REPTILES IN THE TARN AND THE GREEN LANES. 71 



commence life as water-breathing larvae, when they 

 are provided with gills; whilst in the adult state 

 respiration is carried on by means of true lungs. 

 The gills are generally external, and placed on the 

 sides of the neck. Frogs and toads usually possess 

 two sets of gills, one external and the other internal. 

 The former, however, are the soonest lost. The 

 true lungs of the amphibians never reach such a 

 high stage of development as is to be found in the 

 true reptiles. 



Let us give precedence to size, and select the 



Fig. 59. 



The Great Water Newt ( Triton cmfotes). 



Great Water Newt (Triton cristatus), for our first 

 example. It is almost sure to be found in one of 

 these old tarns, although it is not so common as the 

 Smooth Newt. Its name would lead you, perhaps, 

 to expect a larger-sized creature, for its length 

 rarely exceeds six inches. It is very voracious, 

 feeding on almost anything it can come across, even 

 the smaller smooth newt having to serve as an 

 occasional repast. The aquarium has done a great 

 deal in English families towards familiarising the 

 young with common natural history objects; and 

 there can be little doubt that the knowledge thus 



