2 THE SALAMANDER 



of which two are European and two Asiatic. The two former are 

 well known and are Salamandra salamandra (better known as S. 

 maculosa)^ the Spotted Salamander, and S. atra, the Black or Alpine 

 Salamander. The Asiatic species are S. caucasica and S. semenovi, 

 both of which inhabit mountainous districts and are known from 

 a few specimens only — particularly the last named. It is to the first 

 named of these four species that the present work is confined, but a 

 brief account of the general characteristics of the other three may not 

 be out of place, and they will accordingly be discussed in the reverse 

 order to that given above. 



4. Salamandra semenovi. 



Salamandra semenovi was first described by Nesterov in 1 9 1 6. It 

 is of approximately the same size, or perhaps slightly smaller than 

 the Spotted Salamander, and inhabits the mountains of Kurdistan 

 and Perso-Turkey at an altitude of about 5,000 ft. (PI. XXV, fig. 83). 

 Nothing appears to be known of its anatomy. It is characterized by 

 the markings which are small and greenish-yellow. 



5. Salamandra caucasica. 



Salamandra caucasica was first described by Waga (1876) under 

 the name Exaeretus caucasicus and its inclusion in the genus Sala- 

 mandra is due to Boulenger (1882). It is rather more slender than 

 the Spotted Salamander, while its tail has a very much greater 

 relative length and contains some fifty-three vertebrae against 

 twenty-two to twenty-five for salamandra. The markings are deep 

 orange in colour on a pure black ground and show a strong resem- 

 blance to those of S. salamandra^ forma typica (see p. 1 3). The male 

 is characterized by the possession of a prominent dorsal hook at the 

 base of the tail. As its name implies this species inhabits the Cauca- 

 sian mountains, to which it appears to be confined (PI. XXV, fig. 8 3). 



6. Salamandra atra. 



Salamandra atra has been known from early times. It is restricted 

 to the European Alps over a vertical range extending from about 

 2,500 to 9,000 ft. (PL XXV, fig. 83). It is rather smaller than 

 S. salamandra and is distinguished from it by the absence of any 

 yellow or orange markings to interrupt its uniform black colour, and 

 by the relatively shorter tail. Normally this species bears only two 

 young at a time, and these are devoid of gills and are not deposited 

 in water as in the case of the other species, but are fitted from the first 

 for a terrestrial existence. Schwalbe (1896) gives an excellent 



