v SALAMANDRIDAE PLETHODONTINAE 1 05 



are each attached separately." The eggs are holoblastic. The 

 larvae hatch early and continue for a long time in the larval 

 state, probably two or three years. 



S. porpliyriticus s. salmoneus. Yellowish-brown or purplish- 

 grey above with tiny darker dots and markings. The sides of 

 the body are salmon-coloured, with a tinge of yellow. The under 

 parts are whitish, turning into salmon-pink on the tail. This 

 beautiful newt reaches about 6 inches in length and has a very 

 moist, slimy skin, which, combined with the lively motions of 

 the creature, make it as slippery as an eel. It is found in the 

 Alleghany range, from New York to Alabama. 



Specimens which I am keeping prefer the wettest part of the 

 cage, where they lie concealed in the moss and mud, leaving their 

 hiding-places at night in search of insects. One of them escaped 

 into the greenhouse and was discovered after nine months, having 

 established its permanent home in a cleft between mossy stones : 

 when the sweepings of a butterfly-net are emptied near its hiding- 

 place it peeps out and with a flash of its long, forked, white- 

 coloured tongue it secures its prey. Occasionally it goes into a 

 tank, when it swims with rapid, undulating motions, the limbs 

 being laid back and remaining inactive ; it sometimes rises to the 

 surface to emit and to take in air, but, although mostly resting 

 half in the water, upon a rotten stump, it often lies for hours at 

 the bottom without stirring. When kept in dry surroundings, 

 the skin soon dries and wrinkles, and the animals show every sign 

 of suffocation and general discomfort. The respiration of this 

 lungless species by means of rapid movements of the throat is 

 very limited, most of the necessary oxidisation of the blood being 

 effected through the skin. 



S. fuscus. This, the only European species, is thoroughly 

 terrestrial. It is found in the mountains bordering the Gulf of 

 Genoa, and in Sardinia. Its total length remains under four 

 inches. The smooth, very delicate and easily broken skin is 

 brown above, light below, and speckled with lighter and darker 

 markings. Below each nostril is a slight swelling, the remnant 

 of the cirri or balancers common to the young of many species. 

 It lives in shady surroundings, under stones, in old trees and in 

 limestone-caves, glued to the walls with spread -out toes, belly 

 and tail, quietly waiting for insects and spiders which it catches 

 by flashing out the long tongue. 



