I 1 8 URODELA CHAP. 



Uvo to five, these are much larger and stronger than those of a 

 large litter. Occasionally a few addled or only partly developed 

 eggs are also expelled. 



In the case of old females which have produced offspring 

 before, the whole process is more complicated. The sperma, taken 

 up in July, remains in the receptaculum of the cloaca until the 

 May or June following, i.e. until the previous larvae have passed 

 out of the uterus and are born. Then the spermatozoa ascend 

 to the upper ends of the oviducts, where they meet and fertilise 

 the new eggs. After these have descended into and filled the 

 uterus, and are already developing into embryos, copulation takes 

 place again in July, preparatory for next year's eggs. 



The new-bom salamanders have three pairs of long external 

 gills, a long tail furnished with a broad dorsal and ventral 

 fin, and four limbs, although these are small. The total 

 length is about 25 mm. or 1 inch. The general colour is 

 blackish with a pretty metallic golden and greetiish lustre. 

 The little creatures are very active, and at once eat living or dead 

 animal matter. In captivity they are liable to nibble each 

 other's gills and tails. During the first six or eight weeks they 

 assume a row of dark spots on the sides ; these spots enlarge, and 

 the whole skin becomes darker. Yellow spots appear next, first 

 above the eyes and on the thighs, later upon the back ; the 

 ground-colour at the same time becomes black, until at the 

 beginning of the fourth month they look like the parents. 



The metamorphosis is very gradual. The tail-fin diminishes 

 first, but the gills grow until shortly before the little creatures 

 leave the water. Darkness, cold, and insufficient food retard the 

 metamorphosis, sometimes until October. It is easy to rear them 

 artificially provided they are well fed, kept in a light place, and 

 in clean, well aerated water. If prevented from leaving the 

 latter, for instance when kept in a glass vessel with vertical walls, 

 or if hindered by a piece of gauze from rising to the surface 

 and taking in air, they can be kept as larvae well into the 

 winter. 



Very young, perfect little salamanders, of from 1 to 2 

 inches in length, are excessively rare ; even specimens of 3 

 inches are far from common. They probably spend the first two 

 or three years of their life in careful seclusion. 



A few adults can be easily kept for many years in shady 



