314 VENOMS 
body covered with large warts, and an enormous head, broad 
behind and flattened in front. 
This giant salamander is now confined to a few provinces in the 
centre of Japan, between long. 34° and 36°, in damp, shady places, 
from 200 to 800 metres above sea-level. It is eaten by the Japanese, 
F1G. 122. —Triton marmoratus (male). (Europe.) 
who also use it as a remedy for, or prophylactic against, contagious 
disorders. By nature it is extremely sluggish, but tries to bite 
when irritated, and then covers itself copiously with slime. 
The venom secreted by salamanders evidently serves to protect 
these creatures against their enemies. So long ago as 1866, 
