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THE GIGANTIC SALAMANDER. 



Dr. Von Siebold brought the first living specimen to Europe, and placed it in a tank 

 at Leyden, where it was living when the last accounts were heard, having thus passed a 

 period of many years in captivity. Its length is about a yard. Two specimens were 

 brought over at the same time, being of different sexes, but on the passage, the male 

 unfortunately killed and ate his intended bride, leaving himself to pass the remainder 

 of his life in celibacy. It fed chiefly on fish, but would eat other animal substances. 



A fine specimen is now living in the Zoological Gardens, and has attracted much 

 notice in spite of its ugliness and almost total want of observable habits. It is very 

 sluggish and retiring, hating the light, and always squeezing itself into the darkest cor- 

 ner of its tank, where it so closely resembles in color the rock-work near which it shelters 

 itself, that many persons look at the tank without even discovering its presence. The 

 length of this specimen is about thirty-three inches, and if it survives, it may possibly 

 attain even a larger size. 



GIGANTIC SALAMANDER.-S/e&o/etta maxima. 



The head of this creature is large, flattened, and very toad-like in general aspect, 

 except that it is not furnished with the beautiful eyes which redeem the otherwise re- 

 pulsive expression of the toad. The head is about four inches wide at the broadest 

 part, and is covered with innumerable warty excrescences. The eyes are extremely 

 small, placed on the fore part of the head, and without the least approach to expres- 

 sion, looking more like small glass beads than eyes. 



The whole upper part of the body is covered thickly with excrescences, and even the 

 under part of the rounded toes are studded with little tubercles, which can be plainly 

 seen with a magnifying lens as the creature presses its feet against the glass wall of its tank. 

 Despite of its sluggish nature, it is quite able to obtain its own subsistence by catching 



