3 o8 NEWTS AND SALAMANDERS. 



Totally blind, the olm is found solely in the subterranean waters of the 

 caverns of the Alps of Carniola, Dalmatia, and Carinthia ; and has long been an 

 object of the greatest interest to naturalists. It has been thought that the waters 

 in which the olm lives were all connected together underground, and that the 

 creatures only came up during flood-time ; but the great distance from one another 

 of the various localities where they are found is somewhat against this view. 

 It is, however, only when the subterranean waters are at their greatest height that 

 the olms are captured by the peasants, by whom they are placed in glass jars, half 

 filled with water and sold to tourists. In confinement, where they have been 

 known to survive from six to eight years, they lie sluggishly all day at the bottom 

 of their tank, only moving if a ray of light impels them to seek a darker corner. 

 When in small vessels, where the water is not often renewed, they will frequently 

 come to the surface to breathe, opening their mouths, and letting air pass through 

 their gill-openings; but in deeper, or frequently changed water, they breathe 

 entirely by means of their gills. Many experiments have been made, with the 

 view of ascertaining whether the olm will, under any circumstances, lose its gills, 

 but hitherto without result. In captivity the food of these amphibians consists of 

 molluscs, worms, and the minute creatures to be found among the leaves of water- 

 plants. In spite of having been kept for many years in captivity, it was not 

 ascertained till 1875 that the olm lays eggs ; and it was thirteen years later before 

 any tadpoles were hatched in captivity. In April 1888, upwards of seventy-six 

 eggs were laid by a single female ; and after a period of three months developed 

 into tadpoles. These were very similar to the adult, but the tail-fin extended 

 three-quarters down the back ; the eye was larger, and apparently more susceptible 

 to light ; and the hind-limbs were in the form of small knobs. 



Furrowed A very different looking animal is the furrowed salamander 



salamander, (Necturus maculatus), of Eastern North America and Canada, 

 which takes its name from the strongly - marked fold of skin on the throat. 

 In addition to its shorter and more lizard-like form, and relatively longer limbs, it 

 differs from the olm by having well-developed eyes, and four toes to each foot. 

 The tongue is large, with the front border free ; and the palatal teeth are large 

 and form a single series. In colour the smooth skin is brown, with more or less 

 well-defined circular blackish spots, and lighter on the under-parts than on the back. 

 The total length is about a foot. An allied species (N. punctatus) inhabits the rice- 

 fields of the Southern States. The food is similar to that of the allied forms, and 

 in winter these salamanders seek protection from frost by burrowing deep in the 

 mud. They come at times to the surface to breathe, and will even venture on land ; 

 but they chiefly respire by means of their gills, and if the latter become entangled, 

 they are carefully rearranged by means of the fore-foot. 



TWO-LEGGED SALAMANDERS. 

 Family SiRENiD^:. 



The sole representatives of this, the last, family of the Tailed Amphibians are 

 the two-legged salamanders of North America, of which there are two species, 

 arranged under as many genera (Siren and Pseudobranchus). While agreeing 



