REPTILES 

 AND BATRACHIANS 



Neither the reptiles nor batrachians of Lancashire call for much attention. 

 Scarce in Britain generally, these two groups are scarcer still in Lancashire, 

 where uncultivated land now hardly exists except on the sandhills fringing 

 the coast and in parts of the Furness district. This record of the local 

 reptilian and amphibian fauna is taken from the lists given in the British 

 Association handbook for Liverpool and Southport, except those for the 

 Furness area, which have been collected by Mr. Harper Gaythorpe, of 

 Barrow. 



REPTILES 



LACERTILIA 



OPHIDIA 



I. Sand Lizard. Lacerta agilis, Linn. 



This species used to be, and indeed still is, 

 abundant on the sandhills of Formby, Seaforth, 

 and Southport. It is recorded from Walney 

 Island, Piel Island, and Yarlside, but it is never- 

 theless rare. It is, however, now becoming 

 rarer than it used to be. 



2- Viviparous Lizard or Swift. Lacerta vivipara, 

 Jacq. 

 On the mosses and rarely on the sandhills. It 

 occurs at Weston, near Runcorn, and on Latrigg 

 Moss near Broughton-in-Furness. 



3. Slow- worm or Blind-worm. AnguU fragUis, 

 Linn. 

 Found occasionally in the Leyland district and 

 in woods in the Lake district. On the whole 

 it is fairly common in Furness, but more so at 

 Woodland than anywhere else. 



4. Viper or Adder. Vipera berus, Linn. 



Very common at Woodland and on the Fells 

 about Torver and among heather and peat mosses. 

 Four were destroyed at Haverthwaite station in 

 June 1905, the largest being 4 feet long 

 (R. Lord, Kirkby-in-Furness), also common on 

 Warton Crag and at Keliet (W. Farrer). 



5. Common or Ringed Snake. Tropidonatui 



natrix, Linn. 



This snake has been found at Crake Valley 

 and at Woodland (M, Rodgers, Barrow). 



These two species of snakes are said to occur 

 in south-west Lancashire, but it is rather doubt- 

 ful whether they do or not. Specimens have 

 been reported as occurring in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of Southport, but it is easy in such 

 cases to satisfy oneself that such have not been 

 imported. ' Snakes ' in the Furness district are 

 called 'Hag- worms' by the country people. 



BATRACHIANS 



EC AU DATA 



1. Common Frog. Rana temporaria, Linn. 

 Even the common frog does not appear to be 



so common now as was formerly the case. 



2. The Toad. Bufi vulgaris, Linn. 

 Common over the county. 



3. Natterjack. Bufo calamita, Laur. 



Both species of toad are fairly common. They 

 are most abundant on the Formby and Southport 

 sandhills in the slacks. But owing to the drain- 

 ing of the latter B. calamita appears to be becom- 

 ing less common. It is said to be common enough 

 at Mureside Mosses (between Woodland and 

 Broughton-in-Furness) (T. Johnstone, Woodland ) . 



CAUDATA 



4. Crested Newt. Molge cristata, Laur. 



5. Common Newt. Molge vulgaris, Linn. 



Both these newts are said to be well distributed 

 over Lancashire — that is, the portion of I^anca- 

 shire still capable of forming a habitat for them. 

 The crested newt is neither so abundant nor so 

 well distributed as M. vulgaris. 



Molge palmata, Schn., -was recorded byBryerly 

 in 1856 as rare. Three small specimens were 

 taken in a shallow stream at Upton. It is very 

 doubtful if it exists in Lancashire to-day. 



