BATE AC HI A. 



315 



its nose. The temporal muscle, instead of being attached to the lateral parts of the 

 skull, tei-minates in a tendon, which passes over the sides of the posterior part of the 

 skull, and is attached to the atlas, or iirst vertebra. The mechanical effect of this 

 structure is that the contraction of the temporal muscle raises not 

 only the lower jaw, but the entire head. As though to give a freer 

 movement to the head, the occipital condyles are produced so as 

 to form a pair of short stems. The same kind of condyles are 

 seen in the genus Amphiuma. Professor Baird originally noticed 

 this structure, and also the curious disposition which the species 

 makes of its eggs. As in the anurous genus Alytes, the eggs, on 

 emission, are connected by an albuminous thread, which soon con- 

 tracts and hardens. One of the sexes protects this rosary by 

 wrapping it several times round the body, and remaining con- 

 cealed in a comparatively dry spot until the eggs hatch. 



D. nigra is a considerably larger species, reaching seven inches 

 in length. Its color is entirely black. It is confined to the Alle- 

 ghany mountains, where it lives in stony springs and streams. 

 D. hcddemani is smaller than the other species, and is brownish 

 yellow above. It lives under bark of logs in the Alleghany 

 mountain regions. Thorius pennatulus lives in similar situations 

 in the eastern Sierra Madre of Mexico. It is peculiar for its 

 partly membranous cranium, large nostril, and the large size of 

 its eggs. 



The family of Salamandeidje includes four genera, and 

 these inhabit the Old World exclusively. Salamandra is rep- 

 resented by but three species, of which the best known are the 

 larger yellow-spotted S. maculosa, and the smaller black ^5'. 

 atra. The former is found in Europe generally. Its skin is very 

 glandular and secretes much fluid, which might by its presence 

 protect the animal from a temporary high temperature. This 

 is probably the source of the fables respecting its power of resist- 

 ing fire. Salamandra atra inhabits the mountains of southern 

 Europe, and is remarkable for being viviparous, the young being 

 born with gills. The genera Chioglossa and Hemisalamandra 

 have no ligament passing outside the temporal muscle of the 

 skull, while in Molge it is present, foreshadowing the osseous 

 postorbito-squamosal arch of the Pleurodelidfe. Chioglossa lusi- 

 tanica, found in the mountains of Portugal, is a dark gray species 

 of medium size. JI. crisiata is a common species of Europe. j-iq, 



Of the genera of this family, Molge embraces the greater 

 number of species. They are all aquatic in their habits, and are generally called tritons. 

 Molge palmata is a small plain species common everywhere in Europe. M. alpestris 

 has a brilliant red belly, and is found in great numbers in the ponds of melted glacier 

 ice in some parts of Switzerland. M. marmorata is a large rough species which is 

 common in France. These and others of the Palearctic fauna present remarkable 

 developments at the breeding season. Their tails and backs acquire dermal fins along 

 the middle line, and the toes become bordered with similar dermal margins. The 

 muscles of the humerus become thickened in the males, appropriately to their maintain- 



183.— Skeleton o£ 

 Spelerpes beliii. 



