98 



BATRACniAXS.- 



-REPTILES.- 



-Batkachiass. 



gated and cj-liiidrical in shape, and the tail, which is 

 round, is nearly twice its length. The hinder extre- 

 mities are nearly twice the size of the fore ones, and 

 are terminted by five toes, while those of the front are 

 only four in number. It lives most of its time con- 

 cealed under rocks, or under the bark of fallen and 



decaying trees, and they are frequently so numerous 

 that many are found under the same tree. Fallen 

 trees, indeed, seem to be the favourite residence of 

 these animals, probably, says Mr. Holbrook, because 

 the insects they prey upon choose the same localit}'. 

 After rain, however, they emerge from their place of 



J^ tZ^/-^ 



The Glutinous Salamander (Plethodon glutinosum). 



concealment, as also in the dusk of the evening, when 

 they sail)' forth in search of food. Mr. Holbrook con- 

 siders the Glutinous Salamander to be the most com- 

 mon of all the North American Salamanders, and the 

 most widely diffused — fig. 27. The specific name has 

 been given to it in consequence of the animal exuding 

 from its skin a quantity of glutinous matter when it is 

 taken up in the hand. 



Want of space prevents us noticing other species of 

 this family ; but we cannot dismiss this sub-order of 

 Tailed Batracliians, or Urodek'', without particularly 

 mentioning a curious animal, which, in the opinion of 

 many naturalists, is only the immature form of a large 

 s])ecies of Salamander. This creature is the Axolotl 

 of ]\Iexico — represented in Plate 4, fig. 2. 



THE AXOLOTL [Axolotex Mexicamis) is distinguished 

 by having gills formed of three long ramified or branch- 

 like processes on each side of the neck, teeth in both 

 jaws and on the vomerine bones ; four toes on the 

 anterior, and five on the posterior extremities. The 

 tail, which is nearly as long as the body, is compressed 

 on the sides like that of the Water-newt, and keeled 

 on both upper and under edges, the crest or keel on 

 the upper edge being prolonged on the back as far as 

 between the shoulders, but gradually becoming nar- 

 rower as it ascends from the tail. The head is broad 

 and flat, the nose blunt, and the eyes situated near the 

 muzzle. The largest specimens measure about eight 

 or nine inches in length. Tlie groimd colour is a uni- 

 form deep-brown, thickly mottled both on the upper 

 and under surfaces of the head and body, limbs, tail, 

 and caudal fins, with numerous small black spots. 

 The legs are short, and the toes are free and uncon- 

 nected by intermediate membranes. The Axolotl is 

 very common in the Lake of Mexico, and is found 

 also in mountain lakes at a considerable elevation 

 above the plains surrounding the city. At the present 

 day it is commonly sold in the markets of Mexico, and 

 is esteemed a luxury by the inhabitants. It is dressed 



after the manner of stewed eels, and served up with a 

 rich sauce. Hernandez, the Spanish historian of the 

 conquest of Mexico, is tlie first writer who described 

 this animal. The Spaniards of that period found it in 

 great abundance in the lake, and Hernandez expressly 

 mentions it as having been used by the ancient Mexi- 

 cans as an article of food, and says it was considered 

 by them as an aphrodisiac ; that its flesh was whole- 

 some and agreeable, and tasted like eel. Considerable 

 dill'erence of opinion exists among naturalists as to the 

 true nature of this curious animal. Some regard it as 

 a perfect form, and include it amongst tlie Sirenid<r, or 

 those Amphibians which retain their gills throughout 

 their whole existence ; while others consider it only as 

 an immature form, the larva or tadpole state of some 

 hitherto undescribed and gigantic tailed Batrachian. 

 Ciivier at first regarded it as a larva, but afterwards 

 admitted it amongst the Perennibranchiate species. 

 As Dr. Gray, in his Catalogue of Amphibia, remarks, 

 the skull differs very little from that of the J'oung 

 Triton marmoratus, which had not gained its second 

 pair of legs. Dr. Baird also, an able American erpe- 

 tologist, says that it resembles so much the tadpole of 

 a species of the family PlethodoiiikJm (the Amhystoma 

 Carolinir), both in external form and internal struc- 

 ture, that he could not but believe it to be the larva 

 of some gigantic species of that genus. True, it has 

 been long known to naturalists, and the specimens 

 collected, as well as those sold in the markets, always 

 retain the same form and structure ; but, as Dr. Baird 

 justly observes, "the non-discovery of the adult is no 

 argument against its existence. I had caught hundreds 

 of the very remarkable larva of Psendotritoji {Spelerjws 

 salmonea) near Carlisle before I found an adult. Until 

 then I knew nowhere to refer the animal, supposing 

 this species to exist no nearer than the mountains of 

 New York and Vermont." 



We must now pass on to the consideration of tho 

 second order of Amphibia, the False Lizards. 



