172 FIRST LESSONS IN ZOOLOGY. 



the fore feet and two in the hinder pair. Our American 

 Protean is four-toed on all the feet. The mud-puppy or 

 Menobranchus (Nectitrus laterali*) is a large, broad, flat- 

 bodied, fish-like creature. It is brown, mottled with darker 

 spots ; it has small eyes, and is from eight 'inches to two 

 feet in length. It inhabits the Mississippi Valley, and is 

 common in the lakes of Central New York, where it is 

 caught with the hook and line. It is easily kept in con- 

 finement, eating bits of meat. 



The Salamanders and Newts. The tailed Amphibians 

 rarely have gills when mature, these organs being larval or 

 transitory. The body is still long and fish-like, the tail 

 sometimes with a caudal fin, as in the newts, but usually 

 rounded, while the four legs are always present. One or 



FIG. 177. Spotted Newt. 



two of the salamanders living away from water bring forth 

 their young alive ; but, as a rule, salamanders lay eggs in 

 the water. The eggs of the spotted newt are laid singly 



on the leaves of floating plants. The 



^IllfS^' common red-backed salamander (Pk- 

 thodon erytliro not urn) lays its eggs 



FIG. 178. Young Newt. . J . J , 



(Natural size.) in summer in packets under clamp 



stones, leaves, etc. ; the young are born with gills. 



The lowest form of this order is the aquatic Congo- 

 snake, or Amphiuma means, in which the body is large, 

 very long, round, and slender, with small rudimentary two- 

 toed limbs; there are no gills, though spiracles or gill- 

 openings survive. It lives in swamps and sluggish streams 

 of the Southern States. 



A step higher is the Menopoma, which is still aquatic, 

 with persistent gills, but the body and feet are as in the 



