304 AMPHIBIA CADXJCIBRANCHIA. [TRITON. 



conspicuous round black spots, sometimes confluent, and forming inter- 

 rupted transverse fasciae : sides dotted with white : frequently a silvery 

 white band along the sides of the tail : membranes dusky, tinged with 

 violet. 



Not uncommon in ditches, ponds, and other stagnant waters, during 

 the spring months. Late in Summer, is sometimes met with on land, in 

 damp shady situations : this, however, is probably in consequence of the 

 drying up of the waters in its accustomed haunts. Ova deposited on 

 aquatic plants. 



5. T. punctatus, Bonap. (Common Eft.) Body 

 smooth, without pores ; lateral line of pores indistinct ; 

 top of the head with two porous bands : dorsal and 

 caudal crests united, and uniformly crenate. 



T. punctatus, Bonap. Faun. Ital. fasc. i. tab. 4. f. 4. T. aquaticus, 

 Flem. Brit. An. p. 158. Lacerta aquatica, Linn. Syst. Nat. 

 torn. i. p. 370 ? L. maculata, Shepp. in Linn. Trans, vol. vn. 

 p. 53. Turt. Brit. Faun. p. 79. Salamandra punctata, Latr. 

 Hist. Nat. des Sal. de France, pp. 31, & 53. pi. 6. f. 6. A. (Male.) 

 B. (Female.) Smaller or Common Water-Newt, Shaw, Nat. 

 Misc. vol. xi. pi. 412. Id. Gen. Zool. vol. in. p. 298. pi. 83. 

 Salamandre ponctu6e, Cuv. Reg. An. torn. n. p. 116. 



DIMENS. Entire length from three and a half to four inches. 



DESCRIPT. {Form.) Always much smaller than the last species, from 

 which it may be further distinguished by its smooth soft skin : tail ter- 

 minating in rather a sharper point than in the T. palustris : fore feet, 

 relatively, a little longer ; but the disposition of the toes on both fore and 

 hind feet similar : very little trace of a collar beneath the throat : two 

 rows of pores on the top of the head, but none on the body ; occasionally 

 a few distant pores between the legs forming an indistinct lateral line. 

 In the male, the dorsal crest commences at the occiput, and is more ele- 

 vated than in the L. palustris; it also forms one continuous membrane 

 with the crest of the tail ; its margin, instead of being serrated, is regularly 

 crenate, or festooned, throughout its whole length : during the season of 

 love, the hind toes of this sex are also broadly fringed with dilated mem- 

 branes. (Colours.) Above light brownish gray, inclining to olivaceous ; 

 beneath yellowish, passing into bright orange in the spring : every-where 

 marked with round black spots of unequal sizes : on the head the spots 

 unite to form longitudinal streaks ; there is generally also a yellowish 

 white fascia commencing beneath the eyes, and terminating a little be- 

 yond them. Obs. The female is much less spotted than the male; the 

 spots are also smaller : sometimes, in this sex, the under parts are quite 

 plain. 



Equally common with the last species, and found in similar situa- 

 tions. 



Obs. The above species is subject to considerable variation. It is also 

 often found on land, a circumstance which tends in some measure to alter 

 its characters. In such specimens, the skin loses its softness ; becoming 

 at the same time opaque, and somewhat corrugated : the membranes of 

 the back and tail entirely disappear, causing this last to appear narrower, 

 and thicker in proportion to its depth: the toes, from being flattened, 

 become rounded: the colours also are every-where more obscure. In 

 this state it is the Lac.erta wilgaris of Sheppard and Turton (and pro- 



