SALAMANDERS. 
291 
female parent, and the tadpoles born alive, sometimes in a highly advanced stage 
of development. In the case of the common salamander, during the breeding-season 
the male enters the water first, and is followed shortly afterwards by the female, 
who gives birth to her tadpoles; but in the Alpine salamander, the young are 
born on land. The water-newts, on the other hand, lay eggs which are attached 
to the stems and leaves of aquatic plants. The majority of the terrestrial 
forms pass the earlier stages of their existence in the water, not leaving this 
element till their lungs have become fully developed. In the tadpole-stage all 
the members of the order are remarkably alike; and this resemblance forbids any 
wide separation of species like the olm, in which the external gills are retained, 
from the true newts and salamanders, in which these appendages are lost at an 
early period. 
Although some of the larger kinds prey upon small fish, none of the newts 
and salamanders can be said to be harmful to man; while the terrestrial forms are 
defended against all foes, except fish, frogs, and snakes, by the poisonous secretion 
exuded by the glands of their skins; water-newts are, however, devoured by 
aquatic birds and mammals. The reputed noxious characters of the common 
salamander, and its alleged immunity to the effects of fire, are, of course, purely 
fabulous. The existing members of the order are divided into four families. 
The Salamander Tribe. 
Family SalaMANDRIDM. 
Comprising the typical members of the order, this family is specially char¬ 
acterised by the absence of gills in the adult condition, the presence of upper 
jawbones or maxillae, as well as of teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, and 
likewise by the development of distinct eyelids. The family, which includes by 
far the great majority of the order, is divided into four subfamilies; the first of 
which is characterised by having the teeth on the palate of the skull arranged in 
two longitudinal series, diverging posteriorly, and inserted on the inner margin 
of two backwardly-prolonged processes of the palatine bones. The median 
parasphenoid bone on the base of the skull is devoid of teeth, and the bodies of 
the vertebrae are convex in front and concave behind. 
Typical The typical genus of the first subfamily (Salamandrincc) is 
Salamanders, represented by three species, ranging from Central and Southern 
Europe to the Caucasus, Syria, and Algeria, of which the best known is the common 
spotted salamander (Salamanclra maculosa ). As a genus, these salamanders are 
characterised by the large and suboval tongue being free on the sides, and to a 
small degree also behind; by the palatine teeth forming two curved series; by the 
presence of four front and five hind-toes; and likewise by the nearly cylindrical 
section of the tail. The spotted species, which varies in length from I to 9 inches, 
may be recognised by the length of the tail being slightly less than that of the head 
and body, and still more readily by its brilliant black and yellow coloration. The 
head is depressed and nearly as broad as long; while the stout body is likewise 
somewhat depressed, without any crest along the middle of the back ; and the short 
