SALAMANDER, FRO&, AND OTHER AMPHIBIANS. 173 



true salamanders. The Meiiopoma Alleghaniense (Fig. 

 179), called the hellbender, or big water-lizard, is about 

 half a metre (l|-2 feet) in length, and inhabits the Missis- 

 sippi Valley. 

 We now come to the true salamanders, whose body is stiU 



Fio. 179.— Skeleton of the hellbender Qlenopomd). • 



tailed, with larger eyes ; there are no spiracles ; they 

 breathe mainly by their lungs, but in part by their skin. 



The genius Amblystoma comprises our largest salaman- 

 ders ; they are terrestrial when adult, living in damp places 

 and feeding on insects. The larvae retain their gills to a 

 period when they are as large or even larger ttan the pa- 



