THE AXOLOTL. 175 



the water, fastened on her arm, bit out a piece of flesh, and spat fire into the wound, so that 

 she afterwards lost her arm. 



All the Newts possess singular powers of reproducing lost or injured members, this faculty 

 proving them to hold a rather low place in the scale of creation. The Smooth Newt has been 

 known to reproduce the tail, and even the limbs ; and in one case an eye was removed entirely, 

 and reproduced in a perfect state by the end of the year. 



This species may be known by its smooth and non-tubercular skin, and its small size. 

 During the breeding-season the male wears a crest, which runs continuously from the head to 

 the end of the tail, and is not so deeply cleft as that of the crested species. 



This ornament is very delicate and beautiful, and at the height of the season is often 

 edged with beautiful carmine or violet. The color is brownish-gray above and bright orange 

 below, covered with round spots of black. In the autumn and during the winter, the abdomen 

 becomes much paler. The length of this species is about three inches and a half. 



The Palmated Water Newt of Mr. Bell {Idssotriton pdlmipes) is held to be merely 

 a variety of this species. 



We now arrive at another family, known by the curious manner in which the teeth of the 

 palate form a broken cross-series. 



The first example is the Japanese Salamander (OnycTioddctylus japonicus), remark- 

 able for having, during the larval state and in the breeding-season, claws upon the toes. Its 

 color is purplish-black, variegated irregularly with white, and the claws are black. It is 

 thought by the natives to possess medical properties, and they employ its flesh in sundry 

 ailments, killing, and drying it in the sun for better preservation. 



Another example of this family is the Amblystome, or Spotted Eft, of North 

 America. 



This species is not uncommon in the countries which it inhabits, and is found in some 

 numbers in Pennsylvania. The eggs of this creature are not deposited singly and in the 

 water, as is the case with the newts, but are laid in small packets, and placed beneath damp 

 stones. The head of the Amblystome is thick, convex, and with the muzzle rounded. Its 

 color is deep violet-black above, and purple-black below, witli a row of circular or oval yellow 

 spots along the sides. These spots are large in proportion to the dimensions of the individual, 

 and have a very bold effect. The genus is rather large, containing about eleven acknowledged 

 species. One of them, Ambli/stoma talpoideum, or Mole-like Amblystome, derives its name 

 from its habit of burrowing in the ground after the fashion of the mole. It lives in South 

 Carolina, and is found on the sea-islands. The fore-limbs are peculiarly short and stout, and 

 the body is rather thick and clumsily made. 



It is found northward as far as Illinois. There are eight other species enumerated, found, 

 respectively, in Ohio, New Jersey, and the Southern States. Specimens kept in the New York 

 Aquarium during the year 1878, passed through the usual and various stages of transforma- 

 tion. The tail was first noticed to be growing gradually smaller, and on absorption of the 

 branchiae, the transformation was seen to be complete. The more delicate and comely Sala- 

 mander, with proper lungs, and its body prettily decorated with round spots, was the perfect 

 and permanent form. This process of change was clearly visible in the well-arranged tanks of 

 the Aquarium. The larva state of one species is the celebrated Axolotl of Mexico, and Lake 

 Como one of the western territories. 



One genus and nineteen species are recorded as embraced under the family Amblystomidce, 

 all found in North America. They are particularly abundant in the South and West. 



We now come to a very remarkable creature, the Axolotl, which is presumed to be but 

 the larva or tadpole state of some very large batrachian. Like many other enigmatical animals, 

 it has been bandied about considerably in the course of investigation, and. according to the 

 latest observations, the original opinion seems to be correct, namely, that it is not an adult 



