192 BATRACHIANS. 



/. DESMOGNATHUS, Baird. Dusky Salamanders. 



1. D. ochrophcea, Cope. Yellow Desmognath. 

 Brownish yellow with a brown shade on each side; a 

 yellowish dorsal band; back with a few spots; belly 

 unspotted; tail rounded; 5 with lower jaw toothless 

 behind; costal folds 14; size small; scarcely aquatic. 

 Allegany Mountains, N. Y., southward. 



2. D. fusca, (Raf.) Baird. Dusky Salamander. 

 Brown above, with gray or purplish spots or shades, 

 becoming blackish with age; marbled below; eyes 

 prominent; tail compressed and keeled, as long as head 

 and body; costal folds 14; larger. Mass. to Ohio and 

 S.; one of the commonest species in springs and brooks; 

 remarkable for its activity and strength. 



3. D. nigra, (Green) Baird. Black Salamander. 

 Uniform black; tips of tail, jaws, etc., brown; tail com- 

 pressed and finned; costal folds 12. Penn., S. in the 

 mountain springs; the largest Eastern Salamander. 



FAMILY LXXXIII.— PLETHODONTID^. 



(Tlie American Salamanders.) 



Vertebrae amphicoelian ; carpus and tarsus cartilagin- 

 ous. Various other distinctive characters are given bv 

 Prof. Cope, but we omit them here as not available for 

 our present purpose. Genera eleven; species thirty; 

 nearly all North American. 



* The tongue attached hy a band runnings from its central or 

 posterior pedicel to the anterior margin ; premaxillaries 2 . 



f Toes 4-4, small, ashy above, spotted below. 



Hemidactyltum, 1. 

 f f Toes 4-5 ; colors dark ; spotted or banded. Plethodon, 2. 



** Tongue free all around, attached by its central pedicel only; 

 toes 4-5, all free. 



