COMMON WARTY-NEWT. 131 



The separation of the present animals from the genus Sa- 

 lamandra was an essential step, for which we are indebted 

 to Laurenti, although there may be some objection to the 

 name Triton, which he applied to them, on account of its 

 having been already assigned by Linnaeus to the inhabitants 

 of certain shells. As, however, the principle upon which he 

 did this — namely, the adoption of a distinct nomenclature 

 for the animals and their shells — has long since been very 

 properly exploded, and as the application of the name Triton 

 to a genus of Buccinoid Mollusca, although universally 

 adopted, is of later date than its application to the animals 

 now under consideration, it must be retained by these. 



This species, which grows to the length of six inches, is 

 the largest found in this country. It is not at all un- 

 common in ponds and large ditches, where it lives upon 

 aquatic insects, and upon any other small living animals. 

 It feeds during the spring upon the Tadpole of the Common 

 Frog, which it devours with great voracity, and thus 

 doubtless co-operates with the smaller fishes to keep under 

 the immense increase of Frogs, which, but for this, and 

 similar means of destruction, would necessarily take place, 

 and almost realize amongst us a repetition of the Egyptian 

 plague. They will also devour the smaller species of 

 Newt, Tr. punctatits, which they seize with great apparent 

 ferocity, and hold fast in spite of all the efforts made by 

 the victim to escape. I have taken them more than once 

 in the act of swallowing an individual of the smaller spe- 

 cies, which was so large as to occasion great difficulty and 

 delay in the act of deglutition. The following fact in their 

 habits is also worthy of remark : — " It is," says the Prince 

 of Musignano, " a wonderful circumstance, that an animal 

 so tenacious of life, should die with the most violent con- 

 vulsions on having a little salt sprinkled upon it." 



K 2 



