THE AMPHIUMA. 



377 



MEXOBKAXCHUS LATERALIS. 



in adult age, and for having a gill-cleft on each side, and there are two families of them. The first, 

 the Amphiumidie, is represented by the long eel-like Amphiuma, of which there are two species, 

 one with two and the other with three rudimentary digits. The first, Amphiuma means, lives 

 in rnuddy waters, or in mud. Hai-lan says they have been found at Pensacola, three feet or more 

 deep in mud of the consistence of mortar, in which they burrowed like earthworms. They inhabit the 

 ditches of rice-fields, and feed on fish and the fresh-water Unio, on beetles, and other insects. 

 Sometimes they are found on dry land. North and South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi 

 are their commonest localities. The whole surface of the body is deep blue-black, tinged with 

 violet, and the lips and throat are light, and the belly is dark-coloured. The single branchial cleft 

 on each side is partly covered with a thin fold of skin. The body is eel-shaped, and the fore-limbs, 

 close to the gill-clefts, have two small fingers, and the hind ones have the same number of toes. 

 The tail is very long and compressed near the tip. The negroes call it the Congo Snake. 



The other species, Amphiuma tridactyla, is so called from the number of its digits, but it appears, 

 from the researches of Mr. Ryder, that the number of digits may vary in the same individual 

 Amphiuma ; there may be two or three. It is said that those with thi'ee digits invariably present 

 are restricted to the Southern United States, while the two-toed form is more widely distributed, 

 extending farther north, and also embracing the distribution of the former. Probably the distinction 

 attempted to be made between Amphiumse with two and three toes is of no great importance. 



Another family, the Menopomidje, is represented by the Hellbender.* This ill-named Amphibian 

 lias a large, flat, broad head, and the snout is full and rounded, and the body is short, thick, and 

 the tail is large, much compressed, and has a fin above. It is of a pale slate colour, mottled with 

 dusky tints. It is carnivorous and very voracious, feeding on fish, worms, and shell-fish. It is 

 found in the Alleghany river and its tributaries, and doubtless inhabits many of the branches of 

 the Ohio and Mississippi. The mouth is large and covered with fleshy lips. The tongue is thin, 

 broad, and flat, and is attached behind and below, and is free in front and at the sides. The 

 superior maxillary teeth are arranged in two concentric series. The nostrils are in front, and are 

 small, and the eyes are minute and black. The neck has a single gill-cleft at each side. The fore 



* Mcnopoma allet/haniensis. 



