POSITION OF AMPHIBIA 
CEN Pants hanlexe 
Amphibia and Fishes 
HE amphibia, those cold-blooded and reptile-like 
creatures, really stand midway between the 
reptiles proper and the underlying fishes. A study even 
of those characters which can be seen without recourse 
to the scalpel help in fixing pretty definitely the place 
of the amphibia in the scheme of Nature. It will be 
convenient to emphasize the relationships and differ- 
ences between the amphibia and the reptiles by taking 
two representative types, one of each, and then com- 
paring them character by character. Later the results 
can be amended by the consideration of exceptions, so 
as to apply to the whole group in either case. We may 
select for our comparison the North American Meno- 
branchus, of which there are practically certain to be 
examples in the Reptile House, and any lizard among the 
large assortment contained in the same house; let us 
say either of the common British species, Lacerta vivi- 
para or agiis. The newt-like amphibian is purely 
aquatic, while the lizard is as eminently terrestrial, 
selecting indeed especially the driest of sandy localities. 
The Menobranchus loves coolness and darkness; the 
lizard rejoices in the day and in warm sunlight. The 
skin of the menobranch is soft and slimy ; not only are 
there no scales of any kind, but the epidermis is 
everywhere developed into slime-producing glands, 
which cover the body with their secretions. In the 
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