it is quite common, while picfa is very rare, if at all. In Ohio, 
picta is found occasionally in the eastern part of the State, never so 
far as I know in the west, while margzenata occurs in the western por- 
tion. 
A specimen before me from Waterloo, New York, which from general 
appearance I take to be a variety of Chry:emys marginata, has six costal 
shields on one side and seven on the other. It has in the cenier of the 
carapax, apparently a large vertebral plate, replaced by four small ones, 
in addition to which it has five, the normal number, median dorsal — 
shields; the four central plates are arranged in pairs of unequal size, the 
posterior one on the right side being much the smaller. Such an 
abnormality I do not find recorded of any turtle. 
This species and C. picta are about equally abundant in Ohio, and 
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