VERTEBRATA. 



265 



Classification of Amphibia. — The GcBcilice, 

 snake-like animalsj already referred to as possessing 

 fisk-like vertebriB, form the group Gymnophiona, 

 They are not, however, as the name would imply, des- 

 titute of scales, but have very small ones arranged in 

 transverse rings. In the young stage some of them 

 have gills ; and they are therefore classed with Amphi- 

 bia. They live under the soil. They have no limbs, 

 and have accordingly received the group name of 

 Apoda (without feet) . The rest of the Amphibia are 



Fig. 98. — A Salamander (Salamandra maculata). 



classified according to their tails. The higher forms. 

 Toads and Frogs, or Batraehia, are called Anura, be- 

 cause they have no tail in the adult form. The rest 

 of the group, including among others the Newts and 

 Salamanders, and the Axolotl, are called the Urodela, 

 or Caudata. The Newts {Triton) are the English re- 

 presentatives of the Urodela. The Salamander is a 

 European form of larger size; it is viviparous. The 

 Axolotl is a Mexican animal which sometimes loses its 

 gills when it is adult, and sometimes does not, accord- 



