246 



CHARACTERS OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS 



Newts or Efts differ from Salamanders proper in the possession 

 of a tail flattened from side to side and used as a swimming 

 organ. Running round the margin of the tail is a fin -like 

 expansion, which, however, is not supported by hard parts as 

 in a fish. Three kinds are native to Britain, and constitute our 

 only representatives of the tailed Amphibia. Of these the 



Fig. T52. — Tailed Amphibia. — Spotted Salamander [Salavtandra maculosa), below. Crested Newt 

 ( Triton cristatus), above. 



commonest is the Small Newt {^Triton tcsniatus), which is only 

 a little more than 3 inches long. The upper surface and sides 

 are olive-coloured, with dark spots and streaks, while the paler 

 under side is marked by a longitudinal orange-coloured band. 

 The male has a fin-like crest running down the middle line 

 on the upper side of the trunk, and continued into a similar 

 fold which margins the tail : the colouring and marking are not 

 quite the same as in the female. Another British species, the 

 Crested Newt {Triton cristatus), may be more than 5 inches long, 

 and the crest on the back of the male is much better developed. 

 The only other species found in this country, and that less fre- 

 quently, is the Webbed Newt [Molge paltnata), which is not 

 more than 3 inches long. There are no spots on the under 

 surface, and the hind-feet of the male are webbed. 



