A New Variety of the Red-Spotted Triton. 



49 



ARTICLE III. — DlEMYCTYIvUS VIRIDESCENS var. 

 VITTATUS, A NEW VARIETY OF THE RED- 

 SPOTTED TRITON. 



By Professor H: Garman, Lexington, Ky. 



With a series of black-bordered, longitudinal red lines, 

 forming together a broken subdorsal stripe on each side. 

 Pale greenish olive above, golden yellow below, the two colors 

 terminating abruptly where they meet on the sides ; every- 

 where with round, black spots. Eength, 70 mm. 



Similar to the common northern variety of D. viridescens, 

 but averaging smaller, and to be distinguished at once by the 

 broken subdorsal line. The line begins above the eye as 

 small, round spots, those of the two sides sometimes diverg- 

 ing from a median spot between the eyes. Following the 

 spots are a few short dashes on the posterior part of the 

 head, which, in turn, are followed by lines varying from 3 to 

 20 mm. in length and constituting the greater part of the 

 length of the series. The series extends a little beyond the 

 base of the hind leg, and is completed on the base of the tail 

 by several small, round dots. In some examples the lines are 

 bordered uniformly with black, but in others the black is dis- 

 tributed as dots along the red lines, as if indicating the posi- 

 tion of ocellate spots, which, by elongation and fusion, have 

 formed the lines. The spots of an inferior series, present on 

 each side between the bases of the legs, also show a tendency 

 to elongation, and dashes of as much as 3 mm. long some- 

 times occur among them. The black dots scattered every- 

 where over the body and its appendages vary in size and num- 

 ber in different individuals. On the tail they are sometimes 

 surrounded by a wide, nebulous, dusky border. A dusky 

 band on each side of the head is always present, but varies 

 much in brightness. Females are larger, lighter in general 

 color, and the subdorsal lines have in them more frequent in- 

 terruptions. The terrestrial stage (corresponding to the form 



(Jour. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIX, No. 2.) I Printed March 24, 1897. . 



