^1\ 



i 





THK IJATKACIIIA OF NORTH AMKUICA. 



221 



l>iis(!l('.s for wliicli AMii>liiiimii is iioted. Tlireo {;illslitH are open, of 

 wliicli tim two posterior UocoriH^ closed in thu adult. The eyes appear 

 to belter advantage tliaii later in lii'e. 



"The liiidiiifi'of these, yuiiii;; nearly ready for active life in siieli nn 

 iinex|»ected situation suj-f^ests some interestinjj; proltlenis. At what 

 l»eriod of their development are thee ejjj^s deposited!? If at an early 

 period, the mother must inenltate tnem for a considerable time. If at 

 a late period, why sIkmiIcI they be placed in such a situation '! In either 

 case it appears to be quite i)robable that they are fertilized before they 

 are deposited. Aji'ain, how aie the ejijjs in su(!li a dry situation saved 

 from beinji' thoroujjhiy desiccated '! They are, I think, kept moist by 

 the body of the mother as she lies (M)iled around tliem. My remem- 

 brance of her as she lay when first exposed is that she was much 

 plumper than she now appears in alcohol; and when she was laid down 

 on the olliire tlocu- (>very spot she toiu^lied was made wet. The source of 

 (his water I <b» not know; but it appears probable that it came from the 

 numerous ;>-|ands that till the skin, and that the mother makes nucturnal 

 visits to the water to lay in supplies." 



I'li;. .Mi. A III nil ill mil iihiiiit^. 

 NaliniilisI, IHSS. 



Till 



l;s, Willi ciiiliiio.s ill tlid'on'iit po.titioii.t. Froiii Iliiy, Ainoiicau 



i_ , t ^ 



'l. I 



1; I 



t.i 



^^1 



^y 



m 



The Amphiiima presents towards the salamanders the nearest atlinity 

 to the Desmo^natliida'. The i)edunculate ()ccii)ital condyle and atlan- 

 tal insertion of the temporal muscle are the same in both, and are re- 

 lated to a similar form and probably similar use of the muzzle. IJy 

 this arranycmeut the temporal muscle lifts the entire head bj- its inser- 

 tion in the lower jaw, thus takiu}^ the place of cervical muscles. It can 

 thus use the muz/leas alever to burrow in mud and stones. Amphiuma 

 incaiiN i'.lso resend)les the species of Desmojjnathus in the possession of 

 a chirrui) or whistle. I do not know of another American sahunander 

 whicl. possesses a voice. The ej-jus in both genera arc laid in a rosary. 

 I suspect that Amphiuma is a type which has de,<,'enerated from a sala- 

 mander like J)csnu)gnathus, but which possessed an ethmoid bone. 



M 



I ; 



5 i; 



