CHAPTER XI 



THE COLOURS OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES 



Colours and Pigments of Amphibia — The Colours of the 

 Larvce — Development of Colour — The Relation of the 

 Larval and Adult Coloration — Colour Variation in Larvse 

 — Colours of Reptiles, especially Lizards and Snakes — 

 The Origin of Markings in Snakes. 



In Amphibia the colours are not infrequently sober 

 and incline towards the so-called protective tints, but 

 in some cases they are bright and conspicuous. The 

 skin is smooth, soft, and scaleless, and the power of 

 colour-change not infrequently well marked. As a 

 whole, the prevailing colours are dull brown or 

 black, shades of green, or vivid reds and yellows, 

 thrown up against a dark background. As ex- 

 amples of fornls showing dull coloration we may 

 mention the Mexican axolotl and the common 

 newt, A green colour is well shown by the tree- 

 frogs {Hyld), often kept as pets in ferneries. The 

 spotted salamander {Salamandra maculata), with its 

 vivid colouring in black and yellow, and Mr. Belt's 

 famous blue and red frog show, however, that more 

 brilliant types of colouring are far from being absent 



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