262 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



states that the larvae are not found in the clear, running 

 streams inhabited by the adults, but are confined to quite 

 muddy water, overrun with watercress and similar weeds. 



Salamandrina, represented by a single species, S. perspi- 

 cillata, of Italy, differs from Molge and Amblystoma in 

 the possession of but four toes. The slightly compressed 

 tail is very long, much longer than the head and body, and 

 is keeled above. The head is very distinct from the neck, 

 with large prominent eyes. The limbs are weak. The 

 skin is closely tuberculate above and beneath. The upper 

 surfaces are dark brown or black, with a yellow, spectacle- 

 shaped marking on the top of the head, between the eyes ; 

 the belly is white, with black markings ; the under-surface 

 of the tail is usually pink, sometimes red. 



The Spectacled Salamander, as this creature is called, 

 from the marking on its head, is found in the neighbour- 

 hood of streams, into which it enters but once a year in 

 order to deposit the eggs. The larvae closely resemble 

 those of the Spotted Salamander. 



Hynobius, a Japanese genus, is more or less aquatic. 

 The hind limbs are provided with five digits ; the tail is 

 cylindrical at the base, compressed at the end. 



H. keyserlingii is remarkable for the fact that, during 

 the breeding season, the eggs are surrounded by a gelatinous 

 substance, forming a bag, which is suspended from the 

 branches of some tree or bush overhanging the water. 

 The anterior end of this receptacle, which measures six 

 inches in length and barely one in breadth, is submerged, 

 and thus the larvae, when they have reached a certain stage 

 in their development, break through the bag and find 

 themselves in the water. 



