300 COMMON WATER-NEWT. 



in the sixth figure of the sixth plate of Mons. 

 Latrei lie's work on the Salamanders of France; 

 which figure appears to me to represent no other 

 than a very fine specimen of the male of the pre- 

 sent species, though considered as different hy 

 Mons. Latreille, and distinguished by the title of 

 punctata. It is certain that the water-newt varies 

 considerably in the cast of its colour at different 

 times of the year, and in different states of the 

 weather, even in the course of the same day ; and 

 if taken out of soft water, and suddenly plunged 

 into that of a colder temperature, will almost im- 

 mediately become of a considerably darker tinge 

 than before. The breadth of the tail, and that of 

 the toes, seems also to be occasionally liable, in 

 this animal, to considerable variation : I cannot, 

 therefore, prevail upon myself to consider all the 

 water-newts described by Mons. Latreille in the 

 above publication as specifically distinct ; and it 

 is remarkable that that which Mons. L. expressly 

 describes and figures under the title of palmata, 

 is in reality far less palmated than his punctata, 

 before mentioned, as will be evident on inspecting 

 the 6th plate of that author's own work. 



The Water Newt breeds in the early part of the 

 spring, depositing small oblong * strings or clus- 



* According to Spallanzani, the ova are of a kidney-shaped 

 form, and seem, in reality, to be so many ready- formed larva}, 

 since, long before they leave the gluten in which they are im- 

 bedded, their motions are very brisk and frequent : they liberate 

 themselves from the surrounding gluten in about ten days ; the 

 branchial fins are visible on their first exclusion, and the rudi- 



