REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I918 25/ 



numerous. Larvae of various species of Lepidoptera and pseudo- 

 scorpions occur; even amphipods are sometimes found. 



I have not observed internal parasites in the adult salamanders 

 but the gelatinous envelops of several of the eggs were infested 

 with small nematodes that moved about in the semifluid mass. 



That there is an increasing adaptation to terrestrial life and 

 increasing degree of parental care of eggs and larvae in the series 

 represented by Ambystoma, Desmognathus, Plethodon and Oneides 

 (Autodax) has been pointed out by Piersol. In this series may be 

 placed Hemidactylium which in adult life is as terrestrial as Plethodon 

 and more so than Desmognathus. The egg complement (40-60) of 

 Hemidactylium, however, is larger than that of Desmognathus 

 (15-20, Hilton, '09) or of Plethodon (3-12, Piersol, '09) and the 

 eggs are laid in situations which are in closer relation to water than 

 those of either of the other species. The larger number of eggs 

 and the fact that they are deposited in situations that give them 

 abundant and constant supply of moisture, may be an indication 

 of more recent adaptation to terrestrial life; if so, Hemidactylium 

 has gone farther and faster than Desmognathus fusca, 

 both in the larval and adult condition. 



Breeding Habits 



Very little has been published concerning the breeding habits 

 of Hemidactylium. O. P. Hay (ibid) stated that the eggs were 

 found in moss at the roots of trees that stood near ponds, and that 

 they were said to resemble the eggs of P. cinereus. Cope is 

 reported as saying that the gills are absorbed at an early period 

 in life and that the animal never enters the water. Ditmars (ibid) 

 expressed the opinion that the young possessed branching gills 

 when hatched but lost them in a few days. As no specimens were 

 mentioned, the statements of Cope and Ditmars may have been 

 conjectures based on general knowledge of related forms. In their 

 account of the species, C. and H Thompson remarked, " The eggs 

 are laid under moss or bark, and the salamander at least in the 

 adult condition avoids water." 



Moesel ('18) examined the ovarian eggs of specimens taken 

 April II, 191 7, on Larch hill and June 11, 19 16, at Duck lake and 

 found them to be of large size, 2 mm in diameter. She states further 

 that they were pigmented, a little less than half of the egg being 

 "of a dark grayish brown shade." Fifty-three eggs were found in 

 the first specimen examined and fifty -seven in the other. The 

 conclusion was reached that the period of ovulation occurred during 



