THE SALAMANDER. 



THE TAILED BATRACH1A 



are sometimes called also Urodela (Greek, ovpd, tail ; SfjAoy, 

 manifest), from the fact that they are distinguished by the presence 

 of a tail during the whole stage of their existence. Nevertheless they 

 are subject to the metamorphoses to which all the Amphibians 

 submit. The division, therefore, of Reptiles," says Professor Rymer 

 Jones, " into such as undergo metamorphoses and such as do not, is 

 by no means philosophical, although convenient to the zoologist, for 

 all Reptiles undergo a metamorphosis, although not to the same 

 extent. In the one the change from the aquatic to the air-breathing 

 animal is never fully accomplished ; in the tailed Amphibian the 

 change is accomplished after the embryo has escaped from the 

 ovum." 



Salamanders have had the honour of appearing prominently in 

 fabulous narrative. The Greeks believed that they could live in 

 fire, and this error obtained credence so long, that even now it has 

 not been entirely dissipated. Many people are simple enough to 

 believe from the Greek tradition that these innocent animals are 

 fire-proof. The love of the marvellous, fostered and excited by 

 ignorant appeals to superstition, has gone even further than this : it 

 has been asserted that hottest fire becomes extinguished when a 

 Salamander is thrown into it. In the Middle Ages this notion was 

 held by most people, and it would have been dangerous to gainsay 

 it. However, naturalists have proved by experiment the absurdity of 

 these tales. 



The skull of the Land or Spotted Salamander (Salamandra 

 maeulosa, Fig. 9) is well described by Cuvier as being nearly cylin- 

 drical, wider in front so as to form the semi-circular face, and also 

 behind for the crucial branches, containing the internal ears. The 

 cranium of the aquatic Salamander differs from the terrestrial in 

 having the entire head more oblong. 



In the Land Salamander the body is black and warty, with large 

 irregular yellow spots distributed over the head, back, sides, feet, and 

 tail. They affect retired and moist places, and only issue from their 

 retreat in the night or morning, walking slowly, and dragging them- 

 selves with difficulty along the surface of the ground. They live 

 upon flies, beetles, snails, and earth-worms. They remain in the 

 water to deposit their eggs ; the young are born alive, and furnished 

 with fully-developed gills. The salamander possesses the power of 

 discharging an acrid and milky humour from the surface of its body, 

 with a very strong odour, which serves as a defence again -t unimals 



