P1VB NATURAL iii.vi 



146 



EECKEATIVE NATURAL 111 



Till: NEWT AND SALAMANDER. 

 MAKY of our readers inn im-ntly *''" tin common newt, 



M iiliiiii.unt iii ditches, pools, brooks, and D 

 \\ h.th. r iho animal may have been the groat wutiT-m-w: 



i, M. ,1 n.'wt), measuring six inches in length, <u- the. 

 small water-mtwt (7Vi,'.-/i ^".m-tutim, or speckled newt), not more 

 tlmu half that .-i/.o, tho observer must have paused a moment 

 to mark tho motions of tho creature. Both belong to the once 

 i salamander family; but no land salamander id found 

 in lirituin, their proper homes being in central and southern 

 Kurope. Tho whole family is closely allied to the frogs and 

 toads, and has, both in ancient aud modern times, excited tho 

 ;it trillion of naturalists. Our observations must bo principally 

 (-n tho British newts, which, the render will remember, are often 

 called salamanders. 



No one can mistake tho 

 largo English water-newt 

 forany other reptile. Tho 

 orango tint aud black 

 spots on tho under part 

 of the body ; the sides 

 speckled with white dots ; 

 the overhanging upper 

 lip ; the body covered 

 with little wart-like tu- 

 bercles ; all givo the 

 animal a peculiar appear- 

 ance. The crest along 

 tho back of the mole is 

 seen in tho spring only, 

 when the animal assumes 

 its brightest tints and 

 exhibits the greatest ac- 

 tivity. Some of the 

 foreign newts are much 

 larger than our British 

 kinds. The species found 

 in the waters of tho Al- 

 Icghany and Ohio rivers 

 is two feet long, being 

 ealled in some parts the 

 'fish salamander," in 

 ithera the " ground 

 puppy," or young alli- 

 gator. 



The newts are, in 

 some respects, peculiarly 

 formed. Though belong- 

 ing to the great division 

 of vertebrated animals, 

 they cannot be said to 

 possess true ribs. An 

 inspection of a skeleton 

 will show the rudiments 

 of these bones, looking 

 us if the ribs had begun 

 to grow and were then 

 suddenly checked in their 



development. The vertebrae of the tail are very numerous, 

 thirty-six having been counted in the tail of tho small newt, and 

 nearly the same number in that of the large water-eft. These 

 numerous joints probably facilitate tho rapid vibratory move- 

 ments of the organ characteristic of this reptile, especially in 

 spring. The bones of the fore-leg have a striking resemblance 

 to a miniature human arm. The two bones the radius, to 

 which the hand is united, and the ulna, linked to the upper 

 arm at the elbow joint are both visible in the newt. Thus 

 tho grand unity of structure, so remarkable in the vertebrated 

 animals, is clearly to bo traced through all the links which 

 connect the highest forms with the lowest. One plan is seen 

 amidst all the diversities. The legs of the newt, though 

 small, are used in combination with the tail to support the 

 animal in a remarkable way on the surface of the water. 

 These reptiles may often be seen floating on tho surface 

 of a pool, with BO little motion that they appear dead. The 

 legs are extended on the water, the feet spread out, and tho 



62 *& 



toil tremulously vibrated. The creature thiu float* as easily as if 

 it were a piece of wood. The newU are then, generally, looking 

 out for a dinner. No sooner does some small ^fiim^.1 come near , 

 than it is seized with a ferocity which we should not hare ex- 

 pected to find in these timid reptiles. The tadpole of the frog 

 ith no mercy, and indeed tho large newt, when hungry, 

 will swallow its relative, the small water-eft, without hesitation. 

 The teeth of these reptiles, though fine, are sharp and numerous, 

 looking like a saw of minute points. Some foreign species, 

 closely allied to our newts, possess above three hundred of these 

 needle-like teeth. Few persons looking at a newt as it swims 

 in a ditch would suppose that such an insignificant creature has 

 been the subject of study and experiments by some of th 

 greatest physiologists and anatomists. A deep mystery of life 

 was the problem to be solved ; and in spite of all the labours of 

 men like Spalanzani, Dumeril, Bonnet, Von Siebald, and Owen, 



the solution has not been 

 made. The legs of newts 

 have been repeatedly am- 

 putated, and have grown 

 again. The limb when 

 thus reproduced has been 

 again cut off, and again 

 has it been formed. la 

 one case the same leg 

 was thus amputated and 

 thus re-formed four times 

 in succession. The toil 

 h as shown again and again 

 the same mysterious vital 

 energy, fonninggradually 

 new bones, new nerves, 

 and new muscles. These 

 fresh limbs were not al- 

 ways reproduced exactly 

 in their original form and 

 perfection. Sometimes a 

 claw would be deficient, 

 sometimes redundant. 

 The eye was completely 

 removed from a newt; iu 

 a year a perfectly-formed 

 new eye was reproduced. 

 No part of the complex 

 organ of vision was want- 

 ing, no part distorted. 

 The above experiment* 

 show a singular power 

 of reproducing destroyed 

 organs ; the following 

 illustrates an extraordi- 

 nary degree of vital 

 energy. M. Dnmeril cut 

 cff all that part of a 

 newt's head which con- 

 tains the eyes, nostrils, 

 ears and tongue, and 

 then placed the creature 

 in water at the bottom 

 of a jar. Fresh water 



1 was supplied every day, and the animal's motions were care- 

 fully watched for about three months. The newt oame to 

 tho top of the water at first, as if to breathe ; its movements 

 ; were slow, as if perplexed by its novel condition, but the crea- 

 tor,- continued to live, and retained all the vital energies un- 

 impaired. Tho wounded part healed, new flesh was formed, 

 and the hole made by the scissors in cutting off the head was 

 completely closed within three months. How did the animal 

 breathe? Probably through the skin, which thus discharged 

 the office of o lung. How long the newt would have lived, and 

 whether any reproduction of the lost head might have ensued, 

 must be left doubtful. The reptfle, having been left in charge 

 of a fresh attendant, died from inattention, not being supplied 

 with fresh water. Tho above experiments were made in the 

 spring, when the newt's vital energies are most active and most 

 able to recover from the shock which such mutilation must give, 

 ! even to a reptile's system. 



A series of observations were carried on by the naturalist- 



THE TRITON CR1STATUS, OR LARGE WATEtt-NEWT. 



