SALAMANDRINAE 127 



Austria-Hungary, and Greece. Although it ascends the Alps to 

 between 6000 and VOOO feet, it is also found in the Nether- 

 lands, but not in the North German plain. 



T. vulgaris (s. taeniatus, s. punctatus). — The Common or 

 Spotted Newt usually reaches 3 inches (7-8 cm.) in length. 

 Boulenger's record-specimen measured 104 mm. It is charac- 

 terised by the yellow, partly orange under surface, which is 

 always spotted with black. The upper parts are olive-green or 

 brown, inclining to white on the flanks ; the black spots of the 

 back, sides, and especially of the tail, are arranged in more or 

 less distinct lines, giving a somewhat banded appearance to 

 some females. — The breeding dress of the male shows a non- 

 serrated, but " festooned " high and very wavy crest, which 

 extends from the neck without interruption into the likewise 

 wavy tail -fin. The tail is adorned with a lateral, glittering 

 blue stripe, interrupted by vertical dark spots. The larvae are 

 marked by a series of yellow dots, which extend over the lateral 

 line and the tail, which latter temporarily possesses a terminal 

 filament like that of the larvae of 2\ cristatus. 



The distribution of the Spotted Newt is the same as that of 

 T. cristatus, namely Europe, with the exception of the Iberian 

 Peninsula and Western Asia. 



T. palmatus s. helveticus. — This is the smallest of all the 

 European newts, rarely reaching more than 3 inches in length. 

 It is distinguished by several specific characters. The tail ends in 

 a thread which is in some males 1 mm. in length, but is only just 

 indicated in the female. The breeding male develops a cutaneous 

 fold along each side of the back, and a low, entire, vertebral 

 crest ; the toes are fully webbed. The under parts are pale 

 yellow, inclining to orange towards the middle of the belly, and 

 with a few blackish dots. The lower caudal crest has its edge 

 blue in the male, orange in the female. The general colour 

 of the smooth skin is olive-brown above, with numerous dark 

 spots, which are arranged in more longitudinal streaks on the 

 head. 



The Webbed Newt is a native of Western middle Europe, 

 ranging from Great Britain and Northern Spain to Switzerland 

 and Western Germany. 



Closely allied to the last species are T. boscai of Spain 

 and Portugal, T. italicus, T. montadoni of Moldavia, and the 



