ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



14.05 



Farquhar, Percival, 

 Ferguson, Miss Eliza. D., 

 Fitzgerald, Mrs. Louis, 

 Fleming, Matthew C, 

 Fox, Miss Alice Bleecker, 

 Goodwin, Walter L., 

 Goodwin, Walter L., Jr., 

 Goodwin, John B. L., 

 Goodwin, H. Sage, 

 Goodwin, Grenville, 

 Gotthold, Arthur F., 

 Hager, Jr., Robert, 

 Harrinian, W. A., 

 Hiazen, George H., 

 Helmuth, Wm. Tod, 

 Higgins, Richard H., 

 Hoyt, Alfred O., 

 Hutchins, Jr., R. G., 

 Innis, Wni. R., 



Wallerst 



Morgan, Junius S., Jr., 

 Morris, Lewis Spencer, 

 Morton, Mrs. Paul, 

 Mott, Mrs. John Bowne, 

 Miller, Peyton F., 

 Munn, Mrs. Flenry N., 

 Murphy, Mrs. Felix Tone, 

 Murtha, Thomas F., 

 Nicoll, Benjamin, 

 Notnian, George, 

 Olcott, E. E., ' 

 Orth, Charles D., 

 Perry, Mrs. William A., 

 Piatt, Livingston, 

 Reed, Chester A. 

 Schirmer, Mrs. Martha B., 

 Schrag, Louis, 

 Schefer, Anton H., 

 Scoville, Herbert, 

 ein, Max. 



TREE-CLIMBING SALAMANDER 



A TREE-CLIMBING SALAMANDER. 



ANYONE versed in amphibian lore usually 

 understands that a salamander is a bur- 

 rowing, terrestrial animal ; a creature 

 dwelling among tree roots, under slabs of bark, 

 rotting logs or large flat stones in moist situa- 

 tions in the woods and on the borders of ponds. 



But the Alligator Salamander, {Autodax lu- 

 gubris) , of the Pacific coast region, is a creature 

 with entirely different habits. It is not depend- 

 ent upon the immediate vicinity of water, and 

 inhabits standing dead timber, preferably oak 

 (Quercus agrifolia), but also has been taken 

 out of large holes in living trees, sometimes 

 thirty and forty feet above the ground. These 

 holes as well as the dead, hollow trees are 

 filled with moist debris composed of dead 

 leaves and rotted wood-j^ulp, providing the 

 creatures with the moisture so essential to the 

 existence and well-being of all amphibians. In 

 these situations this salamander breeds and de- 

 posits its eggs, which are kept moist b}^ the 

 female coiling around them until they are 

 hatched. The alligator salamander does not 

 emerge from the egg as a tadpole^ the entire 

 larval stage being passed inside the egg, with 

 a perfect little salamander emerging at the 

 proper time. This is unusual among North 

 American amphibians. 



Let us now take a close look at this queer 

 creature, and see how it is adapted for the 

 lofty life that it leads : The body is slender, the 

 limbs well developed and the tail prehensile. 

 The toes, instead of being obtusely pointed as 

 in most other species, are curved down at the 

 tips and end in small, knob-like expansions. 



These tiny knobs do not secrete a sticky sub- 

 stance for the purpose of adhesion, as do the 

 disks of the tree-toads. The tree-climbing sala- 

 mander climbs by using its toes like claws, 

 pressing its body close to the surface and help- 

 ing with its strong tail. Thus it is able to 

 climb to its "castle in the air," where it is safe 

 from the prowling and digging enemies of its 

 tribe. Its head is large, pointed in front and 

 very much enlarged at the temporal region. The 

 mouth is strongly curved and armed with large, 

 dagger-shaped teeth, which are said to be the 

 largest possessed by any amphibian. 



The color is light or liver brown above, some- 

 times with a few small, bright yellow dots, and 

 the undersides are pinkish-j^^ellow. The skin is 

 smooth and shiny, and a series of strong folds 

 runs down on each side, uniting on the mid-line 

 of the abdomen. 



In the Reptile House this salamander is 

 usually hidden under the moist moss in its vi- 

 varium. It never attempts to climb up the 

 glass sides, as so many of the ground salaman- 

 ders do, but reverses its habits to suit its en- 

 vironment. 



Richard Deckert. 



The brown pelicans, which for several years 

 past have nested in the Flying Cage, laid two 

 sets of eggs in the crowded Pelican House be- 

 fore the weather was sufficiently mild for them 

 to be placed outside. The temperature in the 

 winter shelter was purposely kept at a low 

 point, in the hope of curbing their precocitv, 

 but to no avail. 



