360 



ZOOLOGY 



Tailed 

 amphibians 



Photograph by E. R. Sanborn, N . Y. Zool. Soc. 

 FIG. 139. A water newt (Notophthalmus vlridescens) . 



Ichthyophis of the Oriental region, produces 

 quite large eggs, and the embryo at a late stage 

 has long external gills and more or less of a 

 tail fin. At the time of hatching, the gills are 

 lost, though the larva is aquatic. 

 (b) Urodela, or tailed amphibians ; generally known 

 as salamanders, water dogs, or newts. In the 

 American genus rather ridiculously called 

 Siren by zoologists, but "mud eel" by other 

 persons, the body is snakelike, and only the 

 anterior limbs are present, while the jaws are 

 without teeth. This is a specialized or de- 

 graded form ; the others have teeth in both 

 jaws, and the legs are all present. The giant 

 salamander of Japan has been known to reach 

 a length of over 5 feet. A related fossil form 

 was discovered in Germany, and was an- 

 nounced, when described in 1726, as "'homo 

 diluvii testis," the man who witnessed the 

 deluge ! Salamanders, when terrestrial, live 

 in damp places, and often breathe largely 

 through the skin. The so-called water dog of 



