AMPHIBIANS 



153 



converging anteriorly; vertebrae opisthocoelous; carpus and tarsus 

 ossified; lungs and ypsiloid cartilage present; no naso-labial groove: 

 about 10 genera, all in the old world, one of which is represented in 

 America. 



Triturus Rafinesque (Diemyctylus Raf.). Newts. Tongue at- 

 tached by nearly its whole lower surface; digits 4-5 : about 12 species in 

 Europe, Asia and America, 4 species in the United States. These 

 salamanders can float in water without swimming movements, because 

 of their lungs. 



Key to the American Species of Triturus 



ai Species east of the Rockies. 



bi Red markings on the side of the body. 



Ci Circular, black-edged red spots on the sides T. viridescens. 



C2 A continuous or broken red line edged with black, on 



the side T. dorsalis. 



hi No red markings present; on the Gulf coastal plain T. meridionalis. 



a2 Species west of the Rockies T. torosus. 



T. viridescens Raf. Spotted salamander; newt (Fig. 71). Body of 

 adult elongate; tail with a prominent 

 keel above and below; color olive green 

 above, yellowish beneath, sprinkled 

 everywhere with black dots except on 

 the belly, and with a row of 2 to 6 

 or more round red black-edged spots 

 on the side of the trunk; length 90 

 mm. ; tail 44 mm. : eastern and central 

 States and Canada, from Hudson Bay 

 to Florida and Texas; westward to 

 Wisconsin and Oklahoma; common. 

 The adult animals are aquatic, living 

 in ponds and streams containing 

 vegetation. The eggs are few in 

 number and are attached separately 

 to vegetation. There are two larval 

 stages, in the first of which the ani- 

 mal is aquatic, with gills and the 

 color of the adult, and in the second it 

 is terrestrial, without gills and bright red in color and smaller in size, 

 but is spotted like the adult and without a keeled tail. The first stage 



Fig. 71. — Inside the mouth of Triturus 

 viridescens: i, inner nares; 2, vomerine 

 teeth; 3, tongue {from Hay). 



