GILLED SALAMANDERS. 
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separated limbs, of which the front pair are provided with three, and the hinder 
with only two toes. The eyes are concealed beneath the skin, the small tongue is 
free in front, and the palatal teeth are small and arranged in a double series. In 
the typical form from Carniola the head is elongate, with a long and narrow 
muzzle, truncated at the tip; the mouth being small, with large lips. The short 
and much compressed tail is provided with a fin, and rounded or bluntly pointed 
at the tip. The smooth skin is marked by twenty-six or twenty-seven grooves, 
corresponding to the ribs, and is uniformly flesh-coloured, with Coral-red gills v In 
a variety from Dalmatia the snout is longer and narrower, and the number of 
costal grooves only twenty-four; while in a second variety, inhabiting Carinthia, 
the whole form is stouter, the head shorter, with a rounded muzzle, and the 
number of costal grooves twenty-five. There is also a certain variation as regards 
colour, apparently largely depending upon the amount of light to which the 
creatures have been exposed; some examples being reddish brown, and others 
darker with bluish black spots. The usual length is about 10 inches. 
order. In addition to this primary feature, they are Characterised by the absence 
of the upper jawbone or maxilla, although the premaxilla is present, and, like the 
lower jaw, furnished with teeth. There are no eyelids, and the bodies of the 
vertebrse are cupped at both extremities. There are differences in the external 
form of the two representatives; the olm being a long, snake-like creature with 
small limbs, whereas the American species resembles a salamander. 
01m Known for more than a couple of centuries, the remarkable 
creature to which Oken gave the name of olm is the sole representa¬ 
tive of its genus, and is technically known as Proteus anguineus. From its American 
ally it is distinguished by its elongated snake-like body and small and widely 
