L A C E R T A. 
query Laurent! makes the following obfervation : “ Lin¬ 
naeus interrogat, an forte larva Lacertas agilis? Inepta 
quasftio! Cl. Du Fay, in Aft. Gall, oftendit generare ovi- 
param ; oftendit prseterea, & pinxit metamorphofes, &c. 
Legat Linnaeus, et ceflabit tandem interrogate.” The L. 
paluftris and aquatica have by fome been conlidered as 
one and the fame fpecies ; but this can furely be account¬ 
ed for on no other fuppolition than the want of an oppor¬ 
tunity of contemplating the animals in their living date. 
Among tliofe who have thus conjoined, or rather con¬ 
founded them, mult be numbered Cepede, whofe negli¬ 
gence in this refpect affords a curious contrail to the op- 
polite extreme of Mr. Latreille and Mr. Schneider. 
The varieties are: ( 3 . Brown or yellowiih. y. The 
dorfal line dotted with white and black. 
In the Leverian Mufeum wasafpecimen of an extremely 
large water-newt, fuppofed to be a non-defcript fpecies. 
Its total length feventeen inches and a half, of which 
the tail meai'ures fix inches and a half from the fet- 
ting-on of the thighs, but, if meafured from the com¬ 
mencement of the upper membranaceous edge, only 
four inches and three quarters. The head flattened, and 
fltaped fomewhat like that of a turbot} the mouth mode¬ 
rately wide ; the upper jaw furnilhed in front with two 
concentric rows of very-numerous fmall fetaceous teeth ; 
the rows about the eighth of an inch apart ; in the un¬ 
derjaw a Angle row only : the eyes fmall, round, fituated 
on each fide the front of the head, and confequently very 
remote from each other, and not near fo far backward as 
the corners of the mouth. The body longifh, moderately 
plump or thick, and pale brown, marked, in a confluent 
manner, with darker variegations : from the fore to the 
hind legs an obfcurely-elevated lateral line. The legs 
about an inch in length, and both fore and hind legs fur- 
nifhed along the whole length of their back part with a 
dilated fkin or creff, which, juft above each foot, is finu- 
ated by two pretty deep fcollops or infections. The tail 
refembles that of the common water-newt, but is neither 
fo long nor fo deeply finned or crefted in proportion, and 
its termination is rather obtufe than acute. The feet very 
fmall: the fore feet furnilhed with four, and the hind with 
five, toes, all deftitute of claws; or at leaft the appearance 
of thofe parts is but very obfcure. No particular hiltory 
was annexed to the fpecimen, nor is its native place known. 
33. Lacerta falamandra, the falamander : tail fhortifh, 
round; body porous, without fcales, and variegated with 
black and yellow ; four toes on the fore feet, five on the 
hind ; no claws. This is fhown on Plate V. fig. 8. 
The falamander, fo long the fubjedt of popular error, 
and of which fo many idle tales have been recited by the 
more ancient naturalifts, is an inhabitant of many parts 
of Germany, Italy, France, &c. but does not appear to 
have been difcovered in England. It delights in moift 
and fltady places, woods, &c. and is chiefly feen during a 
rainy feafon. In the winter it lies concealed in hollows 
about the roots of old trees; in fubterraneous receffes, or 
in the cavities of old walls, &c. The falamander is eaflly 
diftinguifhed by its colours ; being a deep fhining black, 
variegated with large, oblong, and rather-irregular, patches 
of bright orange-yellow, which, on each fide of the back, 
are commonly fo difpofed as to'form a pair of interrupted 
longitudinal ftripes 5 the fides are marked by many large 
tranfverfe wrinkles, the intermediate fpaces riling into 
ftrongly-marked convexities; and the fides of the tail of¬ 
ten exhibit a fimilar appearance; on each fide the back of 
the head are fituated a pair of large tubercles, which are 
in reality the parotid glands, and are thus protuberant, 
not only in fome others of the lizard tribe, but in a re¬ 
markable manner in the genus Rana. Thefe parts, as 
well as the back and fides of the body, are befet in the 
falamander with feveral large open pores or foramina, 
through which exudes a peculiar fluid, ferving to lubri¬ 
cate the fkin, and which, on any irritation, is lecreted in 
a more fudden and copious manner under the form of a 
whitilh gluten of a (lightly acrimonious nature ; and, 
from the readinefs with which the animal, when difturbed, 
47 
appears to evacuate it, and that even occafionally to fome 
diitance, has arifen the long-continued popular error of 
the falamander’s being enabled to live uninjured in the 
fire, which it has been fuppofed capable of extinguifhing 
by its natural coldnefs and moilture. The real faft is, 
that, like any of the cold and glutinous animals, as fnails, 
&c. it of courfe is not quite io inftantaneoufly deltroyed 
by the force of fire as an animal of a drier nature would be. 
_ The general length of the falamander is about feven or 
eight inches, though it fometimes arrives ata much larger 
fize ; in the number and form of its fpots it varies confi- 
derabl}', and is occafionally feen entirely black; the tail is 
fomewhat fliorter than the body, and of a round or cylin- 
dric form, gradually tapering to the extremity, which is 
rather obtufe than fiiarp. Like other lizards of this tribe, 
the falamander lives principally on infedls, fmall fnails, 
&c. its tongue, however, is not fo formed as to catch 
thefe in a fudden manner, being fhort, broad, and in fome 
degree confined, fo as not to be darted out with celerity. 
It is capable of living in water as well as on land, and is 
fometimes found in Itagnant pools, &c. Its general pace 
is flow, and its manners torpid. The falamander has no 
apparent openings to the ears, in which it refembles the 
ferpent-tribe. It has even been fuppofed entirely deaf, 
and is accordingly called Le fourd, or the deaf lizard, in 
fome parts of France ; and this opinion is confirmed by 
its having no voice whatever ; as, in general, filence or 
dumbnefs is conne&ed with deafnefs. Hence, as in all 
probability it is deftitute of one of the fenfes, and is en¬ 
tirely deprived of any means of communicating its fenfa- 
tions to other animals of the fame fpecies, even by the 
flighted founds, it muff be endowed with very imperfedl 
and inferior inftinfl. Accordingly, it is extremely lim¬ 
pid ; and, though it has been conceived to be extremely 
courageous and to defpife danger, it is really incapable of 
perceiving it, and conftantly keeps on its way whatever 
attempts maybe made, bygeftures or noife, to terrify and 
turn it back. But, as no animal whatever is entirely def¬ 
titute of the necelfary fentiments for felf-prefervation, it 
compreffes or fqueezes its fkin when irritated, and fpirts 
out againft its enemy fome of the acrid milky liquid which 
it fecretes. When (truck, it erefts its tail, but foon be¬ 
comes quite motiordefs, as if feized by a kind of pally ; for 
it cannot be conceived, as fome naturalifts pretend, that fo 
ftupid an animal fliould have cunning enough to counter¬ 
feit death. It is extremely tenacious of life, and is diffi¬ 
cultly killed ; but, if wetted with vinegar, or fprinked with 
powdered fait, it foon dies in convullions, as is the cafe 
with feveral other lizards, and mod worms. 
The falamander has been confidered fts the moll fatal 
of all animals, by the ancients; and even Pliny luppofes 
it to be poffelfed of the 1110ft dangerous of ail poifons. It 
has even been alleged, that, by inferring all the vegeta¬ 
bles of an extenfive country with its venom, it was capa¬ 
ble of extirpating whole nations. Even the moderns have 
long given credit to the poilonous qualities of the fala¬ 
mander, believing that its bite was equally mortal with 
that of the viper, and have eagerly inquired after remedies 
againft its poifon. Philofophers at lull had recourfe to 
obfervation and experiment, by which road they ought to 
have begun. d he famous Bacon firlt recommended to 
inquire by means of experiment, whether the falamander 
were actually venomous. Gefner proved that no means 
of irritation could induce it to bite; and Wurfbain Ihowed 
that it Alight be touched with fafety, and that the water 
of fprings or fountains in which it inhabited might be 
drunk with impunity. M. de Maupertuis likewife em¬ 
ployed himfelf in experiments to inveliigate the truth of 
the pretended poifon of the falamander, and has demon- 
flrated that it fubmitted to the adlion of fire in the fame 
manner with all other animals ; according to his obferva- 
tions, the inftant it touches the fire, its whole furface be¬ 
comes covered with drops of the milky fluid, which ex¬ 
udes from every pore of the fkin, particularly on the head, 
and from the little tubercular protuberances ; but this li¬ 
quid is quickly dried up by the heat. It feems fcarcely 
necelfary 
