COMMON WARTY-NEWT. 13] 
The separation of the present animals from the genus S‘a- 
lamandra was an essential step, for which we are indebted 
to Laurenti, although there may be some objection to the 
name Triton, which he applied to them, on account of its 
having been already assigned by Linneus to the inhabitants 
of certain shells. As, however, the principle upon which he 
did this—namely, the adoption of a distinct nomenclature 
for the animals and their shells—has long since been very 
properly exploded, and as the application of the name Triton 
to a genus of Buccinoid Mollusca, although universally 
adopted, is of later date than its application to the animals 
now under consideration, it must be retained by these. 
This species, which grows to the length of six inches, is 
the largest found in this country. It is not at all un- 
common in ponds and large ditches, where it lives upon 
aquatic insects, and upon any other small living animals. 
It feeds during the spring upon the Tadpole of the Common 
Frog, which it devours with great voracity, and thus 
doubtless co-operates with the smaller fishes to keep under 
the immense increase of Frogs, which, but for this, and 
similar means of destruction, would necessarily take place, 
and almost realize amongst us a repetition of the Egyptian 
plague. They will also devour the smaller species of 
Newt, Tr. punctatus, which they seize with great apparent 
ferocity, and hold fast in spite of all the efforts made by 
the victim to escape. I have taken them more than once 
in the act of swallowing an individual of the smaller spe- 
cies, which was so large as to occasion great difficulty and 
delay in the act of deglutition. The following fact in their 
habits is also worthy of remark :—“ It is,” says the Prince 
of Musignano, “a wonderful circumstance, that an animal 
so tenacious of life, should die with the most violent con- ° 
vulsions on having a little salt sprinkled upon it.” 
K 2 
