NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK. 16 



The Spotted Salamander, (Salamandra maculosa), because 

 of its broad, bright yellow bands and blotches, laid on a 

 rich, dark-brown body color, is one of the most showy of all 

 Batrachians. It comes from Europe, and being much prized 

 in collections, it frequently passes through the hands of 

 dealers in reptiles. Its skin is very moist and clammy, 

 which gives the creature the appearance of having been 

 varnished. This is the creature which is supposed to be 

 able to withstand fire— a belief which is purely imaginative. 



The Tiger Salamander, {Amblystoiua tigrinum), and the 

 Axolotl, {A. mexicana) , are widely different creatures from 

 the preceding. Of the genus to which they belong, the 

 former is by far the most widely distributed species. It is 

 found throughout the greater portion of the North Amer- 

 ican continent, and as far south as Central Mexico. Thir- 

 teen other species of the genus Ainblystoiiia are found in 

 North America and Mexico. In the matter of "harmoniz- 

 ing with environment," the Ainblystoina is one of the most 

 remarkable creatures in existence. In its "larval" stage 

 (corre^3ponding with the tadpole stage of a frog), this ani- 

 mal possesses external gills, red and sponge-like in appear- 

 ance, and its tail has a fin-like edge above and below, like 

 the tail of an eel. 



So long as this larval creature remains in water, its ex- 

 ternal gills remain and do duty, and the larval stage con- 

 tinues indefinitely. Remove it from water, or let its home 

 pool dry up, and, presto ! its gills dry up, its tail loses its 

 fin-like edges, and the creature goes about on land, breath- 

 ing air instead of water, with lungs instead of gills. The 

 Spotted Salamanders exhibited were captured in the Zoolog- 

 ical Park. 



The "Water-Dog'," or "Hellbender," {Cryptobranchus 

 allegheniciisis), is a salamander-like amphibian, from 18 to 22 

 inches long- when adult, found more frequently in Penn- 

 sylvania than elsewhere. They are said to be very tena- 

 cious of life, 3,nd voracious in their food habits, feeding on 

 worms, minnows and crayfish, and often taking the hook of 

 the fisherman in quest of that most repulsive of all Amer- 

 ican fishes, the cat-fish. Between cat-fish and water-dog 

 there would seem to be small choice. Mr. William Frear 

 offers this testimony in regard to the tenacity of life of this 

 creature : 



"One specimen, about 18 inches in length, which had lain 

 on the ground exposed to a summer sun for 48 hours, was 

 brought to the museum, and left lying a day longer before 



