162 AMPHIBIA 



has been divided into four sub-families differing in the arrange- 

 ment of the teeth on the palate and in the structure of the ver- 

 tebrae. One of these sub-families, the Salamandrinae, is almost 

 entirely confined to Europe and northern Asia, which form 

 what is called the Palaearctic region. The two principal 

 genera of this division are Triton, also called Molge, which 

 includes the familiar and abundant newts, and Salamandra 

 which contains the salamanders. The two genera differ in 

 certain characters of the teeth and skull, but can be easily dis- 

 tinguished by external characters and habits. The newts are 

 much more aquatic than the salamanders and in accordance 

 with this difference the tail of the former is compressed from 

 side to side and in most species furnished with a fin -membrane, 

 while in the salamanders the tail is round and destitute of a 

 fin. Newts spend a considerable part of the year in the water 

 in the breeding season, and at this time the males usually develop 

 a fold of skin or crest along the back. There are only three 

 species of Salamandra and none of them occurs in the British 

 Isles. They are much more highly coloured than the newts, 

 the spotted salamander, 5". maculosa, being black with large 

 bright yellow patches, the Alpine salamander, vS\ atra, uni- 

 formly black. The newts are usually of a mottled brown 

 colour above, but the males, especially in T. cristatus, develop 

 bright orange colour with black spots on the belly. Both the 

 spotted and the Alpine salamander are viviparous, but the 

 newts lay eggs. Three species of Triton occur in England : 

 T. vulgaris or punctatus is the common newt ; it is distinguished 

 by its black spots and by the crest in the male being undu- 

 lated but not notched ; it is continuous with the tail fin. The 

 larger crested newt, T. cristatus, is blotched or marbled, not 

 spotted, and the crest of the male is high and notched or 

 serrated along its edge ; it is separate from the caudal fin. (See 

 Plate XIII., A, B.) Adults of this species are five to six inches 

 in length while T. vulgaris seldom exceeds three inches. The 

 third species is T. palmatus, the webbed newt ; it does not ex- 

 ceed three inches, is of olive-brown colour and in the male the 

 hind toes are fully webbed. Numerous other species occur in 

 Europe, one of the most curious of which is T. waltlii, of the 

 Spanish peninsula. This species is very aquatic and has a tail 

 fin-membrane but there is no crest on the body in the males ; 



