74 
The affinity between the Chinese and the Japanese speci- 
mens may be correlated with the past geology of the region. 
Suess has shown that the mountain range in the lower limb 
of the Japanese Island are bends sharply to the west and in 
former periods it was continuous with the Tsin-Lin Moun- 
tains in Central China. It will be remembered that near these 
Chinese Mountains and in the lower limb of the Japanese arc 
are the only localities in which is found Megalobatrachus 
japonicus Schlegel, the giant salamander of the Far East. 
TABULATED SUMMARY. (1) 
Scale Posto- Supratem-| Supra- | Infra- 
Rows culars porals labials | labials 
eats, | [25 23 21 19 | 22-3 3) 11-2 277-8 8 11|11-10 10 10-9 9 
Central Asin ae 4 84 12 ee oy 2) 2 ? 7120 30 50 “| 2 2. rege 
Wastern Siberia .|.. 6626 6/100... ..|100... ..|54 31 15 AS A) oe 
once ee '.. 2080 ..| 64 28 8| 75 15 10/84 12 410] 2637 10 16 
Chine [.. 10 90 ..] 95 .. Alice ane SOL GTS TN aca on 
eT Gasencnnesanlloc 1783 ...]100.....|78 1111/97 3.. 5| 4444 5... 
In reviewing this table it appears there is not the slight- 
est tendency for these variations to be grouped, or for one 
independent set to be associated with ancther. It is not even 
possible to correlate them with a given distribution. On the 
other hand it is not to be inferred that they occur entirely at 
random. Each series of specimens from a definite region has 
its own average in respect to a given character, and this aver- 
age may differ when compared with figures derived from a 
set of specimens captured in another region. The final deduc- 
tion is that these variations cannot any longer be employed to 
establish and maintain valid species; that is, species that will 
conform to the immortal definition given by Gunther in the 
Preface to Volume VIII of the Catalogue of the Fishes in the 
British Museum. This reads: “J consider a species to be well 
established only when it is founded on characters which, from 
an examination of numerous examples are found to be per- 
manent, not subject to gradual variation, and not dependent 
on season, sex, or age—or which are known to be so from the 
examination of allied forms.” 
(1) To facilitate comparison the entries are in terms of percentage of the 
total number of specimens from each locality. 
