SIRENIDAE 137 



possession of three pairs of gill-clefts and by its four fingers. 

 It reaches a length of 70 cm., or about 2^ feet, of which about 

 one-third is taken up by the tail, which is strongly compressed 

 and finned. The skin is smooth, mostly blackish, lighter below, 

 sometimes with whitish specks all over the body. This creature 

 is frequently found in ditches and ponds, where it burrows in 

 the mud. When swimming the limbs are folded back. They 

 are said sometimes to leave the water and to crawl about on the 

 moist ground. 



Pseudohranchus striatus has only one pair of gill-clefts and 

 only three fingers. The slightly granular skin is dusky brown 

 above, with a broad yellow band on either side and with a paler, 

 narrower stripe below. Total length about 7 inches. 



