FROGS, TOADS, AND NEWTS [CH. VIII 



by the hind feet of the female and retained thus by the 

 sticky covering of the egg itself. Mr Douglas English 

 tells me that he has observed a smooth newt swimming 

 about with her egg " palmed " in the hind foot until she 

 found a suitable leaf, which in this case proved to be of 

 Starwort (Callitriche aquatica). From the eggs emerge 

 tadpoles not very different from those of the frog : in the 

 course of development however the external gills become 

 far more complicated. The anterior limbs are developed 

 earlier than the posterior. The metamorphosis takes place 

 in late autumn. At - the close of the breeding season 

 most newts leave the water and pass the rest of the 

 summer on land. During the daytime they remain 

 hidden in holes and crevices but come out in the evening 

 in search of food. During their life in the water they 

 frequently come ashore at dusk and return to the water 

 again before sunrise. The young newts on reaching the 

 adult form leave the water and do not return to it, at any 

 rate for any lengthened stay, until they have reached 

 sexual maturity in their third or fourth year. As in the 

 tailless amphibia, the skin is cast periodically, either in 

 several pieces or whole, and is often immediately devoured. 

 The males, at the breeding season, possess a well-marked 

 dorsal crest continuing the line of the dorsal tail-fin to- 

 wards the head. 



Teeth are present on the bones of the upper and lower 

 jaws and also upon the vomers and palatine bones in the 

 roof of the mouth: they develop very early, preceding 

 in time of appearance the bones upon which they are 

 eventually carried. The radius and ulna in the front 



