THE SALAMANDERS 



367 





THE TWO LIVES OF THE AXOLOTL. 



The lower figure shows the wholly aquatic larval form, with gills and tail fins, called the Axolotl. The upper 

 figure shows the same creature fitted for life on land, and known as the Spotted Salamander. 



imperfect Spotted Salamander back into aquatic 

 life. At first there is a struggle against life under 

 water, but finally the animal becomes adjusted 

 to it. (R. L. Ditmars. ) 



By keeping the larval Axolotl in an aquarium, 

 with an abundance of water but with no encour- 

 agement nor facilities for breathing air, it not 

 only remains in that stage indefinitely, but it 

 breeds successfully. 



This species is most abundant in the shallow 

 lakes around the City of Mexico, but it inhabits 

 nearly the whole of Mexico and also a considera- 

 ble area in the southwestern United States. Un- 

 questionably, the wonderful mobility — as it may 

 truly be called — of this creature is for the purpose 

 of enabling it to survive in a region wherein 

 droughts are common, and where the life of an 

 aquatic animal depends upon its ability to 

 change from water to land. Of all members of 

 the Order Urodela, this is to me the most won- 

 derful. 



Salamanders, Generally. — In shallow brooks, 

 in still pools of all kinds, from the shaded woods 

 of the East to the wind-swept, sun-bathed prai- 

 ries and bad-lands of the West, and both on and 

 in the damp earth of forests high and low r , we 

 occasionally find little smooth-skinned, lizard- 

 like animals. They are slow in movement, weak 

 and incapable of either defence or flight, and are 

 at the mercy of almost any species larger than 

 themselves. These are Salamanders, and in 

 view of the fact that some are wholly aquatic and 

 others wholly terrestrial, it is difficult to choose 

 from our sixteen species one which may stand 

 for the majority. The diversity of habit of these 

 animals is greater than their differences in form. 

 The various members of the group inhabit all 

 sorts of quiet situations, from the rocks and dry 

 ground of the Blotched Salamander 1 to the 

 mountains of the Blue - Spotted Salamander, 2 



1 Am-bhf sto-ma o-pa'cum. 



2 Pleth' o-don glu-ti-no'sus. 



