The turtles, snakes, frogs and other reptiles and amphibians of New England and the north/Turtles
TURTLES. Testudinata.
1. Snapping Turtle. Chelydra serpentina.
Length, twenty-four inches; dull blackish-brown, often covered with moss; head, large: eyes, near together, looking upwards; neck beset with warts; plates of shield with slightly embossed lines and showing ridge of backbone; hind edge of shield with large saw like teeth; lower shield, small; tail crested with horny large teeth.
Found in waters everywhere; rarely on land, except in breeding time.
2. Alligator Snapper. Macrochelys lacertina.
Length, forty inches; like No. 1, but eyes far apart, looking sideways: plates of shield smooth, with an elevation on upper hind corner, forming three ridges on back. Very strong and ferocious.
Western and Southern.
3. Wood Turtle. Chelopus insculptus.
Length, eight inches; dark reddish-brown, with oyster-shell-like embossed lines; yellow-orange beneath, each plate having a black blotch in the outside corner.
4. Mud Turtle. Kinosternon pennsylvanicum.
Length, four inches; similar to No. 1; head with lighter spots; shield smooth, and shows no backbone ridge; no teeth on hind edge; lower shield large, and can close the shell with it.
Southern.
5. Musk Turtle. Aromachelys odoratus.
Length, six inches; black, head with two yellow stripes on each side; shield smooth, but shows ridge of back bone, yellowish underneath. Emits a strong odor of musk.
6. Keeled Turtle. Aromachelys carinatus.
Like No. 5, but plates overlapping each other; dusky, marked with black edges and lines; no stripes on head.
Southern and Western.
7. Salt Marsh Turtle. Terrapin, Diamond Back. Malaclemmys palustris.
Length, ten inches; ashy brown, with black engraved lines on shield, and specks on head, neck and legs; face, horn color, orange underneath.
Highly esteemed for food. Southern.
8. Map Turtle. Malaclemmys geographicus.
Length, six inches; blackish-brown, with rusty irregular lines; lower jaw with spoon-like tip. Western.
9. Hieroglyphic Turtle. Pseudemys hieroglyphica.
Length, six inches; blackish, with yellow worm-like marks; head with yellow stripes.
Western.
10. Painted Turtle. Chrysemys picta.
Length, eight inches; dark-bluish or greenish-gray; each plate lighter-edged; middle and side plates in one row: edge of shield, sides and underneath ornamented with red and yellow lines; smooth.
11. Edged Turtle. Chrysemys marginata.
Like No. 10 but plates of shield alternating as usual, and side plates with embossed lines. Western.
12. Spotted Turtle. Chelopus gutlatus.
Length, four-and-a-half inches; black, with round yellow-orange spots, irregularly scattered; shield, very convex: no backbone ridge.
13. Speckled Turtle. Emys meleagris.
Length, eight inches; black, with somewhat regularly dispersed, irregular, yellowish specks. Southern and Western.
14. Common Box Turtle. Cistudo carolina.
Length, ten inches; reddish dark-brown, with yellowish buff markings and dots; variable in design.
Southern.
15. Soft-shelled Turtle. Aspidonectes spinifer.
Length, sixteen inches; olive, mottled with darker; front of shield beset with warts; head, striped.
Western.
16. Leather Turtle. Amyda mutica.
Length, twelve inches; like No. 15, but no warts on shield and no stripes on head.
Western.
17. Logger-head Turtle. Thalassochelys caretta.
Reaches a weight of 450 pounds; greenish-black. Found in the open sea and also near Europe.