HYNOBIIDAE. 463 



Range: From the River Sosova, the Ural Mts., and the Kirgis 

 Steppe, to Verkoyansk, Anadyr, Kamchatka, and south into Man- 

 churia, and Mongolia. 



Diagnosis: A Hynobius with moderately long, flattened tail; 

 moderate vomerine series ; 13-15 costal grooves; 4 toes; a light dorsal 

 band and darker sides. 



Description: U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 36414, adult male, Paratunka, 

 Kamchatka; 14 costal grooves; 1 costal fold between appressed toes; 

 head width 5 in length from snout to vent; head length 3^ in length of 

 body; head oval; eye shorter than its distance from tip of snout; 

 outline of upper jaw convex as seen from side; angle of jaw back of 

 hind angle of eye; lower eyelid fitting under upper in front and behind; 

 a groove from hind angle of eye not quite reaching gular fold; a 

 groove from this down behind angle of jaw; limbs well developed; 

 fingers 2, 3, 1, 4 in order of length; toes 3, 2, 4, 1 in order of length; 

 tail longer than body, much flattened, a dorsal keel throughout, a 

 ventral keel in distal two-thirds; vent formed by three slits converg- 

 ing with apex forwards, median longest; vomerine series beginning 

 behind inner edge of nares ; a branch of 5 teeth running in and forward 

 to level of anterior edge of nares ; a branch of 8 teeth running in and 

 back, making an acute angle with the outer branch, and extending 

 farther back than it; series separated from its fellow posteriorly by 

 width of nares; length of inner branch equals distance between outer 

 edge of naris and median line; dull grayish brown, lighter below; an 

 irregular black line from behind eye along sides of back to base of tail 

 where it broadens into irregular marbling on sides of tail ; a middorsal 

 black line; dorsal area of a richer brown than sides; total length 132 

 mm., head 15, body 52, tail 65. 



Variation: A female, U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 22594, from Rakovaya 

 Bukhta, Avatcha Bay, Kamchatka, has 4 costal folds between the 

 appressed toes; head width 7 in length from snout to vent; head 

 length 4 in length of body; tail shorter than body, no keels; vent a 

 simple slit; 13 teeth in the inner branch of the vomerine series, whose 

 length is a little more than equal to the distance between the outer 

 border of the nares and the median line; darker, with irregular black 

 marbling on sides of body as well as on sides of tail; total length 124 

 mm., head 15, body 60, tail 49. 



Variations in proportions may be noted in the table of measurements. 

 Males are longer legged than females. 



Habits: I quote first from Dybowsky (1870) who says, in his 

 original description; "I have found this species at the southwest 



