Snake-like Proteus. REPTILES. Proteus op the Lakes. 101 
bcr, are merely rudimentary, being very weak, and 
provided with short, weak toes. The gills — large in 
the Proteus, but smaller in the Siren — are well deve- 
loped, and divided into three branches. The internal 
nostrils open between the lips and the palate bones. 
The palate and lower jaw are provided with teeth, but 
the upper jaw or maxillary bones are nearly wanting, 
or reduced to a mere bony point. The eyes are small 
and destitute of eyelids. The seven species of which 
the order consists are arranged in two families, the 
Proteid.® and the SiRENioiE. The Proteidoe have 
four legs, and there is only a single series of teeth on 
the front edge of the vomerine bone. The Sirenidce 
have only two legs, the anterior pair ; and the palatine 
teeth are arranged in numerous cross series on the 
vomer. 
In the first family we find an animal which has 
excited very great interest amongst naturalists, and 
whose history has produced a good deal of discussion. 
THE SNAKE-lIKE PROTEUS {Proteus a7iguinus ) — 
represented in Plate 4, fig. 3 — is a native of the 
subterranean caverns of Adelsburg in Carniola. Pro- 
fessor Wagner of Erlangen in Bavaria, has communi- 
cated to us the results of an anatomical investigation 
which he was enabled to make of some specimens he 
had received alive. He found the pulmonary sacs or 
vesicles to be so constructed, that they could in reality 
perform the functions of lungs. The specimens were 
male and female, and in the latter he found the eggs 
very beautifully developed. The blood globules he 
ascertained to he of very large size, about twelve or 
fifteen times the size of those of man, and distinctly 
visible to the naked eye. He sent a living specimen 
to this country, which was kept alive for some time 
(in 1837) in the Zoological Gardens of London. The 
native place ot abode of the Proteus is the water of 
some subterranean cavities in the limestone formation 
of Southern Europe. One of the most romantic and 
splendid caverns in the world, is the grotto of the Mad- 
dalena at Adelsburg in the duchy of Carniola. This 
cavern was visited by the late Sir Humphrey Davy, 
who has left us a very interesting account of it and 
its curious inhabitants : — “ At first view,” says Sir 
Humphrey, “ you might suppose this animal to be a 
lizard, but it has the motions of a fish. Its head, and 
the lower part of its body, and its tail, bear a strong 
resemblance to those of the eel ; but it has no fins, 
and its curious branchial organs are not like the gills 
of fishes. They form a singular vascular structure, 
almost like a crest, round the throat, that may be 
removed without occasioning the death of the animal, 
which is likewise, furnished with lungs. AVith this 
double apparatus for supplying air to the blood, it can 
live either below or above the surface of the water. 
Its fore feet resemble hands, but they have only three 
claws or fingers, and are too feeble to be of use in 
grasping or supporting the weight of the animal ; the 
hinder feet have only two claws or toes, and in the 
larger specimens are found so imperfect as almost to 
be obliterated. It has small points in place of e 3 '’es, as 
if to preserve the analogy of nature. It is of a fleshy 
whiteness and transparency in its natural state ; but 
when exposed to light its skin gradually becomes 
darker, and at last gains an olive tint. Its nasal 
organs appear large, and it is abundantly furnished 
with teeth, from which it may he concluded that it is 
an animal of prey ; yet in its confined state it has never 
been known to eat, and it has been kept alive for many 
years by occasionally changing the water in which it 
was placed.” It was at first supposed that these crea- 
tures were immature forms, or mere tadpoles of some 
large unknown animal which inhabits these subter- 
ranean lakes ; but what we have stated above, of Pro- 
fessor Wagner’s finding both male and female, and of 
this latter having well-developed ova within her body, 
sufficiently proves the inaccuracy of the supposition. 
Specimens have been taken of various sizes, from the 
thickness of a quill to that of the thumb, and about 
one foot in length. The tail is compressed laterally, 
like that of an eel, and is used in the same manner in 
swimming. Individuals which have been kept alive 
for some time in England, were observed to shroud 
themselves in the darkest part of the vessel in which 
they were placed, when the covering was taken off 
in order to inspect them ; and to betray a sense of 
uneasiness by their actions when exposed to the light 
of open day, creeping round the sides of the vessel, 
or under the shelter of any substance which threw a 
partial shadow on the water. 
THE PROTEUS OF THE LAKES {Necturus maculosus), 
another species of the family, is a native of North 
America, and is only found in Lakes Champlain and 
Erie, and their tributary streams. It has an elongated, 
subcylindrical body, and a long, compressed tail. The 
skin is smooth, permeated by many pores, and the 
colour is a dark cinereous gray, with somewhat cir- 
cular spots of a darker hue irregularly dispersed. The 
head is large and flattened, and it has a wide mouth, 
covered by thick, fleshy lips. The eyes are small and 
placed far asunder, and the small nostrils are placed 
very near the margin of the upper lip. The gills, 
which resemble fringe of the finest texture, are of con- 
siderable size, and when the animal is alive, are of a 
fine, rich, crimson colour. They are in constant motion. 
Little, however, is known of the habits of this animal 
in its native state. “ In general,” says Mr. Holbrook, 
“ it remains at the very bottom of the waters it inha- 
bits, where it swims or creeps along the ground with a 
slow, serpentine motion ; it is said rarely to leave the 
water and crawl to the shore. It is seldom taken, 
except in the months of April and May, which is their 
spawning season. At this time they are found about 
waterfalls, where they conceal themselves in crevices 
of rocks, and are now often caught with the hook 
baited for cat-fish {Silurus) or eels, though little desired 
by the fishermen, by whom they are regarded as poi- 
sonous, and are consequently seldom taken in hand. 
Their eggs are about the size of peas, and as many as 
one hundred and fifty have been counted in a single 
female. It feeds on various kinds of worms, insects, 
shell-fish, and crustaceous animals. Though living 
almost entirely in water, it does not appear that it 
opens its mouth, or that the water passes through it to 
the branchial arches, as in fishes, during respiration ; 
but that function seems to be performed simply by 
the vibratory motion of the gills in water. When 
