The Ordway new era., 1915-06-25


" valley where | live only
two species OF chelonia
are found-the painted
- turtle tChrysemys picta).
labsd2 &l popularly known as the
fEXSI mud turtle" and the
TM1 swapping turtle tChelydra
(N serpentina). Both are en-
tirely aquatic In their
habits and rarely leave the water ex-
cept to lay their eggs. The painted
turtle Is the more abundant and. from
its custom OF crawling out on logs and
rocks to sun itself. is much oftener
seen. and consequently better known
than the snapper" which, though 1t
exists In far larger numbers than Is
generally suspected, evidently finds
concealment best suited to its preda-
cious mode OF life. In Its business 1t
does not pay to advertise.
The swapping turtle has very ex-
istensive range. being found over the
whole of the United States east OF the
Rockies. and as far south as Ecuador.
while to the north 1t extends probably
to 80 degrees north latitude. 1t grows
much lhrger than its painted" brother,
specimens with a carapace length of
two feet being sometimes taken. Be-
sides its strong. thick tail. its chief
characteristic Is its long neck. which
1t can dart out with astonishing rapid
ity to seize its prey or attack an ene-
my. and from this 1t gains its popular
name. Its powerful jaws, though
toothless. are bony and sharp. and are
capable OF infiicting serious wound
on the careless captor. The carapace
OF the adult animal is composed of
smooth. well defined. greenish brown
plates. The plastron and under parts
OF the animal are yellowish. Very old
individuals evidently lead sedentary
lives, and thus avoid the proverbial
opprobrium Of the rolling stone" for
their shells are often thickly coated
with moss. -. -. x ss-.--s
On land they can walk briskly
enough on their long legs. but the
water is their real element. and they
swim easily and well. although, Of
course. their lines are not designed
for speed. and they can remain sub
merged for long periods.
As the snapper" is we'll able, and
always more than willing. to take a
strong offensive-eyer the best means
OF defense-it does not stand in need
OF capacious shell. like many of its
milder-mannered relatives, into which
to retire out of harms way. Conse.
quently its carapace scarcely covers
it's retracted head and folded tail,
while Its cruciform plastron is narrow
and small. and leaves the under parts
practically undefended. The animal
generally has a very unpleasant,
musty smell. and always exhibits q
most savage temper. Its favorite habi.
tat is small. sluggish streams and
swamps. where 1t lies concealed in the
mud and weeds. darting out its long
neck to seize its food. 1t is purely
carnivorous In its diet. and destroys
large numbers of fish and, when 1t can
get them. young waterfowl. On this
account We must class it as a decided
iy Injurious animal. although in some
places 1t is regularly used for food
and is said to be often seen on sale
in the markets Of the southern United
States.
About the middle Of June the fe
males leave the water at night to de
posit their eggs. They crawl out on
some sandy beach and scrape shallow
saucer-shaped depressions in the loose
dry surface sand in order to reach the
firmer layer Of damp sand beneath
On the beach | examined. these de
pressions were about six inches deer
by fourteen or fifteen inches In di
nmeter. The turtles seem to be rather
fastidious in their choice of site
for they always make number o
these hollows before finally tunnelinl
into the damp sand. The tunnel, which
is the actual egg receptacle. is an ova
section about three inches by foul
inches. and slopes at an angle OF q
or 80 degrees into the damp sane
to a depth of four or five inches. The
eggs. which Just about fill this tunnel
are all deposited at the same time
and the sand scraped over them agar
and roughly heaped up. When the
NEST" is completed the bottom of tho
tunnel is about ten inches from the
surface. The eggs of nearly all the
other chelonia are oval in outline. but
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