EMBRYOLOGY OF CRYPTOBRANCHUS ALLEGHENIENSIS. 155 



Concerning the nesting and brooding habits of C. japonicus Ishi- 

 kawa says : " Das tier legt seine Eier in tiefe horizontal verlauf- 

 ende Locher, in denen das Wasser sehr ruhig ist. Manchmal ist 

 soldi ein Loch 10 oder mehr Fuss tief und kaum fur das Licht 

 zuganglich. Die Brutstellen fiir die Eier sind aber nicht immer 

 so tief. Oft fand ich Eier in einem Loch nicht tiefer als 3 oder 4 

 Fuss. Oeffnet man ein solches Loch, so findet man eine abge- 

 rundete Stelle, deren Boden ganz rein gehalten ist. . . . Fast in 

 jedem Loch, wo man von Ende August bis zu Anfang October 

 ein weibliches Tier gefunden hat, findet man einen Eiklumpen. 

 Dieser Umstand lasst schon vermuthen, dass das Tier eine Brut- 

 pflege hat wie Ichthyophis oder vvie so viele andere Amphibien." 

 Kerbert, however, asserts that it is the male that guards the eggs, 

 and states that the sex of his specimens was carefully determined. 

 The only external distinction between the sexes is that during 

 the breeding season the lips of the cloaca of the male are greatly 

 swollen. Ishikawa gives an illustration of an adult specimen of 

 C. japonicus lying in a coil about a mass of eggs ; Kerbert states 

 of his specimen that the male, after driving away the female 

 and also the small fishes present in the aquarium, crept between 

 the folds of the mass of eggs, or sometimes simply lay down be- 

 side them, but in either case he kept the entire mass in motion 

 by a pendulum-like movement of the entire body. 



The eggs of AinpJiinuia found by Hay ('88 and '90) in an Ar- 

 kansas swamp were in a comparatively dry situation, in a small 

 excavation under a log several rods from the nearest water. The 

 female was found coiled about the mass of eggs, protecting them 

 and keeping them moist. 



Other Amphibia for which brooding habits have been estab- 

 lished are the Urodele, Desmognathus ; the Gymnophiona, IclitJiy- 

 oplds and Hypogcopliis ; Alytcs and several other Anura (Wie- 

 dersheim, 'oo). In the cases of Desmognathus, Ichthyophis and 

 Hypogcophis, the female is said to care for the eggs ; in the case 

 of Alytcs, the male. 



E. Adaptation of the Egg to ifs Environment. The egg proper 

 is so soft and fragile that it can sustain only the most careful 

 manipulation without injury; on account of its lack of firmness 

 it soon becomes oblate from the effects of gravity. In view of 



