252 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



the sides are speckled with white ; the breeding male's head 

 is marbled black-and-white. The under-surfaces are 

 bright yellow or orange, spotted or marbled with black ; 

 the fingers and toes are yellow, with narrow black rings. A 

 silvery-white band in the breeding male extends along the 

 side of the tail, the lower edge of which is uniform orange 

 in the female. 



The Crested Newt breeds in April, May, and June in 

 the British Isles, somewhat earlier on the Continent. It 

 also, unfortunately, does not do at all well in captivity, as, 

 with a few exceptions, it leaves the water after the breeding 

 season. 



The variety karelinii, of Italy, Dalmatia, and North- 

 Eastern Persia, which may be distinguished from the 

 British form by its larger head and shorter body, is more 

 aquatic, and lives for considerable periods in aquaria. In 

 this variety the yellow vertebral line of the female is almost 

 constant. 



The Palmated Newt, M. palmata, the only one which 

 is found over the whole of England, Wales, and Scotland, 

 is the smallest British species, rarely attaining more than 

 three inches in length. The skin, as in the case of M. 

 vulgaris, is smooth, or nearly so. The head is as in the 

 latter species, but the snout is broader. In the male the 

 somewhat quadrangular body is provided with a low and 

 entire vertebral crest ; in the female the body is nearly 

 round in section, with a low ridge along the middle of the 

 back. The toes are webbed in the breeding male, entirely 

 free in the female. The crested tail ends in a short filament 

 in the male. The general colour is brown or olive above, 

 with small dark spots, which are very numerous on the 

 head. The lower parts, except for the median zone of 



