154 DR. J. DE BEDEIAGA ON THE PXE.ENEAN NEWT. [Feb. 19, 



comparatively indistinct, whilst the lower surfaces generally turn 

 paler in the male and retain the primitive tint in the female, or 

 acquire in the latter more and more intensity. 



The sexual difference in the colour of the belly, throat, and edge 

 of the tail is almost constant, although it is not so striking during 

 the terrestrial existence of this newt. 



Var. rugosa. 



My friend Mr. G-. A. Boulenger refers Heniitriton vel Triton 

 cinereus, rugosus, hibroni, puncticulatus, Duges, Dumeril & Bibron, 

 Hemitriton asper, Duges, Triton repmidus and Tr. pyrenceus, Dumeril 

 & Bibron, to the synonymy of Molge aspera, and in fact the descrip- 

 tions given by the French authors are so superficial and 

 unsatisfactory that they lead merely to confusion. Besides, the 

 above-named authors were neither well informed about the localities 

 in which their indifferently preserved specimens were captured, nor 

 did they take the trouble to discriminate the sexes. Mr. Boulenger 

 was therefore perfectly right in referring all those numerous species 

 to 21. aspera, Duges. Nevertheless one of them, the Hemitriton 

 or Triton rugosus, may be considered as a variety. At least I 

 believe that the specimens of M. aspera which I collected in the 

 Lac de Gaube and in the river Gave are different to a certain 

 extent from those I found in the Lac d'Oncet. Those lakes (and 

 the same may be said of the greater number of lakes in the Pyre- 

 nean mountains) are perfectly isolated one from the other, and it 

 is therefore hardly possible that the newts of one of the lakes ever 

 mix with those of the neighbourhood. 



The principal characters of the rugous variety of M. aspera are 

 as follows : — 



The physiognomy and coloration resemble those of M. waltli. 

 Total length 150 mm. This newt is therefore somewhat larger 

 than the type. Head large and miich depressed ; snout distinctly 

 truncate. Skin strongly tuberculate above, especially along the 

 sides of the head, body, and tail, where regular spines are to be 

 found. The upper surfaces are light or dirty grey with a more 

 or less pronounced brown tint, spotted with dark olive-brown or 

 blackish. These spots are (especially when small and round) very 

 distinct upon the lower parts of the sides of the body and 

 towards the belly. In individuals with yellow markings on the 

 back and tail these spots concentrate near the markings and 

 generally form their dark margins. The above-mentioned warts 

 are yellow ish or dirty white, with dark horny grannies or spines in 

 the middle. The tail seems to be always a little lighter than the 

 body, mostly greyish with small dark spots and a brownish-yellow 

 line along the upper caudal edge, which is very often interrupted 

 by dark brow-n or blackish specks. Sometimes more or less con- 

 fluent yellow spots appear on the upper part of the tail. Throat 

 and median region of belly yellowish, with rather numerous small 

 dark grey or blackish spots, especially towards the posterior part 



