CLASS AMPHIBIA 



487 



leather. Dried salamanders have been used as a vermifuge. Adult 

 frogs and salamanders, as well as larval stages, are widely used 

 as laboratory animals. 



Fig. 270. — Bufo valUceps is a common toad. (Photograph by Thos. Mebane Jones.) 



NECTURUS MACULOSUS, THE MUD PUPPY 



Necturus maculosus, the mud puppy or water dog, is a very com- 

 mon example of the salamander division of Amphibia found from 

 the Mississippi basin eastward, and is the one most commonly used 

 for laboratory study. It lives in ponds and streams, spending most 

 of the time in the mud at the bottom, but swimming and crawling 

 about at night. It comes ashore only occasionally. Insect larvae, 

 crayfish, worms, frogs, and occasionally fish comprise much of its 

 food. 



