366 THE VIVARIUM. 
with no other associates but those of its own species. If properly 
tended it will live for a long time. It should be provided with a 
very shallow vessel containing soft water ; and some moss, stones, 
and pieces of cork, under which it can hide, and over which it 
will like to climb. 
This Batrachian is said to pair upon the land, and then after- 
wards to retire to some shallow and sheltered place in the water 
for the purpose of depositing its eggs. The young are supposed 
to be hatched in about three weeks, and to leave the water im 
June and July. Probably the Spectacled Salamander only enters 
the water at the breeding-season. I once, however, found, in the 
winter, a specimen of my own drowned in the very shallow water 
to which it always had access. 
S. perspicillata has a long head, very distinct from the neck; a 
short and rounded snout; large and prominent eyes; the ribs 
and vertebrae showing distinctly through the skin; a tail much 
longer than the head and body, slender, slightly compressed, and 
keeled above and below ; the skin tuberculated ; no parotoids, and 
no fold on the throat. The upper surfaces of this animal’s body 
are black ; on the head there is a yellow triangular or horse-shoe 
like marking, the point of which is directed backwards between 
the eyes, hence the specific name; the throat is black and the 
chin white. The lower parts are whitish, marked, usually, with 
blazk spots. The lower half of the tail and the anal region are of 
a blood-red colour. The entire length of this Salamander, when 
fully grown, is about four imches. Healthy specimens may 
occasionally be bought in London at prices which range from 
ds. to 7s. 6d. 
No Salamander is a native of Great Britain. 
