REPTILES. 467 



Skin smooth; above pale brown or dark; below 



whitish or yellowish red, bestrewed with round black 



spots; and on the sides of the head streaked. The 



comb in the male unbroken, and the hind toe edged 



with a web. Length 3 in. 4 1., of which the tail is 1 in. 5 1. 



Is quite as common in the middle and south of Sweden 



as the common warty newt. 



Nilsson remarks that Professor Bell, in his handsome work 

 on the British reptiles, has described two distinct species 

 of newts with smooth skins, which he characterizes by the 

 upper lip being straight in the one, and with a skin hanging 

 over the under lip in the other. In the former the hind toes 

 are round, in the latter edged with a short web. I may here 

 remark that in our T. Punctatus the upper lip is furnished 

 with such a skin lap in the breeding season, when the back 

 is ornamented with a high serrated comb, and the hind toe 

 edged with a skin. All these skin laps disappear from the 

 back, the upper lip, and the hind toe, after the breeding 

 season is over. I have specimens in which the lip skin is 

 present on one side and wanting on the other. It is certain, 

 therefore, that if Bell's two species are distinct, some 

 other specific distinction must be found. The same remark 

 may perhaps hold good respecting T. Gristatus and T. 

 Brebonii. 



There is so little difference between the reptiles of Scan- 

 dinavia, Denmark, and Finland, that one list may almost 

 suffice for the three countries. The principal difference lies 

 in the number of individuals of the different species found in 

 either country. 



