io6 



URODELA 



CHAP. 



According to J. Berg, 1 it keeps well in cool, moist and well- 

 ventilated places. It lives on flies, small beetles, and maggots ; 

 ants are also taken at once, probably owing to their lively 

 movements, but a few minutes later the newts roll about in 

 spasms and soon die. Towards the end of March one of Berg's 

 specimens gave birth to four young, which were 3 6 mm., or nearly 



FIG. 20. Spelerpes fuscus, 

 showing the position and 

 shape of the partly and 

 fully protruded tongue. 

 The figure on the right side 

 shows the tongue and the 

 skeleton of the hyoid 'ap- 

 paratus. B, the threadlike, 

 elongated, first branchial 

 arch ; //, hyoid, in reality 

 attached by its outer end 

 to the vicinity of the quad- 

 rate ; T, tongue. About x 2. 

 (After Berg and Wieders- 

 heim. ) 



l|- inches long, and differed from the adult only by their exception- 

 ally large nostrils, thereby resembling the Mexican Thorius. The 

 little ones shot out their tongues about 10 mm., feeding on 

 Aphides. 



Manculus. The two species of this genus live in Carolina and 

 Florida. M. quadridigitatus is a very slender, graceful little 

 animal, about 3 inches in length, the long and thin tail being 

 considerably larger than the rest of the body. Yellowish, 

 minutely speckled with brown above and on the sides, greyish- 

 white below. Life entirely terrestrial. 



Plethodon. About seven species in North America. This 

 genus has given its name to that of the subfamily, which might 

 with more reason be called Spelerpiriae. 



P. glutinosus is slaty or bluish -black, with small whitish 

 specks, especially on the sides of the trunk, where they are large 

 and often confluent. The skin is smooth and shiny. Total length 

 about 5 inches, half of which belong to the tail. Holbrook con- 

 sidered this as one of the commonest of the North American 

 newts, and mostly widely distributed, from Ohio to the Gulf of 

 Mexico. It usually lives concealed under stones, but prefers 

 fallen trees, probably on account of the insects upon which it 



1 Zool. Garten, 1896, p. 88. 



