510 
Reptiles. 
from the tadpole to the perfect Toad in this rather con- 
fined space. This curious Toad is found in Guiana ; it 
frequents the dark corners of the houses, and, notwith- 
standing its intense ugliness, is eaten by the natives. 
THE COMMON NEWT. (Triton aquaticus.) 
Besides the frogs and toads, which have no tails when 
arrived at their perfect form, there are several Batrachian 
Eeptiles in which this appendage is permanent. The 
best known of these are the Newts, of which two kinds 
are very common in ponds during the spring. The 
common Newt is three or four inches in length, and is of 
a pale brown colour above, and orange with black spots 
below. It has four little webbed feet and a flattened 
tail. In swimming, the legs are turned backwards to 
lessen resistance, and the animal is propelled princi- 
pally by the tail. Their progression at the bottcm of 
the water and on land is performed creepingly with 
their small and weak feet. These animals live during 
the autumn and winter under stones and clods of earth, 
and come down to the water in February or March for 
the purpose of depositing their eggs there. The eggs 
