156 SALAMANDRAD&. 
Wolley, some excellent observations on the nomenclature of 
the Newts by Mr. Newman, and finally, a short but most 
clear and decisive note from M. Julian Deby, who at once 
set the question at rest, by giving a comparative view of 
the tails of this and of the common species, with notes of 
their distinctive characters, and a short account of the Con- 
tinental authorities on the subject. The figure in Dandin of 
his Salamandra palmipes is indeed so characteristic, that 
had I consulted, as on any other occasion I should have 
done, this excellent author, I could not have committed the 
mistake into which I was led by implicit reliance upon an 
authority which never, on any other occasion, failed me. 
The first intimation we have of this species as dis- 
tinct, is in the ‘ Histoire Naturelle du Jorat,” of M. 
Razoumowski, who there terms it “ Salamandre Suisse.” 
Latreille, with great propriety, changed this name to that 
of ‘“* 8. palmipéde ;” in which he was followed by Sonnini. 
It inhabits the midland countries of Europe, having been 
found, as M. Deby observes, ‘‘ by Fournelle in the depart- 
ment de la Moselle, by Sturm in Germany, by Razou- 
mowski in Switzerland, by Latreille in France, and by 
De Selys, Van Haesendonck, and myself in Belgium.” 
I now proceed to detail the principal distinctions 
which exist between this and the common British species, 
LL. punctatus. 
The whole animal is smaller; the head flatter, broader 
in proportion, and beautifully marbled; the body has two 
distinct lateral carine above, and two less conspicuous ones 
beneath, giving to it somewhat of a quadrate form. The 
crest is straight, and much less elevated than in the other 
species, and begins further back on the neck. The hinder 
feet of the male are palmate ; entirely so in the summer, 
less so in the autumn, and towards winter the web is 
