243 



NEWTS NEAR WARRINGTON. 



Some time ago we received a copy of Mr. Linnaeus Greening's paper 

 on ' British Newts,' read by him before the Warrington Field Club 

 on the 2ist January, 1887. It is a most detailed and exhaustive 

 paper, dealing with structure, development, habits, life-history, etc., 

 and from it we take the liberty of extracting the faunistic information 

 which falls within the scope of our journal. 



Of the Smooth Newt {Molge vulgaris), Mr. Greening says : — 

 * This newt is the commonest, being found almost everywhere in the 

 British Isles ; but at the same time it is exceedingly local ; it may be 

 found in one pit, although in the adjoining pits it does not occur. 

 It is never found, so far as I know, in swift running streams or dirty 

 waters. I have taken specimens at Stretton Hill Clifife, Dallam, 

 Bewsey, Stockton Heath, Walton, Arpley, and Hartford.' 



Of the Great Warty Newt {Molge cristata), he remarks : — 'This 

 species is not so common as M. vulgaris. I have caught it at 

 Frodsham, Stretton, and Hartford, and I have had specimens from 

 Soham and Scarborough. In a pool at Hartford these newts abound, 

 and are of all sizes, from 3 in. to 6 in. long ; out of a large quantity 

 taken the majority were small.' 



Of the Palmated Newt {Molge palmata), it is written : — ' This 

 •certainly is the rarest of our British species, though possibly its rarity 

 has been exaggerated, as it has been sometimes mistaken for the 

 common newt {M. viilgaris). It had never been recorded as existing 

 in Lancashire till Mr. J. A. Jackson caught in a small mill dam, near 

 Garstang, what were locally thought to be the common smooth newts, 

 and he having kindly brought me a few of these, I found them to be 

 M. palmata, and had the pleasure of recording this fact in the 

 'Zoologist' for June 1886. It is curious that all these newts were 

 caught within an area of two yards square ; and that in other parts 

 of the pool the net was tried in vain. I have noticed this peculiarity 

 in many pits, but have been unable to find a perfectly satisfactory 

 reason for it, though it is probably owing to a greater abundance of 

 food and suitable vegetation over that particular area.' 



Some of our readers will be interested in Mr. Greening's table 

 of specific characters, which we accordingly reproduce : — 



'Molge cristata (Great Warty Newt). — Skin covered with minute 

 warty excrescences, ground colour black or dark brown, with black 

 spots. Belly deep orange, with black spots. Throat black, covered 

 with small white spots. Colours of female as male — but distinguished 

 by yellow line along lower surface of tail. Length 5 in. to 6 in. 

 Female in this as in other species larger than male. Summer crests 

 of males broken. 



Aug. 1888. 



