40 



THE MUSEUM. 



ers. I quote a short paragraph from 

 Cope's "Batrachia of North America" 

 as to its distribution and habits: 



' 'The range of this species is from 

 Texas to Maine. It appears to be 

 common in Massachusetts and Maine. 



"This salamander is entirely terres- 

 trial in its habits. It is found much 

 more abundantly in the mountainous 

 districts and haunts rocky localities as 

 well as forest mold and fallen logs. 

 I have found it more abundant in New 

 York than in southwest Virginia. I 

 believe that it prefers a cool climate. 

 In the flat and warmer tertiary and 

 cretaceous eastern coast region it is 

 rare. In southern Pennsylvania I 

 have only found it on the northern ex- 

 posure of the south Chest valley hill 

 and never on the southern exposure or 

 other parts of the north hill. In 

 southwest Virginia it is more common 

 in caves than on the surface." 



I saw a good many specimens of the 

 red newt (DiemyctJies miniatus). This 

 species is about three and one-fourth 

 inches long. The color of the back 

 and sides is a bright red which is apt 

 to disappear in preserving liquid. On 

 each side is a row of five or more ocel- 

 late spots, while the whole under sur- 

 face is covered with small black dots. 

 Often after a storm these little fel- 

 lows appear in considerable numbers 

 in some localities. I have noticed 

 this fact both* in Virginia and in Rhode 

 Island and have heard that it holds 

 true in Connecticut. That they eat 

 each other is a fact easily learned by 

 confining some in a small box for a 

 few weeks. They will disappear one 

 by one, the larger ones remaining alive 

 the longest, and an apparent increase 

 in the circumference of one individual 

 is a sure sign that the life of another 

 has been sacrificed. 



There is quite a full account of the 

 habits of this species in the Geological 

 Report of Ohio which I think is worth 

 quoting at length: 



"The Crimson Triton is found un- 

 der stones and decayed wood and 

 leaves and also in brooks and pools. 



Holbrook observed them swimming 

 with vivacity under ice an inch thick. 

 Storer found fragments of Lymnea, 

 Physa, insects and spiders in their 

 stomachs and also ascertained that 

 they cast their skin in June and that 

 the new cuticle was in every respect 

 similar to the old, They are not so 

 rapid in their motion as Plethodon 

 erythronotus. In confinement they 

 thrive well if allowed a daily supply 

 of fresh water and a sufficient quanti- 

 ty of flies which they siezed and swal- 

 lowed apparently by several continued 

 efforts. Their eggs are laid attached 

 to weeds and grass in shallow water 

 in albuminous masses, looking some- 

 what like those of frogs, and the 

 young does not lose its brahchise until 

 late in development, 



"Mr. Howard A. Kelly relates that 

 he has taken the Red Egt Notophthal- 

 mus (Diemyctlus) viridescens, found 

 in Sullivant county, Pennsylvania, 

 and kept them in a dark box filled 

 with moss and saturated with water, 

 and that all the specimens thus treat- 

 ed changed from the vermillion of the 

 miniafus to the dull or olive of the 

 viridescens] that upon being thrown 

 into water they struggled to land but 

 soon returned to the water, returning 

 to the surface at intervals for air. 

 They were kept alive for some time 

 and always seemed satisfied with their 

 aquatic residence. Such an observa- 

 tion would seem to indicate that in- 

 stead of specific or even varietal dif- 

 ferences in this species we have simp- 

 ly the changes due to age and con- 

 dition." 



Cope in his "Batrachias of North 

 America" states that L. miniatus is 

 identical with D. viridescens and that 

 the two forms are stages of "one and 

 the same animal." He says that the 

 differences between them are simply 

 those caused by changes in season and 

 environment. 



In the cold mountain springs I found 

 many specimens of the Spring Newt 

 {Desmo gnat Juts fuse a). This is an ac- 

 tive species. It seems to prefer shal- 



