A " MONSTROUS EFT " 



saw the axolotl in the lake of Mexico, and very probably 

 ate it upon toast. Anyhow, the descendants of his 

 followers do at this day. 



THE GIANT SALAMANDER 



" A monstrous eft," wrote Tennyson, was lord of all 

 in past aeons. At the present moment a distinctly 

 monstrous eft is lord of a smaller portion of the earth's 

 surface, of certain streams, that is to say, in Japan. 

 This animal, known as Megalobatrachus japonicus, or 

 Sieboldia maxima, has been frequently exhibited at the 

 Zoo, since the year 1860, when the first example was 

 obtained. The specimens at the Gardens do not, as a 

 rule, indicate the colossal size to which this, the largest 

 of existing amphibians, attains. But recently, at any 

 rate, an individual of very fair proportions was alive ; 

 this newt measured about four feet. The " outside " 

 length appears to be as much as five feet. The illus- 

 trious German naturalist, von Siebold, brought back 

 from Japan the very first specimen ever exhibited in 

 Europe, so long ago as 1829 ; and the animal there 

 were originally two, but the larger devoured his mate 

 lived until the year 1881. To anyone familiar with 

 the aspect and general demeanour of this great newt, 

 its longevity will not come as a surprise. It passes its 

 days, and, so far as one knows, nights, in a state of 

 almost lethal repose. So little agitation is there of the 

 body and mind that the difficulty is to understand why 

 it should die at all ; and it is plain that if a specimen 

 of unknown age lived in captivity and therefore pre- 

 sumably under disadvantageous conditions for fifty 

 years, its normal life might be indefinitely stretched 

 out. 



In its native Japan the eft is termed " Hansaki," 

 " Hazekoi," or " Anko." It inhabits mountain streams 



297 



