AMPHIBIA 



187 



sperm masses near the egg-laying female. Batches of eggs were found 

 in the shallow parts of a rather large stream lying on the gravelly 

 bottom. They were arranged in festoon-like strings. A single female 

 lays from 300 to 400 eggs. The cleavage of the egg is especially clean- 

 cut and illustrates the transition between holoblastic and meroblastic 

 cleavage. The animal is a voracious feeder, capturing fish in consid- 

 erable numbers, and is therefore unpopular with fishermen. The larvae 

 are much like the adults of Necturus. C. japonicus, is very much like 



Fig. 109. — A, Cryptohranchus allerjheniensis; B, Amphiuma means. (After 

 Lydekker.) 



C. allegheniensis in appearance and in habitat, but reaches a large 

 size, the largest specimens being about five feet three inches in length. 

 This is the extreme size reached by modern Amphibia, a size which 

 almost rivals that of some of the giant land Amphibia that became 

 extinct during the Permian. In Japan these animals are used for food 

 and are caught with a baited hook, the hook being thrust into the 

 retreat of the animal by means of a pole, which is not attached to the 

 line, and may be removed when the animal seizes the bait. 



Amphiuma means (Fig. 109, B) is an eel-shaped salamander with 

 limbs very much reduced, both in size and in numbers of digits (2 or 

 3 being the characteristic number). One pair of small inconspicuous 

 gill-clefts is present, guarded by skin flaps. They reach a length of 



