SALAMANDERS. 



291 



female parent, and the tadpoles born alive, sometimes in a highly advanced stage 

 of development. In the case of the common salamander, during the breeding-season 

 the male enters the water first, and is followed shortly afterwards by the female, 

 who gives birth to her tadpoles ; but in the Alpine salamander, the young are 

 born on land. The water-newts, on the other hand, lay eggs which are attached 

 to the steins and leaves of aquatic plants. The majority of the terrestrial 

 forms pass the earlier stages of their existence in the water, not leaving this 

 element till their lungs have become fully developed. In the tadpole -stage all 

 the members of the order are remarkably alike ; and this resemblance forbids any 

 wide separation of species like the olm, in which the external gills are retained, 

 from the true newts and salamanders, in which these appendages are lost at an 

 early period. 



Although some of the larger kinds prey upon small fish, none of the newts 

 and salamanders can be said to be harmful to man ; while the terrestrial forms are 

 defended against all foes, except fish, frogs, and snakes, by the poisonous secretion 

 exuded by the glands of their skins ; water-newts are, however, devoured by 

 aquatic birds and mammals. The reputed noxious characters of the common 

 salamander, and its alleged immunity to the effects of fire, are, of course, purely 

 fabulous. The existing members of the order are divided into four families. 



The Salamander Tribe. 



Family SALAMANDB.IDJE. 



Comprising the typical members of the order, this family is specially char- 

 acterised by the absence of gills in the adult condition, the presence of upper 

 jawbones or maxilla?, as well as of teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, and 

 likewise by the development of distinct eyelids. The family, which includes by 

 far the great majority of the order, is divided into four subfamilies ; the first of 

 which is characterised by having the teeth on the palate of the skull arranged in 

 two longitudinal series, diverging posteriorly, and inserted on the inner margin 

 of two backwardly-prolonged processes of the palatine bones. The median 

 parasphenoid bone on the base of the skull is devoid of teeth, and the bodies of 

 the vertebras are convex in front and concave behind. 



Typical The typical genus of the first subfamily (Salannini/rimi) is 



Salamanders, represented by three species, ranging from Central and Southern 

 Europe to the Caucasus, Syria, and Algeria, of which the best known is the common 

 spotted salamander (Salamaiulra maculosa). As a genus, these salamanders are 

 characterised by the large and suboval tongue being free on the sides, and to a 

 small degree also behind; by the palatine teeth forming two curved series ; by the 

 presence of four front and five hind-toes; and likewise by the nearly cylindrical 

 section of the tail. The spotted species, which varies in length from 7 to 9 inches, 

 may be recognised by the length of the tail being slightly less than that of the head 

 and body, and still more readily by its brilliant black and yellow coloration. The 

 head is depressed and nearly as broad as long; while the stout body is likewise 

 somewhat depressed, without any crest along the middle of the back : and the short 



