2 9 



under surface of the tail, from anus to within half inch of 

 tip, forms an irregular but continuous blotch of black. 

 Limbs somewhat banded ; predominant color, yellow. 



This species is partially aquatic, leaving- the water late 

 in the season to occup)^ burrows in the soil. Those which 

 I have kept in a terrarium have concealed themselves dur- 

 ing the day, only the snout showing at the surface, but I 

 have frequently found them out at night, during which time 

 they greedily devoured small frogs. 



It has been demonstrated that the Axolotls of the West- 

 ern Lakes, Siredon lichenoides and S. gracilis, are both forms 

 of A. mavortium* the western variety of A. tigrinum. 

 Prof. Cope thinks that ultimately A. mavortium will have 

 to be viewed as a developmental form of A. tigrinum. t 

 The Siredons breed as larvae and are not known to com- 

 plete the metamorphosis in a state of nature. Those bred 

 to Amblystoma were sterile. Numerous articles have ap- 

 peared in regard to this remarkable and unusual transfor- 

 mation, some writers claiming that the Axolotls (includ- 

 ing 5. mexicanus) have remained upon a lower phyletic 

 stage of development. Prof. Weismann % claims that a 

 sudden leap from a lower form to one much higher would 

 carry with it higher powers, and says that the sterility of 

 the animals so developed shows the probability of former 

 reversion from an Amblystoma stage to a larval condition 

 where reproduction takes place. The return to the older 

 adult form would then occur after the reproductive period, 

 thus explaining why reproductive powers did not follow 

 the usual morphological change. 



* Cope's Batrachia, p. 453. 

 \ Ibid, p. 73- 



% Smithsonian Report, 1877, pp. 349~375- See also Observations on the 

 Metamorphosis of Siredon into Amblystoma, O. C. Marsh, Am. Jour, of Sci. 

 and Arts, Nov., 1868. 



