34 BATRACHIANS. 







in such a way that its under surface is turned inwards and the 

 fold made to stick by the adhesive coating of the egg, which 

 she inserts in the fold." The young are hatched fifteen days 

 after. These animals give utterance to a very peculiar noise, 

 and when touched emit an odour quite characteristic. 



It has been ascertained that Newts can live for a long time, not 

 only in very cold water, but even in the midst of ice, being some- 

 times taken in blocks of ice which are formed in the ditches and 

 ponds which they inhabit. When the ice-flakes melt they seem to 

 awaken from their torpor, and betake themselves to their accus- 

 tomed movements with their recovered liberty. Lacepede states 

 that he found Aquatic Salamanders even during summer in pieces 

 of ice obtained from the ice- dealers, where they had remained 

 without movement or nourishment from the time when the ice 

 had been gathered from the marshes. 



Newts present another remarkable feature in the facility with 

 which they repair any mutilations they may have undergone. Not 

 only do their tails grow again when broken off, but even their feet 

 are reproduced in the same manner, and the process may be many 

 times repeated. 



The Crested Newt, Triton cristatus, is frequently found in the 

 neighbourhood of Paris ; the skin of its back is rough and warty, 

 of a brownish colour, with large black spots and white projecting 

 points ; the belly has black spots upon an orange ground. 



The Dutch traveller, Sieboldt, has introduced a species of 

 Aquatic Salamander, which inhabits the mountain lakes and 

 marshes of Japan. This species is remarkable for its gigantic 

 growth. Instead of being the size of a finger, as is the case with 

 those indigenous to Europe, this Batrachian is four feet and a half 

 in length, and weighs fifty pounds. 



Magnificent specimens of this gigantic Salamander, the Sie- 

 boldtia maxima, may be seen by the visitors to the London 

 Zoological Gardens. The largest of them measured and weighed 

 as above (March 3rd, 1869). An analogous large fossil species 

 was described as the Homo diluvii testis ! 



The transformation of the tailed Batrachians, from the tadpole 

 condition to the air-breathing and four-footed state, is one of the 

 most interesting exhibitions of Nature, and one which everyone 



