THE LIVING WORLD. 
I 53 
this creature is the fact that the larva or tadpole is much larger than the adult 
animal, for which reason it was formerly believed that the creature reversed the 
invariable process of nature by furnishing the one single example of a regres¬ 
sive transition, from the adult to the larva, as wondrous indeed as was the 
fountain of youth, or the alchemist’s elixir. The larva of this strange animal 
somewhat resembles the common frog-tadpole, except that it possesses gills 
very like those of the proteus, 
in which the blood circulation 
is as easily observable with the 
naked eye. These observations 
apply to the single species known 
as the axolotl , however, since 
in the others the tadpole is of 
ordinary size, nor have they the 
singular gills peculiar to the 
species just described. 
The Mud-Eel (Siren lacer- mud eel- 
Jina), or pseudo-lizard, is also a 
habitant of North America, its northern range being the latitude of St. Louis, 
but so very rare is the creature that it has not often fallen under scientific 
observation. It is usually found in ditches and swamps of the Southern States. 
In color it is a very dark lead, with indistinct rings of yellow about the body. 
It varies in size according to locality, since in the south it is occasionally as 
much as two feet in length, while those found in the north are scarcely half as 
long. It has two well-developed fore-feet 
and three rose-tinted gills on either side 
of the head, which the poor creature 
sometimes loses in attacks made upon it 
by fishes that regard the gills as delicate 
morsels. 
The Giant Salamander (Crypto bran- 
elmsjaponicus) is the largest of the lizard 
family, and so dreadfully repulsive that 
it is fortunate the species should be con¬ 
fined to Japan, where it lives in lakes 
and pools about the basaltic mountain 
ranges. The first specimen taken from 
that country was conveyed to Europe by 
Dr. Von Siebold, of Leyden, who secured 
a pair, but on the journey the male 
devoured his bride for want of more de¬ 
sirable food. In the summer of 1887, a 
still larger specimen was secured for the 
Philadelphia Zoological Garden by some gentleman who brought it over in 
safety from Japan together with another somewhat smaller species, known as 
the yellow salamander. I had the pleasure of examining these shortly after 
their arrival. The length of the larger specimen was said to be five feet, 
though I hardly think it was above four, but the size was certainly formid¬ 
able considering the creature’s horrible aspect. I viewed them as they lay 
GIANT SALAMANDER. 
