GIANT SALAMANDEES 135 



water animals, as we shall learn later on. A second species 

 (Chelydra rossignonii) is confined to Mexico and Guatemala. 

 The so-called alligator snapping-turtle ( Macro clemmys tem- 

 minckii), which belongs to another genus, frequents the 

 rivers emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, being common in the 

 Mississippi as far north as Missouri. Now the most striking 

 zoogeographical feature of the family Chelydridae is, that 

 right across the Pacific Ocean we meet with another snapping 

 turtle (Devisia mythodes) in the Fly Eiver of New Guinea, 

 the same river that contains the unique members of the family 

 Carettochelyidae. In many other respects New Guinea has 

 acquired the reputation of being the home of remarkable and 

 peculiar types of animals, and no doubt the island .once 

 formed part of an ancient land, most of which has long since 

 been submerged. 



Quite as instructive and important from a distributional 

 point of view as the reptiles are the amphibians. We can 

 roughly divide the latter into tailed amphibians, such as the 

 newt and salamander, and tailless ones, of which the frog 

 and toad are examples. All these are amply represented in 

 the north-eastern States of North America, and we notice 

 among them that same curious relationship between eastern 

 America and eastern Asia which has given rise to so much 

 comment among naturalists. 



Two kinds of giant salamanders are known to exist in the 

 world. One of these, the so-called "hellbender" (Crypto - 

 branchus allegheniensis), lives in the eastern States of North 

 America, the other, (Cryptobranchus or Megalobatrachus 

 japonicus), in the mountain streams of Japan. The hell- 

 bender is a voracious lead- coloured slimy creature, living 

 in the Allegheny and other eastern rivers, where it feeds on 

 worms and fish. It grows to a length of two feet, while 

 its Asiatic relative attains to double that size. Of the geo- 

 logical history of the giant salamanders we know nothing 

 as far as America and Asia are concerned, but in the Miocene 

 of Switzerland a large amphibian was discovered, which 

 appears to be closely allied, though now referred to the 

 distinct genus Proteocordylus. To suppose that these relicts 

 of bygone ages are no older than Miocene would scarcely be 

 justified. In the absence of palaeontological evidence, we must 



