Chap. 4. 



REPTILES OF VERMONT. 



V25 



THE SALAMANDERS. 



THE SALAMANDERS. 



tlie back, and the brancliiaB reinaininir, but 

 from several of them these appendages 

 had disappeared. I have kept two of the 

 former and one of the latter, in a vessel of 

 water, up to this time, August 17, 1842. 

 Tlie branchitE and fins have vanished, 

 their color has become quite dark, and the 

 yellow spots are making their appearance 

 very distinctly. 



VIOLET-COLORED SALAMANDER. 

 Salama iidra ran cnosci. — B a rt o n . 



Description — Color above dark gray- 

 ish brown, with a row of large roundish 

 bright yellow spots on each side of llie 

 dorsal line, which unite into a single row 

 towards the extremity of the tail ; sever- 

 al of these spots on the head and upper 

 sides of the legs; color lighter beneath, 

 with some minute white spnt.s ; tail roun- 

 dish at the base, liut slightly flattened 

 through the greater part of the length, 

 and terminated in a flattened rounded 

 point; snout bluntly rounded ; e3'es not 

 very prominent; hind legs midway be- 

 tween the snout and end of the tail. 

 Length of the specimen before me GJ in- 

 ches ; width across the head .6, across the 

 body ..5. 



History. — This large species is not \ 

 very common in Vermont. The speci- 

 men from which my description is made 

 was found in a marshy place in Burling- 

 ton. 



longest of two specimens before me 3.4 

 inches ; from the snout to the fore legs .5 

 — to the hind legs 1..55; from the hind 

 legs to the point of the tail l.fcS; width 

 of the head .2 



History.— This salamander is quite 

 common in Vermont, and is probably the 

 least aquatic of all our salamanders. It is 

 often met with under the rotten logs on 

 dry pine plain.s ; and also in ledgy places 

 in the hard wood forests, under Ihe loose 

 stones and among the decayed leaves. Its 

 ajipearance is lively, and its motions often 

 very sudden. Aided by a sudden vibra- 

 tion of the tail, it has the power of leap- 

 ing several times its length. I have be- 

 fore me two specimens, both found in 

 Burlington, one with a brownish red 

 stripe along its back, and answering to 

 Or. Green's S. erylkionota, and the oth- 

 er, which is a little larger, answering to 

 his S..ciiicrea. The stripe on the back 

 seems to be the only diiTerenc(>, and I be- 

 lieve they are now regarded by herpetol- 

 ogists as belonging to the same species. 



RED-BACKEU SALAMANDER. 



Salarnandra cryllironola. — Green. 



£. crutlvnnota. ) „ 

 S.chicrca. j ('HEe.v. 



Description. — Sides brownisli, and of- 

 ten with minute 1 ght specks, fidiug into 

 steel-gray on the belly, usually al)ro.id 

 brownish red stripe along the back ; belly 

 dark steel gray, lighter and yellowish to- 

 wards the chin ; head above darker than 

 the body ; form slender, cylindrical ; tail 

 nearly cylindrical, and longer than the 

 head and body ; vent miilway between 

 the snout and the extremity of the tail; 

 head broader than the body, short in front 

 of the eyes; snout bluntly rounded ; eyes 

 prominent, lively, pupil black, iris gol- 

 den. A distinct cuticular fold on the 

 throat ; legs slender, brownish ; toes short, 

 4 before and 5 behind. Length of the 



THE GLUTINOUS SALAMANDER. 



Salumandra gliUinusa. — Green. 



Description.— Whole upper part of the 

 body dark brown, sprinkled with distinct 

 light blue spots ; sides light colored Jrom 

 the blue spots becoming confluent ; abdo- 

 men lighter, exhibiting the spots more 

 numerous and distinct than the back ; 

 eyes prominent, wide apart, of a deep 

 black color; head flattened above; nos- 

 trils small ; legs color of the body and 

 spotted like it; anterior feet 4 toed, pos- 

 terior 5 toed and unusually long; tail 

 length of the body, much compressed' 

 throughout its whole extent, .save the ex- 

 tremities, the anterior of which is circu- 

 lar, the posterior pointed. Leno-th 6 in- 

 ches ; head .75; width of the head .5. 



Slnrrr. 



History. — This species I have not seen 

 in Vermont. I insert it on the authority 

 of Prof. Adams, who informs inc tha't 

 there is a Wrmont specimen of it in the 

 Collections of Middle'bury Colleire. 



THE TWO-LINED SALAMANDER. 



Sidaviandra bis-lincaitt. — Grzes. 

 Description.— Tail longer than the bo- 

 dy, tapering, compressed, and pointed; 

 snout oval ; back cinereous, with two and 

 sometimes three dark lines, if three, the 

 middle one broadest near the head, and 

 about the length of the body, the lateral 

 ones extending from behind the eyes to 

 the end of the tail ; sides cinereous; be- 



