370 



ORDERS OF AMPHIBIANS— TAILED AMPHIBIANS 



The Congo "Snake," or Eel-like Salaman- 

 der, 1 is in many ways related to the foregoing 

 species, but in external appearance it seems 

 widely different. In appearance it looks like a 

 blunt-nosed, wide-mouthed eel, with a tiny pair 

 of legs close behind its head, and another pair 

 about four-fifths of the way back to the end of its 

 tail. Even in a small aquarium tank, in a well- 

 lighted reptile house, these tiny legs are so thread- 

 like and so short they are seldom noticed save by 

 those who know they are present, and look spe- 

 cially for them. The absurd little feet on these 

 ridiculous legs have but three toes, and the 

 wonder is that such useless or "aberrant" ap- 

 pendages have not long since disappeared alto- 

 gether. 



The color of the Eel-like Salamander is a uni- 

 form gray-brown, and its length when adult is 

 usually about two feet. There is a gill opening 

 on each side of the neck, and there are four in- 

 ternal gill-arches. There are no external gills. 



THE MENOBRANCHUS, OR MUD-PUPPY 



These creatures inhabit the muddy streams and 

 stagnant waters of our southeastern states, and 

 are in the habit of burying themselves in the mud, 

 sometimes to a surprising depth. They feed 

 upon every form of aquatic animal life which is 

 small enough to be seized and swallowed — in- 

 sects, worms, crustaceans, shell-fish and even 

 small fishes. In the South they are occasionally 

 found in the ditches which irrigate the rice-fields. 

 1 Am-phi-u'ma means. 



FREE-GILLED SALAMANDERS. 



Proteidae. 



This very small Family contains only three 

 genera, with but one species in each. One of 

 these, the Olm'-' of Europe, is recognizable at 

 sight by its general eel-like appearance, its tiny 

 legs far apart (like the Congo "Snake"), and the 

 big bunch of external gill-branches waving on 

 each side of the neck, close to the head. This 

 animal is totally blind, and is found only in the 

 caverns of the Alps. 



The Mud-Puppy, or 3Ienobranehus 3 , bears 

 a strong external resemblance to the Hellbender, 

 but is readily distinguished from the latter by 

 the conspicuous mass of external gill-branches 

 with which the animal fans the water at every 

 breath. It inhabits many of the rivers of Ohio, 

 Pennsylvania, Indiana, the Great Lakes and 

 northern Xew York, and is often taken in fisher- 

 men's nets., 



The Subterranean Protean 

 of Texas. — Very recently a 

 rather startling discovery was 

 made in Texas, near San Marcos. 

 From the bottom of an artesian 

 well 188 feet deep, there came 

 up with the water several blind 

 Proteans, colorless and white, 

 which up to that time had lived 

 only in the subterranean streams 

 and pools of the earth's crust, 

 and were quite unknown. Along 

 with them came four new species 

 of Crustacea (crab-like creatures); 

 and doubtless it was upon those 

 that the Proteans lived. Unfort- 

 unately, thus far those who re- 



ceived the new amphibians did 



not succeed in inducing them 

 to eat, and none have survived. 

 The species has been christened Typh-lo-mol'ge 

 rath'bun-i. 



THE TWO-LEGGED SALAMANDERS. 



Sirenidae. 



Near the foot of the Class Amphibia, we find 

 the Two-Legged Salamanders, of which there 

 are only two species, both American. Both look 



2 Pro'te-us an-guin'e-us. 



3 Ncc-tu'rus ?nae-u-la'tus. 



