202 THE INFANCY OF ANIMALS 



gills are developed and absorbed while still within the eggs. 

 How jealously they are cared for is shown by an instance 

 of a captive specimen of a nearly related species — the 

 Oregon plethodon — which was placed with its eggs in a 

 jar. She at once took possession of them, forming a loop 

 around them with her tail. Dissatisfied with her sur- 

 roundings, she moved them repeatedly from place to place 

 till a suitable spot was found, the work of transportation 

 always being performed by the tail. 



Certain American salamanders, e.g. the spotted autodax, 

 deposit their eggs, from ten to twenty in number, in a 

 dry hole in the ground, or in a hollow tree ; one or both of 

 the parents then take up their place beside them, appar- 

 ently in order that the exudations of their bodies may 

 provide the eggs with the moisture necessary for their 

 development, and also to provide for their protection 

 against predatory foes, for they bite fiercely at all in- 

 truders. The eggs are remarkable for the fact that they 

 are firmly anchored in the ground by a narrow stalk 

 formed of the gelatinous substance which constitutes their 

 outer coat. The stalks aU converge to a point, so that 

 the eggs are held together in a bunch. The embryos 

 develop curious flap-like gills, which absorb the necessary 

 oxygen through the surface of the egg, but by the time 

 of hatching these gills have disappeared, and the young 

 emerge in the likeness of their parents. 



The curious eel-like or three-toed salamander (Amphi- 

 uma), a native of the south-eastern United States, lays 

 its eggs in rosary-like strings ; and these the female 

 guards most jealously, winding the precious chain several 

 times around her body, and then retiring to some sheltered 

 and comparatively dry spot, where she remains till hatch- 

 ing time relieves her guard. 



