270 C. SASAKI 



Cuvier, who first recognized the amphibian character of this 

 fossil, which should now be called Cryptobranchus Schenchzei:i,* 

 estimated its length at three feet five inches, a size seldom, if ever, 

 reached by its Japanese representative. 



It is remarkable that C. Japonicus is now no longer found 

 outside a very limited area of central Japan, which, according to 

 Temminck and Schlegel,! lies between 34° and 36° North latitude. 

 My specimens were all collected in the three provinces, Iga, Ise, and 

 Yamato. Siebold obtained a specimen said to have come from the 

 mountains of Suzuga-yama, somewhat farther north. 



The above named provinces are traversed in various directions 

 by mountain ranges, between which are numerous valleys, raised 

 several thousand feet above the level of the sea. Through these 

 valleys pass swift running brooks, fed with clear cold water from 

 mountain springs. I visited the streams of 13 valleys, seven in Iga, 

 two in Ise, and four in Yamato. 



These streams have everywhere stony beds, are quite shallow, 

 and seldom attain a width of more than a few metres. In these 

 small but swiftly flowing brooks, J thickly shaded, for the most part, 

 with shrubs and trees, lives the subject of this paper. 



It conceals itself in dark places under rocks, along the banks or 

 in the middle of the stream. It seems to delight in solitary life; for 

 so far as I was able to learn, not more than a single specimen is ever 

 found under one rock. 



The animal may be easily captured with a fish-hook, baited with 



* Naturgeschichte der Lurche, p. 1S2. 



t Temmiuck and Schlegel. Siebold's " Faima Japouica." Eeptilia. 



\ The temiicrature of the water in the middle of August was found to be between 17° and 



