REMARKS ON THE SAN MARCOS SALAMANDER, 
TYPHLOMOLGE RATHBUNI STEJNEGER. 
W. W. NORMAN. 
Tnroucu the kindness of Mr. Leary, Superintendent of the 
U. S. Fish Hatchery at ‘San Marcos, Texas, the Biological 
Laboratory of the University of Texas became the possessor 
of a small number of living salamanders that came up from 
subterranean waters 181 feet below the surface. 
It has been the aim of the writer to study the habits of 
these strange animals, but through ill-luck only a single speci- 
men is at the present writing alive, and the new arrivals at the 
well are becoming scarce. 
For a systematic description of the animals the reader is 
referred to Stejneger's paper in the Proc. of the U. S. Nat. 
Mus., Vol. XVIII, No. 1088. 
A good idea of the animal may be had from the pictures 
accompanying this description. 
The animals were kept in a large shallow basin of water con- 
taining water plants and some small organisms, such as water 
fleas. 
Unless disturbed, the salamanders appear at all times either 
resting, or very slowly walking along. They move a few steps 
at a time, wait awhile, and go again. They have no particular 
pose when quiet except that they always rest on their four feet, 
holding themselves up from the bottom of the vessel, and fre- 
quently retain the position of the legs as if in the act of walk- 
ing. Indeed, this position represents them as if suddenly 
! A few years ago the late Professor Norman secured a number of specimens of 
the Texas cave salamander for me, to enable me to study the structure of their eyes. 
He himself intended to study the habits of the species. In September of 1899, 
Mrs. Norman placed his notes and photographs in my hands, and these are repro- 
duced in this paper. The notes are just as he wrote them. I have added as 
foot notes a few observations on living specimens kindly furnished me by Super- 
intendent J. L, Leary, of San Marcos. — C. H. EIGENMANN. 
179 
