452 DUNN. 



a small series of a species I give measurements of all. In the case of 

 very large series I give measurements of a selected group of specimens, 

 including all the largest males and females, the smallest transformed 

 young, and the largest and smallest larvae. 



In the inclusion of references in the synonymy I have used my own 

 judgment and left out nominal references which added nothing to the 

 previous knowledge. I have included all unverified references on the 

 chance that they may contain useful information which I have heen 

 unable to procure. Such are many oi the Russian citations. The 

 literature of this group is extraordinarily difficult, much of it being 

 couched in Russian and in Japanese, contained in journals which are 

 peculiarly hard to come by, and whose contents are not listed in the 

 Zoological Record. As examples I mention the important papers of 

 Nikolski (1918), Al.e (1921 '.and Maki (1921), all three of which 1 saw 

 for the first time when this paper was in galley proof. I therefore 

 crave indulgence for unintentional omissions. 



Another difficult matter has heen the allocation of the proper names 

 to some of the Japanese forms. The old terms naevius and netmlosus 

 have been applied in their time to many species, and while the strict 

 application of these two uames is easy enough, it is by no means easy to 

 tell what others than Schlegel meant by them. It is a pleasure to me to 

 acknowledge my debt to the work of K. Tago. He, with his wide field 

 experience, and large series of specimens, stated that he knew person- 

 ally four Hynobius from Hondo. I. with a small series, came to the 

 same conclusion, and have heen able to identify them with Tago's four. 

 His descriptions of the forms in nature are singularly charming and I 

 have quoted largely from them. 



In this paper I have included what I consider to he the essentials 

 of a systematic treatise. These are: a consideration of the anatomy 

 as used in classification; an account of the forms in the group and their 

 distribution: an account of the relationships of these forms to one 

 another and of their probable origin and dispersal; an account of 

 their habits; references to the names by which they have been known 

 and to the papers which contain information concerning them; refer- 

 ences to the collections in which are deposited the specimens upon 

 which the accounts are based. I have combined the introduction and 

 the conclusions because the general student will read only this part 

 and no useful purpose is served by sandwiching it around the syste- 

 matic account of the animals. 



This paper is based upon the examination of 1128 specimens of the 

 family, representing 4 genera and 15 species. I have not been able to 



