52 



RA.NDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



Reptiles and Batrachians of Rhode Island. 



BY HERMON C. BUMPUS. 



Number XXI. 



Amblystoma pmictattme Linn., (Salaman- 

 dra venenosa Barton, iSalaniandra sab-vio~ 

 lacea, Harlan). The violet colored, or 

 spotted Salamander, though not particu- 

 larly abundant, has nevertheless been many 

 times observed by those interested in nature, 

 attracting attention because of its consider- 

 able size and brilliant markings of yellow on 

 an apparently black field. More specifically, 

 the entire up[)er parts are of a bluish black, 

 fading to black on the jaws and sides of the 

 head. A violet or purple tint appears be- 

 low, and extends from the chin to the top 

 of the tail. The bright yellow or orange 

 spots are large and oval, and are variousl}' 

 distributed in different individuals. Gene- 

 rally the head bears four or five, which ap- 

 pear at the back of each orbit and behind 

 the temples^ while those of the bod}' are ar- 

 j-anged along each side in a more or less ob- 

 vious row, to extend on the tail. The limbs 

 often bear one or two smaller spots. 



In size, the Spotted Salamander is 

 larger and more bulky than those hitherto 

 treated. It often measures five inches in 

 length, and I have seen a specimen that ex- 

 ceeded seven inches. The feet are of con- 

 siderable size, and are of use in walking 

 onlv, being unprovided with webs. The 

 posterior pair are the larger, and of the five 

 toes the third and fourth are largest. Other 

 structural though generic peculiarities are 

 the ossified tarsus, and caspus or ankle and 

 wrist joints, the fish-like vertibrae, these, 

 having their centre hollowed out anteriorly' 

 and posteriorly, and the large thick tongue, 

 attached at its base and free onl}- along the 

 margin. The tongue is more or less folded, 

 the folds starting from a posteriorly placed 

 centre, and radiating anteriorly. The late- 

 ral folds of the bod}' are eleven in number. 



This species was probabl}' first described 

 by an American naturalist in 1803, when 

 Dr. Barton exhibited a living specimen 

 before the Am. Phil. Soc, though no 

 definite description was then drawn up. 

 Later on it seems that some person gave an 

 account of the animal to Rafinesque, who 

 sent a description to Daudin, who published 

 jt in his work under the name S. venenosa 



imposed by Barton. Barton finally published 

 his descri()tion of the animal, calling it S. 

 sul>-vw[acea, a name acknowledged by Har- 

 lan. Long before this, however, Linne had, 

 in the Old World, described the form, and 

 his name is that now adopted by right of 

 priority. We thus see the confusion that 

 may arise from the too hast\' description 

 of supposed new forms. 



In its habits the present species is noc- 

 turnal, being found during the day-time 

 hid away under rocks and decaying trees. 

 Not unfrequently it is found in some post- 

 hole or well, into which it has fallen, and 

 is unable to make good its escape. If ex- 

 posed to the rays of the sun it soon 

 shrivels up and dies ; indeed, so necessarj' is 

 moisture to this animal, that it seems to be 

 provided with a special series of glands from 

 which exude, through pores in the skin, a 

 milk\' fluid. These are quite readil}' seen 

 in a health}' individual, on the head there 

 being several clusters. 



Crocodile — Alligator. 



Thk distinction between Crocodiles and 

 Alligators is based on the shape of the head, 

 which in the crocodile is long, tapering to a 

 narrow snout, in the alligator flat and 

 broad ; but particularly on the fact that 

 the long canine teeth in the lower jaw of 

 the alligator fit into well-defined pits in the 

 upper jaw. These are represented in the 

 crocodile simply as notches. Our most 

 common species is Alligator mississippiensis, 

 and is restricted, I am informed, to the south- 

 eastern portions of the United States, while 

 several species occur southward to South 

 America, and a new species is lately re- 

 ported from China. Crocodiles also occur 

 in Florida, and their many representatives 

 are found in the West Indies, South America, 

 all over Africa, in India, and the East India 

 Islands. 



Among crocodiles in general there is a 

 separation between the plates of the head 

 and back, but in the Gavial found in India, 

 and which is said to grow to be nineteen or 

 twenty feet long, the plates are uninter- 

 rupted, and in the old males there occurs a 

 prominent and curious swelling at the end 

 of the nose. The prominent species in 

 South America is called a Cayman. 



