TK\ INDIANA CAVES. 119 



Entering the cave, one finds himself in a commodious 

 room, 10 feet high and 48 feet in width, the floor of 

 rock, covered in places to a depth of two or three feet 

 with alluvial drift. Fifty feet back this narrows to 

 12 feet in width and a short side passage puts off to 

 the left, in which a number of the cave salamanders, 

 Spelerpes maculicaudas (Cope), were found. This 

 handsome batrachian was taken in a number of the 

 caves visited and doubtless occurs in all Indiana 

 caverns which contain streams of water or damp 

 rooms near the entrance. In life it is a 



bright orange-yellow with very numer- 

 Salamander. J 



ous black spots, which, on the back 

 and sides, vary much in size and shape. The body is 

 quite slender and reaches a total length of 6 inches. 



It is usually found clinging to the walls w r ithin 150 

 feet of the entrance of the caves, especially in crevices 

 and crannies just above. flowing streams or pools, but 

 never in the water. While its eyes appear as large 

 and normal as those of allied -terrestrial species, its 

 sense of sight seems to be limited. It remains quiet 

 when discovered and shows little fear until touched, 

 when it scrambles deeper into a crevice or beneath 

 some fallen rock on the floor. Even when a candle 

 is put within a few inches of its head it does not move 

 until it feels the heat. Its food probably consists of 

 such insects and small crustaceans as are found along 

 the margins of the streams. 



Back 180 feet from the mouth, the main passage of 

 the cave is 6| feet high by 6 feet broad, the stream on 

 the floor being about three feet in width and three 

 inches deep. Farther on this stream deepens and 



