Dr. Mitchill on the Proteus of Lake Erie. 67 
‘Some creature, + te of the same family, has been 
called a Siren. M. P. de Beauvois in the 4th volume of the 
Philadelphia Philosophical transactions, has described an 
aquatic four legged reptile, which he denominates the Oper- 
culated Siren. The character of this latter genus among 
other particulars, is to have but two feet, and these on the 
fore part of the body. The animal described by this ob- 
server having four feet, could not be a siren 
My inhabitant of the North American Lakes, has so ma- 
ny characters in common with yours a Carniola, that I feel 
an inclination to consider him a Proteus. Among other 
particulars, his two triple-bunches of eaten and persistent 
gills; his two elongated, internal air bags; his four feet with 
toes; and his vertical flat tail, all warrant this decision. 
his spotted skin, flabby lips, and toes to the number of four 
‘on each of the feet, might authorize me to bestow upon bim 
a distinct name. I am averse to the unnecessary oa 
tion of genera. Science has been injured by the liberty som 
naturalists have indulged in constituting new ones when spe 
cific distinctions would have answered a better purpose. By 
some these innovations have been so wantonly introduced as 
almost to threaten, in the end, the erection of every species 
into a distinct genus 
* If the definition by the discriminating Daudin in his ad- 
mirable history of reptiles was a amended in one particular, it 
would comprehend several sorts of creatures which now 
arrass us exceedingly. His character of the Proteus is 
that i it has an elongated body, with persistent gills. and four 
legs with two toes on the foremost, and i on the hind- 
most; with a tongue reseinbling that of a frog. Now, all 
that is wanting is to strike out the number of the toes, and 
to leave them unlimited. It will then include the creature 
before me, and the other congeneric species. And th 
modified, it will exclude the Crysadonta, Salamander and 
Siren: the Triton havi ing no pretensions to be considered 
‘ genus. The generic character I propose rire 8 this. 
Proteus 
Body ‘long and lacertine ; with a flat tail and branchial 
—— both persistent; and four feet furnished with claws 
n> * 
