3°4 
NEWTS AND SALAMANDERS. 
those on the margin of the upper jaw. In form the giant salamander is very 
stoutly built; the head being very large, wide, and flattened, with the muzzle 
regularly rounded, the small nostrils situated near the extremity, and the eyes 
very minute. The body is likewise broad and depressed; the legs and toes are 
short, the outer ones, as well as the outer side of the hind-leg, having a mem¬ 
branous fringe; and the short tail is strongly compressed, with a fln above and 
below, and its tip rounded. The skin, which forms a thick fold along each side of 
the body, is very warty, especially on the head; and the general colour is brown 
with black spots, becoming lighter on the upper-parts. Although the ordinary 
length of this salamander is about 35 inches, it is stated at times to grow to as 
much as 44 inches. 
Originally purchased by Siebold in the market of Nippon, the giant salamander 
is now ascertained to inhabit not only the mountain streams of that island, but 
likewise those of several parts of the Japanese mainland, as well as of Western 
Central China. Nowhere very abundant, the creature generally frequents the 
upper courses of small mountain-streams at elevations of from seven hundred to 
five thousand feet above the sea-level; some of these streams being not more than 
a foot in width, and completely covered over with grasses and other herbage. 
The water is clear; and usually while the full-grown salamanders curl them¬ 
selves round masses of rock in the bed of the stream, the younger ones live in 
holes. Except in search of food, which consists of worms, crustaceans, fish, and 
frogs, the animals do not leave their hiding-places, and then only at night, while 
they never venture on land. In confinement they are extremely slow and sluggish 
in their movements, only exhibiting any marked activity when they rise to snap 
at a worm or other tempting morsel. In spite of its large size, the female lays 
very minute eggs, which are generally deposited in August and September. The 
smallest young yet observed had a length of about 6 inches, and in every respect 
resembled the adult. Probably however, at an earlier stage of development, 
external gills were present; and indeed, in an illustrated Japanese book, the young 
of the giant salamander is represented with these appendages. Further evidence 
of this is afforded by the circumstance that young specimens have been taken in 
which the gill-openings were retained. The first two living examples were brought 
to Europe in 1829 by Siebold, and were fed on fresh-water fish brought from 
Japan, but when these began to fail, the male devoured his unfortunate partner. 
When suitable food was procured, the male, however, flourished and increased 
rapidly in size, surviving till the year 1881, when it died in Amsterdam. 
„ „ „ Under this euphonious name is designated in its native country 
the Mississippi salamander (Cryptobranchus lateralis), which differs 
from its Asiatic cousin by the presence of a gill-opening, at least on the left side of 
the neck, and likewise by the presence of four pairs of gill-arches, and by the 
anterior border of the tongue being free. In general form this salamander closely 
resembles its larger relative; the skin being porous and rather smooth, and the 
head covered with scattered wart-like tubercles. The colour is brown or greyish, 
with darker blotches; but the tips of the toes are yellowish. In length this 
species, which is the sole representative of its genus, reaches about 16 or 17 inches; 
and it inhabits all the tributaries of the Mississippi, and ranges into North Carolina. 
