368 



ORDERS OF AMPHIBIANS— TAILED AMPHIBIANS 



and the swift-running streams of the Dusky 

 Salamander} 



Very frequently, salamanders are found un- 

 derneath fallen trees, or stones, or under the 

 bark of decaying logs ; and on the western prairie 

 farms the plough-share turns into the broad 

 light of day many a burrowing amphibian. 



On the whole, the Spotted Salamander 2 ap- 

 pears to be the best species with which to intro- 

 duce the North American group. It is distinctly 

 marked, and of wide distribution. Its length is 

 6^ inches, its body is broad and full, and its tail is 



MENOPOMA, OR HELLBENDER. 



shorter than its body. Above, its ground color 

 is dark brown or black, on which is laid about 

 thirty irregular yellow spots. The Spotted 

 Salamander of Europe is a different species, its 

 light markings being in the form of elongated 

 patches or bands. Except for its external gills, 

 the larva of this species looks much like an 

 ordinary tadpole; but with transformation the 

 gills disappear. Occasionally this species is 

 found in spring-houses and cellars. 



THE NEWTS, OB TRITONS. 



Pleurodelidae. 



Although quite abundant in the Old World, 



(sixteen species), the newts are represented in 



America by only two species. All these tiny 



creatures inhabit water during the breeding sea- 



1 Des-mog-na'thus fus'ca. 



2 Am-btys'to-ma punc-ta'tum. 



son, but at its close, some species leave it, and 

 live for a period upon land, where their habits 

 are much like those of terrestrial salamanders. 



Most species of newts look very much like 

 small, weak, scaleless lizards, except that in some 

 species the males, and in others both sexes, have 

 broad fins on the tail, above and below. In 

 some cases the upper fin is prolonged forward 

 along the back, quite up to the head. 



Of our two species of Newts, the Crimson- 

 Spotted Newt 3 endeavors to make up by its 

 abundance for the scarcity of species of the Genus 

 Triton in America. It is emoted 

 by herpetologists as "very com- 

 mon in ponds everywhere" in 

 the State of New York, and 

 its known range embraces the 

 northern and eastern portions 

 of the United States. It is 

 about 3i inches long. Its color 

 above is brown, or greenish- 

 brown, with two rows of bright 

 vermilion spots, in all from 6 

 to 12. Its under surface is 

 orange, marked with small black 

 dots. Half-grown specimens are 

 brownish-red, with the charac- 

 teristic spots of bright red. 



This puny little animal in- 

 habits deeper water than most 

 salamanders, and swims freely, 

 often in an upright position, in 

 which the hind legs hang motionless while the 

 tail does all the work. It feeds upon the larva of 

 aquatic insects, worms, and very small mollusks. 

 For schoolroom aquaria, Newts are more easily 

 obtained than any other of the tailed amphib- 

 ians, and they are easily kept. 



Our Newt has long been of much interest to 

 American naturalists, and its complicated series 

 of changes from the egg to adolescence have been 

 carefully studied and reported upon. 4 



The Newt of western North America (Triton 

 torosus) is one of the largest of the genus, and 

 attains a length of 6 inches. The tail is longer 

 than the body, much flattened vertically, and is 

 provided with a dorsal and ventral fin. The 

 under parts are colored yellow. 



3 Di-e-myc'lii-lus vir-i-des'cens. 

 * See L. J. Gage in the American Naturalist, 1891, 

 p. 1084. 



