BATRACHIANS OF THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK 177 



The eggs are deposited early in the spring in the deeper pools 

 of brooks ; the adults are semi-aquatic, living in the beds of clear 

 and cold brooks under fiat stones or in immediate proximity to the 

 water, into which they quickly make their way when disturbed. 

 They may be sometimes found hiding tmder the luxuriant moss 

 that covers rocks adjacent to mountain streams, where their 

 brilliant color is in vivid contrast to their surroundings. 



FIQ. 12. THE MOUNTAIN SALAMANDER 

 From specimen in New York Zoological Park 



The ]\Iountain Salamander, Desmognathiis ocroplicea Cope 

 (Fig. 12), is of moderate size. Body cylindrical; tail rounded 

 for the greater part of its length, flattened near the 

 tip and tapering to a long, sharp point. A wide band f°^^^^ 

 of brown extends down the back from behind the head ^ ^°de^' 

 to the base of the tail, where it narrows and becomes indistinct 

 towards the tip. Beneath the brown band the sides are dark 

 gray. From the eye to the angle of the mouth there is a band of 

 light color. The abdomen is dirty white, and generally sprinkled 

 with pure white dots. 



On occasional specimens the back is sprinkled with a line of 

 black dots, giving the species a very similar pattern to the Two- 



[23] 



