The Transformation of the Mexican Axolot I. 623 



development from the egg of various species, and 

 especially of Amblystoma Punctatum and A. Fas- 

 datum. His observations do not appear to be as 

 yet published, so that I was unable to discover 

 any account of the development of Amblystoma in 

 existing literature." I am authorized to extract 

 the following brief data from a letter addressed to 

 Dr. v. Frantzius. 



In order to deposit their eggs the Amblystomas 

 go into the water, where the eggs are laid enclosed 

 in a jelly-like mass, but never more than fifteen to 

 twenty together. The spherical eggs are very 

 large, perhaps a quarter of an inch in diameter. 

 They soon develop into a Siredon-Hke larva, which 

 remains several months in this condition. The 

 gills then shrivel up, the creature begins to crawl, 

 and gradually passes through the different trans- 

 formations to the complete Amblystoma form. 



It appears from this communication that the 

 Amblystomas lay much larger and much fewer 

 eggs than the Axolotl, and that their development 

 throughout resembles that of our salamanders. 



In concluding I may mention an anatomical 

 fact which most strongly supports my view that 

 the Mexican Axolotl is a reverted Amblystoma. 

 I learn from Dr. Wiedersheim that the Axolotl 

 possesses the " intermaxillary gland " which occurs 



" [Eng. ed. A memoir by Samuel Clarke has since been 

 published upon the embryonic development of Amblystoma 

 Baird. Baltimore, 1879.] 



