PALMATE NEWT. 177 



band with black base. The upper edge of the crest is festooned 

 instead of being serrated. The eye has a golden iris. The 

 female has shorter fingers and toes than the male. 



The breeding history of the Smooth Newt follows much on 

 the same lines as that of the Crested Newt. The larva is 

 spotted with yellow along the sides and tail, which ends in a 

 threadlike prolongation of its tip. 



Immediately after the breeding season the adults leave the 

 water, and seek their food among the vegetation of the land. 

 They become duller in colour, and the skin becomes more 

 opaque with a fine velvety surface. They are then the 

 Dry Evats of country folk. When aquarium-keeping was a 

 fashionable drawing-room hobby in mid-Victorian days the 

 Smooth Newt was an annoying pet, owing to its objection to 

 remaining in the water after the breeding season had passed, 

 and being so frequently found in a dry and shrivelled con- 

 dition in obscure corners of the room. 



In parts of Ireland it is the Man-eater or Man-keeper (as 

 well as Dry Ask and Dark Lewker) owing to a superstitious 

 belief that it enters the mouths of sleepers, and thereafter robs 

 them of all nutriment of which they may partake. 



Palmate Newt (Molge falmata, Dum. and Bibr.). 



In general appearance the Palmate Newt is similar to the 

 Smooth Newt, and is as smooth as that species. There is no 

 doubt that it is commonly mistaken for it, for a few years ago 

 it was considered rare, but closer examination shows that whilst 

 it is local in the south-east of England, it is more plentiful than 

 the Smooth Newt in the west. 



It is a smaller animal than the Smooth Newt, its length 

 being three inches only. In the breeding season its distinct- 

 ness is evident, for the male has then a nearly four-sided body 

 owing to the development of a fold of skin along each side of 



A.L. N 



