CLASS AMPHIBIA 



515 



muddy streams of the southeastern United States, and feeds 

 on crayfishes, mollusks, and small fish. 



FIG. 430. The "hellbender," Cryptobranchus. (From Davenport, after 

 the Standard Natural History.) 



Family SALAMANDRID^E. This family contains the true 

 salamanders and the newts or tritons. " Of the twenty- five 

 species, only two are American, four are eastern Asiatic, and 

 of the remaining nineteen, two are Algerian, while the rest live 

 in Europe or in Asia Minor/' (Gadow.) The two American 

 species are Diemyctylus mridescens and Triton torosus. 



Diemyctylus viridescens, the crimson-spotted newt, is common 

 in the ponds of the northern and eastern portions of the United 

 States. It is about three and one half inches long and has a row 

 of crimson spots on either side. Its food consists principally 

 of insect larvae, worms, and small mollusks. The eggs are 

 laid in April, May, or June, and a sort of " nest " of aquatic 

 vegetation is constructed for each egg. The young live for a 

 time on land under stones and logs, but return to the water after 

 several years, becoming aquatic adults. 



