2/ 



Amblystoma opacum Gravenhorst. 

 Blotched or Marbled Salamander. 



This is the Salamandra fasciata (Green) of De Kay. 



The head is not so broad as in A. punctatum. Length 

 ^\ to 4 inches, of which the tail is little over one-third.* 

 Black, with ashy gray or bluish bands on the head and 

 dorsal surface of body. These make the general color ap- 

 pear as blotches of black surrounded by gray, the latter 

 color more or less as transverse bands which are more 

 linear on tail. Ventral surface dark blue with white streak 

 at gular fold. Costal grooves, n. 



The gray bands are sometimes confluent with those be- 

 fore or behind, and sometimes continue along the sides of 

 the dorsal surface, abruptly ending without connection with 

 the next. They are well confined to the dorsal region, and 

 in young adults cover nearly the entire top of the head. 



All examined by me are without a dorsal furrow, but it 

 is stated by Mr. W. H. Smith, that he received eight speci- 

 mens from Southern Illinois", all with this furrow very 

 distinct. Half-grown specimens have white dots on the 

 sides and below, which seem to disappear in the adult. 



In the Ninth Annual Report of Smithsonian Institution, 

 1854, they are described by Rev. C. H. Mann as having 

 eggs which are incubated in nests by the male or female. 



It is believed that A. opacum lays its eggs in water. I 

 have not raised them from the egg but have captured 70 

 larvae at one time as early as April 17. These were found 

 in shallow ponds in the open lots between woods at Fort 

 Lee and were then from J to ij inches long. Most were 

 captured by dragging a net through a thick submerged 

 growth of rush-grass, Eleocharis tenuis {panciflora ?) De- 

 velopment is rapid, as by May 8 those taken had attained 

 twice their length at time of capture, and those in ponds 

 had almost entirely disappeared, probably having taken to 



* Jordan's Manual and N. J. Geol. Survey give the tail as i\ inches. The 

 longest specimen described measured 3.80 inches with tail only i-| inches. 



