228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1893. 



then as Menopoma alleghaniensis, naturalists, at least in this country, 

 in speaking of the hell-bender usually refer to it even now as the 

 Menopoma, of course improperly, as the name Cryptobranchus, hav- 

 ing priority, should be used in preference. Van der Hoeven 8 

 regarding the so-called Japanese salamander as essentially in its 

 organization nothing but a big hell-bender or Menopoma, named it 

 Cryptobranchus japonicus, the Menopoma of Harlan being then con- 

 sistently designated as Cryptobranchus alleghaniensis, and the name 

 Menopoma was set aside. 



Boulenger and Cope, high authorities on the subject of the batra- 

 chia, regarding, however, as Tschudi and Bonaparte did, the Jap- 

 anese animal as differing sufficiently from the American hell-bender 

 (Cnjptrobranchus syn. Menopoma) to warrant placing it in a distinct 

 genus, have revived in recent times the old name and designate it 

 now Megalobatrachus maximus. 



In dissecting recently a fine specimen of the Japanese animal, 

 measuring 46 inches in length (115 cent.) which lived for a number 

 of years in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, the author was much 

 impressed with the similarity of its organization to that of our com- 

 mon hell-bender, of which he has dissected numerous specimens. It 

 may not be superfluous therefore to call attention to such parts of 

 the anatomy of the Japanese batrachian as have not been already 

 described, to those points in which the organization of the Japanese 

 and American forms agree and disagree, finally, as to why, in the 

 judgment of the author, the Japanese batrachian should be regarded 

 as a big hell-bender, a kind of Cryptobranchus or Menopoma, rather 

 than as a distinct genus Megalobatrachus. 



The myology, splanchnology and nervous system of the Japanese 

 animal have been described by Goddard, Schmidt and Van der 

 Hoeven. 9 Peculiarities of the hyoid apparatus and of the muscular 

 and nervous systems are incidentally alluded to by Fischer, 10 more 

 particularly in their relation to the corresponding parts in the Per- 

 ennibranchiata and Derotremata. The osteology and splanchnology 

 are well considered by Hyrtl 11 in his beautifully illustrated mono- 



8 Tijdschrift voor Natuurlijke Geschiedenis, 1837-1838, p. 375. 



9 Aanteekenigen over de anatomie van den Cryptobranchus Japonicus, Haar- 

 lem, 1862. 



10 Anatomische Abhandl. iiber die Perennibranchinten und Derotremen, Ham- 

 burg, 1864. 



11 Cryptobranchus Japonicus, Vindobonae, 1865. 



