BLIND 
SALAMANDERS 
Not long ago several blind and colorless small salamanders were taken 
fiom the depths of an artesian well at the United States Fisheries Station, 
at San Mai cos, Texas. Inhabiting water nearly two hundred feet below 
the earth s surface, these Texas blind salamanders are completely without 
lungs. They have bushy external gills, and their legs are exceptionally long. 
Though lungless, the family of the blind salamanders is perhaps the most 
versatile of all the salamander groups. The terrestrial salamander, a mem¬ 
ber of this family, lays its eggs on land; moreover, its embryo loses its 
gills before hatching and emerges a true copy of its parents. One blind 
salamander (Typhlotriton spelaeus ) curiously enough has sight in its 
larval stage, when it resides near the mouths of caves. 
PROTEANS 
The European blind salamander ( Proteus ) dwells in certain lightless sub¬ 
terranean lakes and mountain cavities east of the Adriatic. A distant rela¬ 
tive, both in appearance and habitat, is the “mud puppy,” Necturus, of 
North America, also called “water-dog.” This is an aquatic variety whose 
flattened tail makes it an unusually efficient swimmer. Its dark-brown mot¬ 
tled and spotted body is covered with thick slime which makes it almost 
impossible for human fingers to hold. Plume-like, velvety, red gills provide 
the creature with oxygen. The “mud puppy” is widely used for laboratory 
work. 
220 
