i62 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



With but few exceptions the mature batrachians differ from 

 the reptiles in the total absence of scales. Their naked, usually 

 slimy skin at once defines them to the novice. The few scaled 

 species indicate their scalation only upon close examination, and 

 beneath the shining skin may be discerned a fine dermal texture. 

 No species among the local batrachians possesses scales. 



In our local fauna, two orders of the Batrachia are represented. 

 These are the Urodela, comprising Salamanders and Newts, and 

 the Salientia, or Tailless Batrachians (the Toads and Frogs). 



SALAMANDERS. 



Order Urodela. 



The salamanders and the newts may be easily recognized by 

 their lizard-like form, but even the novice may at once distin- 

 guish them from true lizards by their moist or slimy, naked skin, 

 totally devoid of scales. Many of the semi-aquatic species, how- 

 ever, are actually known in the regions they inhabit as water 

 "lizards." 



The majority of the local species begin life, like the frogs and 

 toads, as tadpoles, hatching from opaque eggs which are de- 

 posited in streams and ponds. Unlike the frog lar\-a however, 

 the tadpole of the salamander retains throughout the larv'al state 

 external gills, arranged in three tufts on each side of the head. 

 These gills are delicately fringed and enable the young creature 

 to lead a fish-like existence. The presence of these organs 

 enables the observer to distinguish at a glance the lar\'as of the 

 salamanders and newts from those of the frogs and toads. Apart 

 from the gills, however, the salamander tadpoles differ from the 

 tailless batrachians in the development of the limbs. The front 

 limbs are the first to appear, an external character quite reversed 

 among the frog lar\-£e. Though the development with the latter 

 is the same as with the salamanders, the gro\\i:h of the front 

 limbs goes on under cover of the operculum, while the hind limbs 

 are attaining external development. When the front limbs attain 

 their growth, they push their way suddenly through the folds of 

 the operculum and into view. 



A few of the local salamanders, represented by the genera 



[8] 



