THE SALAMANDER TRIBE 2665 



back in a male. One of the most remarkable of these is Waltli's newt (M. waltlii), 

 from Spain, Portugal and Tangiers, distinguished by the elongation of the ribs, 

 which in some instances actually perforate the skin, so as to form a row of sharp 

 points on each side of the body. In a fossil state the genus has been recorded 

 from the lower Miocene paper coal deposits near Bonn. 



Since the general habits of all newts are very similar, one account 

 will serve for the entire group; but it must be remembered that 

 whereas the whole of them are aquatic during the breeding season, at the close of 

 that period some species leave the water and live for the rest of the summer on 

 land; while nearly all seem to pass some portion of the year out of the water. 

 Newts generally prefer clear and running water, with plenty of aquatic plants on 

 which to deposit their eggs. On land they are somewhat awkward and slow, but 

 in water they swim with great rapidity by the aid of their oar-like tails, their hind- 

 legs being pressed close to the sides of the body; their mode of progression being 

 thus exactly the opposite to that of a frog. They often stand upright in the 

 water when coming to the surface to breathe, after which they will sink to the 

 bottom with a snake-like movement in search of prey. When on land, they seek 

 shelter beneath stones and roots, or in holes in the ground, and in such situations 

 often undergo their winter sleep, although such as live in deep water pass the cold 

 season of the year in a kind of torpor at the bottom. All newts are carnivorous or 

 insectivorous, and the crested newt feeds largely on the tadpoles of the common 

 frog, while the larger species will prey on the smaller members of their own genus. 

 Although there is considerable difference in the spawning time of the various 

 species, the eggs are generally deposited during May or June, the female laying 

 each egg singly on the edge of the leaf of some water plant, which is folded together 

 by her hind-feet, and thus held by the viscosit)' of the egg. In the course of a few 

 days, after its deposition, the white embryo assumes an elongated form within the 

 egg; and soon it is seen to be folded upon itself, with the gills well developed, and 

 in advance of them a pair of lobes by which the liberated tadpole affixes itself to 

 aquatic plants. When about a quarter of an inch in length, and while the gills are 

 still simple, the tadpole bursts its envelope; the front limbs being represented 

 merely by a pair of small knobs behind the gills. When hatched, it swims about in 

 an aimless kind of a way till it strikes against some object to which it can easily 

 attach itself, and after a short time starts on another voyage. Development now 

 proceeds apace, and in the course of two or three weeks the tadpole will have 

 attained a length of about half an inch, while the gills will have become elegantly 

 branched, and the fore-limbs well developed. At this period the eyes assume their 

 permanent characteristic, and the mouth has become terminal, while the lobes for 

 attachment to plants are well-nigh absorbed. Still later the front feet, which had 

 previously been only digitated, acquire four distinct toes, and the hind-limbs make 

 their appearance and gradually assume their full proportions; but the gills have 

 'become still more complex. From this date the latter appendages gradually 

 diminish in size, and shrivel, while the lungs are at the same time developed, until 

 finally, about the latter part of the autumn, the creature has completed its meta- 

 morphosis and passed from the condition of a fish to that of a reptile. Although 



