443 AMPHIBIA ORDER ILCAUDATA. 



however, it is always considerably lower. In the males of the crested newt 

 the crest is scalloped; and in both sexes the under surface of the body is 

 orange with black marblings. When in full breeding-dress, a male of this 

 species is indeed a beautifully-coloured creature. In size it grows to five 

 inches or rather more. From Sweden southwards, this newt is spread over 

 the greater part of Europe, with the exception of Italy. It is distinguished 

 from all other members of the genus by a peculiarity in the structure of the 

 skull. Far more abundant in this country is the much smaller common 

 newt (M. vulgaris\ in which the crest of the male is likewise festooned, while 

 the hind-toes of the same sex are lobed during the breeding-season, the under 

 surface of the body being yellowish, with large black spots in the male, and 

 small dots in the female. In the latter, the back carries either a simple crest 

 or a mere ridge. It is only in the breeding season that the crest of the male 

 assumes its full development ; and at this time the tail-fin is also festooned. 



With the exception of Western Europe, this species is widely distributed on 

 the Continent, and also ranges into Asia. The last and smallest of the 

 British representatives of the genus is the webbed newt (M. palmatci), which, 

 in addition to a peculiarity in the structure of the skull, is distinguished by 

 the hind-toes of the male being fully webbed during the breeding season. 

 The crest of the male is straight ; and that of the female either very smaD, or 

 represented by a ridge. The lower surface of the body is more or less nearly uni- 

 formly coloured, although there is a narrow streak of orange in the middle line. 



Several species found in the south of Europe have no crest in either 

 sex. The habits of newts are so familiar to all who have lived in the country, 

 that but little need be said on the subject. During the breeding-season, all 

 are inhabitants of the water ; but later on many of them forsake that element 

 for a longer or shorter period, and become terrestrial. While some hiber- 

 nate in holes or beneath stones, others retire to the mud at the bottom of 

 ponds. The eggs are generally deposited on the stems of aquatic plants ; and 

 when the tadpoles first make their appearance, they have small, simple gills, 

 behind which are a pair of small projections, representing the future fore- 

 limbs. In the course of time the gills become branched, the fore-limbs show 

 their four toes, and the hind-legs make their appearance. Soon after, the 

 gills begin to shrink, and finally disappear, while lungs are developed, and 

 the limbs acquire their full adult proportions, when the creature ceases to be 

 a tndpole, and becomes a newt. It has been already mentioned that the tad- 

 poles of the frogs and toads differ from those of the newts and salamanders 

 in that the hind-limbs make their appearance before the front pair. The 

 reason for this remarkable difference is doubtless to be found in the circum- 

 stance that in the former group the hind-limbs are proportionately much 

 larger than in the latter, and consequently require a longer period for growth. 

 From both the foregoing genera the Italian spectacled salamander (S<daman- 

 drina perspicillata) is at once distinguished by having only four toes to each 

 of the hind-feet, the number of toes being consequently the same in both 

 pairs of limbs. It is a small species, varying between three and four inches 

 in length, with a slightly compressed and keeled tail, and a rough warty skin. 

 The under surface of the tail and of the hinder end of the body is of a 

 brilliant carmine red. This salamander inhabits moist, rocky districts, where 

 its rapid movements render it liable to be mistaken for a lizard. True to its 

 amphibian nature, it resorts, however, to the water in spring for breeding 



Sirposes. The warty salamander, Tyloiriton verruco&us, of the Eastern 

 imalaya and Siam, together with the allied T. andersoni of the Liu-Kin 



