SALAMANDERS 46 1 



back, a rounded under side, a flat head distinctly marked ofl' from the body, and 

 a long, flat tapering tail, which is bright red underneath, it is dark brown in 

 colour, with a yellow spectacle-bar extending from eye to eye, and a yellowish 

 stripe down the back, the throat being black with a white patch, and the rest of 

 the under-parts white with red specks and black spots. This salamander seems 

 most at home in bushy ravines watered by narrow streams, where it is frequently 

 abundant, coming out in the evening to look for millepedes and beetles and other 

 insects, which it catches by quickly protruding its glutinous tongue, and swallows 

 with much gulping. The summer sleep it undergoes seems sometimes to be deeper 

 and to last longer than its hibernation, as even in midwinter one of these 

 salamanders may occasionally be seen about, the climate in which it lives being 

 rarely very cold. Against attack it appears to be protected by a skin-secretion of 

 a poisonous nature, at least on small animals, such as salamanders ; and when 

 touched or frightened it spits water, and becomes stiff as though feigning death. 



The last member of the group to be noticed here is the cave-salamander 

 (Spelerpes fuscus), alone representing in Europe a genus which ranges into central 

 America. Attaining a length of about 4 inches, it is characterised by a mushroom- 

 shaped protrusile tongue, a moderately long, almost cylindrical, body, a fairly large 

 head, a round tail shorter than the body, and well-developed legs and feet of which 

 the webs do not reach the tips of the toes. In colour it is glossy brown above and 

 paler below with a few patches and speckles. Believed to be confined to Sardinia 

 and the mountains round the Gulf of Genoa, it lives in limestone caves, obtaining 

 the needful moisture from the percolating water, and passing most of its time 

 adhering by its toes to the rocky walls. In rainy weather, however, it quits its 

 hiding-place and also wanders about after night-fall. This creature, which is said 

 to feed on spiders and insects, and to die if it swallows an ant, is most lively in 

 March, April, and October. After a continuous rain of several days in February 

 and September it will often venture out of its retreat, but in the height of summer 

 remains in the caves, feeding wholly on such insects as shun warmth and light. 

 In the cave of Garessio in the Alpes Maritimes, where the water never accumulates 

 in pools, the salamanders are said to breed, but how these salamanders pair 

 is still unknown. Another haunt of this salamander is Grotto di Ponte di Nava, 

 near Ormea, where water continuously drips, and by such continuous dripping 

 slowly collects to form a few pools. Here the creature dwells in complete darkness, 

 literally incarcerated within walls as the owner keeps the cave closed. These cave- 

 salamanders cannot swim, and are easily di-owned in shallow water, although they 

 can easily be taught how to climb out of a bath when kept in captivity, sometimes 

 in a single lesson. In confinement they enter the water before casting their skin 

 and remain sitting there for a few days, after which they go on land, where they 

 easily throw off their skin, which has meanwhile become quite pale in colour. In 

 their new dress they have a very brilliant appearance, looking as though powdered 

 with gold-dust. When exposed for a long period to dry air, they change their 

 skin as soon as they arrive at a damp place, from which it would seem that in 

 their native state they do not require a bath. Apparently these salamanders have 

 no lungs, and breathe only through the skin, the movements of the throat serving 

 merely to draw in the air by the nostrils and facilitate the act of smelling. 



