AMPHIBIANS 



Fig. 295. — Mud-puppy, Necturus maculosus. 



masquerade. Its long body is low-slung on futile looking 

 legs and the dog-like head is flanked by bushy "ears" or gills, 

 which swing rhythmically back and forth as it breathes (Fig. 

 295). Its mottled brown body is blotched with blue-black 

 on the sides and back, the whole color scheme matching the 

 stream bottom so well that a mud-puppy easily goes unnoticed, 

 especially when its red gills are not expanded, as is often the 

 case in a stream where there is plenty of oxygen. 



Habits, food. — Mud-puppies live in the water all their lives, 

 in rivers and creeks, crawling about mostly at night in pro- 

 tected places among stones and debris, feeding upon the yield 

 of the stream bottom — water insects, snails, fish eggs, and 

 small fishes. . 



Breeding habits. — Mating probably occurs in the fall and 

 sperm cells can be found then in the cloacal chamber of the fe- 

 males. In the following late spring or early summer, mud- 

 puppies lay their eggs, gluing them on flattened stones and 

 guarding the place until after the young larvae have hatched. 



Size. — Commonly a foot long. 



367 



A 



