Dr. Mitchill on the Proteus of Lake Erie. 67 



Some creature, apparently of the same family, has been 

 called a Siren. M. P. de Beauvois in'the 4th volume of the 

 Philadelphia Philosophical transactions, has described an 

 aquatic four legged reptile, which he denominates the Oper- 

 culated Siren. The character of this latter genus among 

 other particulars, is to have but two feet, and these on the 

 fore part of the body. The animal described by this ob- 

 server having four feet, could not be a siren. 



My inhabitant of the North American Lakes, has so ma- 

 ny characters in common with yours of Carniola, that I feel 

 an inclination to consider him a Proteus. Among other 

 particulars, his two triple-bunches of external and persistent 

 gills ; his two elongated, iniernal air bags ; his four feet with 

 toes; and his vertical flat tail, all warrant this decision. Yet 

 his spotted skin, flabby lips, and toes to the number of four 

 on each of the feet, might authorize me to bestow upon him 

 a distinct name. I am averse to the unnecessary multiplica- 

 tion of genera. Science has been injured by the liberty some 

 naturalists have indulged in constituting new ones when spe- 

 cific distinctions would have answered a better purpose. By 

 some these innovations have been so wantonly introduced as 

 almost to threaten, in the end, the erection of every species 

 into a distinct genus. 



If the definition by the discriminating Daudin in his ad- 

 mirable history of reptiles was amended in one particular, it 

 would comprehend several sorts of creatures vphich now 

 embarrass us exceedingly. His character of the Proteus is 

 that it has an elongated body, with persistent gills, and four 

 legs with two toes on the foremost, and three on the hind- 

 most ; with a tongue resembling that of a frog. Now, all 

 that is wanting is to strike out the number of the toes, and 

 to leave them unlimited. It will then include the creature 

 before me, and the other congeneric species. And thus 

 modified, it will exclude the Crysadonta, Salamander and 

 Siren : the Triton having no pretensions to be considered 

 a genus. The generic character I propose is simply this. 



Proteus. 

 Body long and lacertine ; with a flat tail and branchial 

 bunches both persistent ; and four feet furnished with claw- 

 less toe?. 



