CHAPTER V 

 STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION OF AMPHIBIANS 



This class of cold-blooded vertebrates is often confounded 

 with Reptiles, from which, however, its members differ in many 

 important respects, being altogether of simpler type. They are, 

 in fact, more closely related to Fishes, with which they are 

 sometimes associated to form a larger group, the Ichthyopsida, 

 or Fish-like Animals (Gk. ichthus, fish; opsis, appearance), as has 

 already been stated. A typical species will here be briefly de- 

 scribed, and a comparison with what has been said about the 

 Sand Lizard (p. 191) will illustrate the points of agreement as well 

 as of difference between Amphibians and Reptiles. 



The Spotted Salamander {Salamandra maculosa) (fig. 152) is a 

 European animal from 6 to 9 inches long which has long attracted 

 attention, mainly perhaps on account of its supposed power of 

 withstanding fire. The flattened rounded head is not separated 

 by any appreciable neck from the somewhat clumsy trunk, which 

 passes gradually back into a long thick tail. The four sprawling 

 limbs are directed a good deal outwards, and scarcely lift the 

 body from the ground: the fore-limb possesses four digits, 

 the hind-limb five. The mouth is a wide slit, and the two 

 small valvular nostrils are placed near the tip of the blunt 

 snout. Large eyes, provided with upper and lower eyelids, are 

 present, but no trace of auditory organs can be seen externally. 

 There is a longitudinal slit, the opening of the cloaca, on the 

 under side of the body near the root of the tail. 



The animal is rendered very conspicuous by its colouring, 

 which consists of a ground of black, upon which are arranged 

 broad patches of orange-yellow. The skin differs markedly from 

 that of a reptile, for it is soft, moist, and smooth, being entirely 

 devoid of scales, plates, or claws. Its damp feel is due to the 

 secretion of very numerous skin -glands, some of which secrete 



