314 LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



oregonensis is found in the coast range and redwood forests of California. It is of a 

 beautiful salmon color, and has pretty prominent eyes. 



The species of Spelerpes are often handsomely colored. The S. longicauda is often 

 found in caves in the limestone regions of the southern states. It is of a slender 

 form and a rich yellow color, with broken bands of black on the body. The S. 

 guttolineatus is marked with longitudinal brown bands. It is common in the moun- 

 tain regions of the south. The common northern species are 8. bilineatus and S. 

 ruber. The former is a small species, with a black line on each side of its back and a 

 citron-yellow belly. It is especially common in stony brooks in the woods. S. ruber 

 is of a brilliant red color, and is usually found in cold springs. It is more or less 

 brown or even black spotted, and there is a variety which is of a lead color above. It 

 remains long in the larval stage, and the larvas are as frequently seen as the adults. 

 S. longicaudus, 8. guttolineatus, and 8. bilineatits occasionally retain the larval balancers. 

 These are a pair of elongate cylindric rods, one of which issues from each side of the 

 head in the salamander larva, in front of the branchiiB. They are permanently re- 



FiG. 182. — Spelerpes longicauda, 



tained in the Caeciliae. The largest species of Spelerpes is the 8. bellii of the damp 

 mountains of Mexico. It is lead-colored, with a double row of red spots on the 

 back. 



A genus which is confined to the neotropical region is (Edipus. It only differs 

 from Spelerpes in having the digits united together in a common integument, which is 

 in fact only a persistence of the condition which belongs to an early stage of the 

 larva. The most common species, CE. variegatus, is black below and yellow above. 

 It is found everywhere with the Spderpes bellii. CE. rufescens is a small species which, 

 according to Sumichrast, lays its eggs in the water that accumulates in the axils of 

 the leaves of some of the parasitic Tillandsiae which grow on the trees in the Mexican 

 forests. (E. altamazonicus is found in eastern Peru. Allied to this genus are some 

 weak and slender species with the skull imperfectly ossified. They are referred to 

 the genus (Edipina. (E. lineolus is found in eastern Mexico, and CE. uniformis is a 

 species of Costa Rica, Central America. 



In Europe one genus of Plethodontidse is found (Geotriton). It has all the char- 

 acters of CEdipus, except that the premaxillary bone is divided and not single. The 

 only species, G.fuscus, is confined to northern Italy. 



With the Desmogwathid^ we commence the salamanders with ball and socket 

 vertebrsB. There are but two genera known ; Desmognathits, which is North American, 

 and Thorius, which is Mexican. But three species of Desmognathus are known. 

 2>. fusca is an abundant aquatic salamander of the eastern United States. It is found 

 in springs and damp places under stones. In common with other species of the 

 genus it has a peculiar structure which is especially adapted for moving stones with 



