Title: Aquatic life
Identifier: aquaticlife319171918baus (find matches)
Year: 1917-1918 (1910s)
Authors: Bausman, Joseph E
Subjects: Aquariums; Fish culture
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. E. Bausman
Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library

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nire Southern Soft - Shelled Turtle RICHARD DECKERT, Mew York Zoological Garden *iB
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YOUNG SPECIMENS OF TRIONYX FEROX / Turtles and tortoises are known to every one by their hard, horny armor, but there are a few species that do not pos- sess this protective structure. The com- monest American species is the Southern Soft-shelled Turtle. The carapace, or shell, of this creature constitutes a soft, more or less cartilagi- neous or leathery covering in which the outlines of the vertebrte and ribs can be seen in thin examples, but which is per- fectly smooth in well-fed ones. This covering bends easily at the edges. The outline is oval in the adult and almost circular in very young specimens. The head and neck can be withdrawn com- pletely, as with most of the hard-shelled species. The head is small, with a soft, pointed snout, and thick, fleshy lips, which con- ceal hard, sharp jaws. At the very tip of the trunk-like snout are the small nos- trils, which can be closed when the turtle is under water. The feet are large, mar- gined with broad, membranous flaps, the toes webbed beyond the tips, each foot having but three claws. The carapace is slightly convex, with a row of bony plates imbedded along the centre. The plastron or under side is flat, and also has several bony plates, which in old specimens are covered with large callosities. On account of the flat structure the species is called the "Flapjack Turtle" in some parts of the South. Young examples are prettily marked with black spots and rings disposed more or less symmetrically over the upper shell

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