AN ALBINO SALAMANDER, SPELERPES BILINEATUS. 



By Arthur M. Banta and Ross vViken Gortner. 



Of the Carnegie Station for Experimental Evolution, Cold Spring Harbor, Nevj York. 



In May, 1912, while collecting amphibian material in the field the 

 writers took an albino tic (a xanthic) larva of Spelerpes hilineafvs 

 Green. The larva was a year old and measured about 4.3 centi- 

 meters in length. It was colored a uniform yellowish orange, except 

 for the gills, which were reddish from contained blood, and the eyes, 

 which appeared opaque white. While this individual entirely lacked 

 black pigment in the skin, eyes, and connective tissue as well, it had 

 the normal amount of yellow pigment. In fact the animal was so 

 conspicuously yellow that it seemed hard to believe that it did not 

 have more than the normal amount of this pigment; but a close 

 examination of the skin of normal individuals convinces one that 

 there is a large amount of the yeUow pigment, but that it is pretty 

 thoroughly masked by the large amount of melanin present. 



The color of this albino larva was recorded by using one of the 

 Milton Bradley color tops. The exact shade of the body color was 

 most nearly matched with the following percentages: Black, 39; 

 white, 9; orange, 28i; and yellow, 23|. A normal of the same size 

 and apparent stage of development was matched on the head region 

 with: Black, 74^; white, 8; orange, 4; yellow, 13 J. The body 

 region was recorded as: Black, 85|; white, 4; orange, 2; and yellow, 

 8|. The percentage of black given in the color record of the albino 

 does not indicate partially concealed black pigment, but was neces- 

 sary in order to obtain the proper density of the orange yellow. 



The albino was kept in a large battery jar provided with water, 

 sand, and stones, and was fed upon small annelids and slender strands 

 of beef. It took food very well and grew rapidl}?-. It began to 

 resorb its gills early in the following October and completed its 

 transformation in two or three weeks. During transformation it 

 became distinctly more orange in color than it had previously been 

 and there appeared two distinct dorsal lines not evident before. 

 These bands were at either side of the median line running back 

 from just in front of the shoulder region to well along the base of the 



Proceedings U- S. National Museum, Vol. 49— No. 2112. 



377 



