346 



GENERAL ZOOLOGY 



authority the hand of an axolotl ten years old was removed, 

 and it was replaced within twelve weeks. 



The newts, or tritons, are carnivorous salamanders which 

 are more or less aquatic in their habits when adult, or, at 

 least, during the breeding season, at which time also the 

 colors of the males in some species become brighter, and a 

 crest is developed along the back. The common species of 

 the eastern United States {Tritu'rus virides'cens, Fig. 176) 

 is olive green or reddish in color, with a compressed tail and 

 a row of small orange-colored spots along the right and left 



c ~ d 



Fig. 176. Development of newt. (Reduced) 



A, egg on water plant ; B, larva, in August ; C, young, in autumn ; D, about 



two years old ; E, adult. (After Gage) 



sides of the body. It grows to the length of three and a 

 half inches. The eggs (Fig. 176, A) are laid during April, 

 May, or June, usually in the axils of leaves of water plants, 

 and the leaves are drawn together and made into a compact 

 mass by a secretion from the oviduct. As a general rule one 

 egg is laid at a time ; occasionally two are inclosed in the 

 same mass. The young hatch in from twenty to thirty-five 

 days, depending on the temperature. In August they re- 

 semble Fig. 176, B. Late in the fall they leave the water 

 and live on land in damp places beneath logs and leaves in 

 the woods. They are then of a beautiful red color and have 

 a cylindrical tail (Fig. 176, C). Several years are required 

 to produce the aquatic adult form (Fig. 176, E), which, as 

 will be seen, differs considerably from the young. 



