I30 URODELA 



epithelium, and the cilia are re-established when a green speci- 

 men is forced again to live on land. Ciliation always exists in 

 the red stage, and in the green stage before the newt has taken 

 to the water. The cilia sweep towards the stomach. 



The three following South European species belong to the 

 Uiqjroctus group, so called on account of the mostly conical, 

 backward directed, and vividly coloured vent. 



T. aspe7- s. pyrenaeus. — The Pyrenean newt has hitherto been 

 found only in the Pyrenees, for instance in Lac Bleu and Lac 

 d'Oncet, which latter lies about 7000 feet above the level of the 

 sea. According to Bedriaga,^ it prefers lakes which are supplied 

 during the whole summer with water from glaciers. It is 

 very sluggish, only moving to breathe and when in search of 

 food, which consists of worms and insects. The general colour 

 is greenish brown, dark above ; the under side of the head and 

 body are bright orange red in the female, yellow in the male ; 

 dark spots separate this bright colour from the flanks. The tail 

 has a narrow ventral stripe of bright red and yellow. The 

 cloaca of the female is bright red, that of the male dull grey. 

 The total length amounts to about 4 inches or 10 cm. 



The pairing time is the end of June, or later in cold seasons. 

 The male gets hold of the female by forming a noose with its 

 tail round her ; it lies underneath, the cloacae being pressed 

 together so that the spermatozoa can be taken in directly. The 

 larvae have large yellow-green spots on the back and sides, 

 and a bright red ventral tail -fin ; when metamorphosed the 

 greenish spots become more confluent on the back, producing a 

 broad spinal band. Larvae which live in deep water are dark, 

 while those in sunny places are light-coloured and spotted with 

 yellow. 



T. montanus in Corsica and T. rusconii in Sardinia are allied 

 forms, but the males are distinguished by a spur-like process or 

 dilatation at the end of the fibula. 



T. waltli, the Iberian Newt, is olive-brown above, yellowish 

 with blackish markings below. The tail has a yellow or orange 

 ventral line. There is no crest. A remarkable peculiarity of 

 this species (which it shares only with Tylototriton andersoni 

 of the Loo-Choo Islands) is its ribs, which are very long, 

 sharply pointed, and frequently perforate the skin. Before 



' P.Z.S. 1895, p. 150. 



