CHAPTER X. 

 THE SKELETON OF THE NEWT (Molge cristata}. 



I. EXOSKELETON. 



The skin of the Newt is quite devoid of any exoskeletal 

 structures. The only exoskeletal structures that the animal 

 possesses are the teeth, and these are most conveniently de- 

 scribed with the endoskeleton. 



II. ENDOSKELETON. 



The endoskeleton of the Newt, though ossified to a con- 

 siderable extent, is more cartilaginous than is that of the frog. 

 It is divisible into an axial portion including the vertebral 

 column, skull, ribs, and sternum, and an appendicular por- 

 tion including the skeleton of the limbs and their girdles. 



1. THE AXIAL SKELETON. 



A. THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN. 



This consists of about fifty vertebrae arranged in a regular 

 continuous series. The first vertebra differs a good deal from 

 any of the others ; the seventeenth or sacral vertebra and the 

 eighteenth or first caudal also present peculiarities of their 

 own. The remaining vertebrae are divided by the sacrum 

 into an anterior series of trunk vertebrae whicli bear fairly 



