1892,] Loology. 779 
The paper is illustrated with 18 figures reproduced from the publica- 
tions of the U. 8. Fish Commission. 
Necturus maculatus in the Hudson River.—In Prof. Cope’s 
Monograph of North American Batrachia (United States National 
Museum Bulletin No. 34) an interesting feature of the geographical 
distribution of the Mud Puppy—Necturus maculatus Raf.—has been 
overlooked, viz., the fact that through the agency of canals the spe- 
cies has been introduced into the Hudson River and has become 
abundant both in the river and in its various tributaries, 
Prof. Cope gives the habitat of the species as follows: “ Ranges 
throughout the tributaries of the great lakes and the Mississippi, as 
well as the rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic 
Ocean as far north as the Tar River, North Carolina.” 
Only one New York locality is cited, Grass River, St. Lawrence 
county. This is a tributary of the St. Lawrence River, and its source 
is not very far distant from the source of the Hudson. The only other 
locality cited which is at all near the Hudson is Burlington, Vermont. 
This locality also is in the drainage area of the St. Lawrence. Both 
the localities cited are covered by the statement “ranges throughout 
the tributaries of the great lakes,” but there is nothing to indicate 
that the species inhabits the Hudson and tributaries. 
De Kay, in 1842 (Natural History of the State of New York), pre- 
dicted that the species would some day be found inhabiting the Hud- 
son. De Kay’s exact words on the distribution of the Mud Puppy 
in the State of New York were as follows: “ This curious and inter- 
esting aquatic animal is common in the northern and western parts of 
the State. It is found in Lake Champlain, and is particularly abund- 
ant at the Falls of the Onion River and at the outlet of Lake George. 
It inhabits Lakes Erie, Seneca, and the other lakes in the western 
districts of New York. It has been found in the Erie canal, and will 
doubtless, ere long, be found to have reached the Hudson River.” 
De Kay’s prediction has come to be a fact. Whether the species came 
from the west through the Erie canal or from Lake Champlain through 
the Champlain canal, it is now so abundant in the neighborhood of 
Albany as to be somewhat of a nuisance. The city reservoirs are 
plentifully stocked with the species. A short time ago an individual 
was washed out of one of the fire-plugs in the heart of the city, and 
report says that another became wedged in the water pipes of one of 
our school-houses and had to be cut out in order to allow the water to 
ow. 
