ing habits among salamanders, the actions of this form cannot be considered 

 typical of the group. A discussion of its behavior may, however, familiarize 

 the reader with generali2;ed salamander development. This animal, commonly 

 known as the spotted salamander, breeds in the spring — about the first of April 

 in our northeastern states. It spends its adult life on land, except during the 

 breeding season. As soon as the ground thaws sufficiently in the spring, great 

 numbers of these animals travel by night to the ponds to breed. A warm rain 

 will greatly speed up and concentrate this spring migration. Often the males 

 enter the ponds somewhat before the females. The former deposit small, whitish, 

 cone'like objects with gelatinous bases and tips of sperm, known as spermatO' 

 phores, on the submerged vegetation. These are not usually deposited, how 

 ever, until after the arrival of the females and are usually associated with court' 

 ship or Liehesspiel. During the courtship activity, which occurs at night, the 

 male rubs the top of the head against the ventral surface of the female, usually 

 starting at the cloacal region and working forwards toward the throat. At 

 frequent intervals the male moves away to deposit a spermatophore on nearby 

 vegetation. The female finally becomes sufficiently excited to approach a 

 spermatophore, placing her cloaca above it. At this time some of the sperm 

 from the tip of the spermatophore enter the cloaca of the female. This be- 

 havior may be repeated several times. The eggs are usually not laid for several 

 hours thereafter. They are deposited in masses averaging fifty to one hundred 

 eggs per bunch, each female averaging two or three bunches. The egg masses 

 are attached to submerged sticks or growing vegetation a few inches below the 

 surface of the water. The period of migration and egg'laying usually lasts 

 about two or three weeks, after which the salamanders return to a terrestrial 

 life. The eggs take about ten days or two weeks to hatch, the speed of de- 

 velopment being directly proportional to the temperature of the water. The 

 very young larvae have ''balancers" on the head and are without legs. The 

 gills are present from hatching time until transformation. Presently, as the 

 balancers disappear, the front legs grow, then the hind legs. The young feed 

 voraciously upon small aquatic animals, being particularly fond of wood frog 

 tadpoles. About three or four months usually elapse before metamorphosis, 

 this period also varying with the temperature of the water. Gradually the head 

 becomes more pointed and the gills begin to disappear. The young salamanders 

 seek the edge of the water. Later they crawl out of the water altogether and 

 finally take up an adult terrestrial existence. 



Most salamanders produce skin secretions that lubricate the surface of the 

 body or prove distasteful or irritating to their enemies. From this habit arose 

 the popular belief that salamanders are poisonous to the touch, an erroneous 

 idea as applied to our native species. Many salamanders shed the skin periodi- 

 cally, some in small pieces, others as whole, transparent sheets. An entire shed 

 skin, floated in water, shows the perfect outlines of the body, even to the tiny^ 



310 



