.„«: 33L<K«;>- <«,

^1

-^f -*^^m^

><z

<^'K

%'.

^^■'■«:

^^m

^-.

^^BJf@C *

:;Si:

rc-.

^%^M^

'«:•.« ^k:^*^

*s- -^i-

»;«" c

t- SJ

^"T^:

^«*»^-^ ^-

,,,,,15: ■ »[•.

.^^^

^ '^^tU'

rr,,,r^^--

-xr^a

«« vs

*^(^S^'-

_<r

"*l^fe

i>i£;

'X

rMll-^

_<a2-«

\

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

OF THE

MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY

445^3

Bequest or
SAMUEL GARiL\N

DEC 27 1327

NORTH AMERICAN

HERPETOLOGY;

OR,

A DESCRIPTION

OF THE

REPTILES INHABITING THE UNITED STATES.

BY JOHN EDWARDS HOLBROOK, M. D.

PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY IN THE MEDICAI. COLLEGE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; MEMHER OF THE ROYAL

MEDICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBUItlJlI ; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL

SOCIETY; OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPIHA ; OF THE

NEW YORK LYCEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND OF THE BOSTON

SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY'.

Vol. V.

PHILJiBELPHM :

J. DOBSON, 106 CHESTNUT STREET.

LONDON: ROBERT BALDWIN, PATERNOSTER ROW. -PARIS: HECTOR BOSSANGE,

NO. 11 QUAI VOLTMRE.— HAMBURG: PERTHES, BESSER & MAUKE.

1842.
C

■H.

oiM ^h^iz^^6

E. G. DORSEV, PRINTER,
LIBRARY STREET.

CONTENTS.

PAGE.

1. Bufo Icntiginosus, ...----7

2. erythronohis, - - - - - - 11

3. qtiercicus, - - - - - - -13

4. Americanus, - - - - - - - 17

5. cognatus, - - - - - - -21

6. Engystoma Carolinense, ------ 23

7. Salamandra gutlo-lineata, - - - - - - 29

33

35

39
43

47

49

51

53

55

8.

salmonea,

9.

rubra,

10.

glutinosa,

11.

erythronota.

12.

auriciilata,

13.

quadrimaculata,

14.

Jcffcrsoniana, -

15.

cirrigera, -

16.

bUmeaia,

iv

CONTENTS

17.

Salamandra symmetrica,

-

18.

Haldemani,

-

19.

longicauda,

-

20.

granulata,

-

21.

cjuadridigitata,

-

22.

venenosa,

-

23.

fasciata, -

-

24.

talpoidea,

-

25.

Triton dorsalis.

-

26.

tigrinus,

-

27.

niger, -

-

28.

porphyriticus,

-

29.

ingens,

-

30.

Amphiuma means, -

-

31.

triductyhim.

-

32.

Menopoma Alleglianiensis,

-

33.

fusca.

-

34.

Siren lacertina.

-

35.

iiitermedia,

-

36.

striata.

-

37.

Menohranchus macidatus,

-

38.

lateralis.

_

57

59

61

63

65

67

71

73

77

79

81

83

85

89

93

95

99

101

107

109

111

115

PREFACE.

Besides the gentlemen already named as having aided in the preceding volumes,
I must now acknowledge my obligations to those who have assisted me in this,
the fifth and last vokune of the external forms, colour, habits, &c. &c. of our

Reptiles.

To Dr. G. Mauran of Providence, Rhode Island, I am indebted for many
Salamanders, and especially for a beautiful Salamandra longicauda.

To Dr. Storer of Boston, for the description of the Salamandra salmonea, a
new species, discovered by Dr. Bi.nney among the Green Mountains.

To S. S. Haldeman, Esq., of Pennsylvania, well known by his writings on
Conchology, I owe many thanks for "observations" on the habits of the different
kinds of Reptiles, as Tortoises, Lizards, Serpents, &c., and especially for several
Salamanders, some of which are hitherto undescribed.

To Professor Benedict of Burlington, for some excellent remarks on the
Menobranchus maculatus.

vi PREFACE.

To the Right Reverend J, H. Hopkins, Bishop of Vermont, I am obliged for a
drawing of the Menobranchus maculatus, one of the most spirited and beautiful
in the whole work.

To Dr. Harden of Riceborough, Georgia, I am indebted more than to any
other person for a knowledge of our southern batrachian animals, as Hyte,
Sirens, Salamanders, Tritons, &c.

Dr. DeKay, State Zoologist of New York, one of the most accurate naturalists
of our country, has rendered me great service by his observations on northern
Salamanders, and has furnished me with many drawings, and with the description
of a new species (Salamandra gi*anulata).

To Mr. J. H. Richard, who succeeded Mr. Sera as draughtsman, and who
has the general superintendence of the plates, I am greatly indebted for many
beautiful drawings done from life.

JOHN EDWARDS HOLBROOK.
Medical College, Charleston, South Carolina, 1S42.

NORTH AMERICAN

HERPETOLOGY

Family III. BUFONOIDEA.

CHARACTERS.

1. The head varies greatly in size and form; it may be pointed or truncated,

smooth, or elevated in crests.

2. The upper jaw and palate, with one or two exceptions only, are entirely

destitute of teeth.

3. The tongue is long, without a notch at its posterior extremity.

4. The extremities vary in size, but there are always four fingers, free, and five

toes, palmated or not.

5. Most animals of this family have on their plantar surface a tubercle, sometimes

greatly developed, which, from its position, resembles a sixth toe.

Remarks. The animals of this family seldom leave their retreats until the grey
Vol. v.— 2

■^

6 BUFONIDEA.

of evening, and are truly nocturnal in their mode of life. This family has been
arranged in several genera, characterized by the form and structure of the tongue;
the number of toes, palmated or not; tympanum visible or not; tubercle at heel,
&c. &c. Two of these genera have only yet been observed in the United States
— Bufo and Engystoma.

Bufo iBntiginosim.

( ^/t s/a/^f /// .S ( 'ir/ntH sAw

r S M'/j/t/. /-//A /'Ad"

^

B U F O . — Laurenti.

Genus Bufo. — Characters. Head large; mouth extensive; tongue elongated,
elliptical, entire, generally a little larger behind, free posteriorly; jaws and palate
without teeth; eyes large, pupil elliptical longitudinally, dilatable; tympanum more
or less distinct; parotid glands more or less developed; males mostly with a sub-
gular vocal vesicle; four fingers, sub-round, free; five toes of same form, more or
less palmate, the last shorter than the penultimate; metatarsal region with two
tubercles below, the one at the root of great toe largest,

BUFO LENTIGINOSUS.— SAaMJ.

Plate I.

Characters. Head large; snout obtuse; superciliary ridges greatly elevated
and terminating posteriorly in a knob; upper jaw emarginate, lower furnished
with a hook in front; parotid glands large, reniform, and reaching from below the
tympanum to near the shoulder; tympanum large; vocal vesicle internal; body
above warty, dusky brown, with a tinge of yellow; beneath granulated, dirty
yellowish-white. Length 3 inches.

SrNONTMES. Land-frog, Catesby, Carolina, &c., vol. ii. tab. 09.
Land-frog, Bartram, Travels in Carolina and Florida, &c., p. 279.
Rana lentiginosa, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. iii. part i. pi. 53, p. 173.
Bufo musicus, Daudin, Rainettes, p. 92, tab. 33, fig. 3; — Hist. Rept, torn. viii. p. 190.
Bufo musicus, Bosc, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., torn. vi. p. 490.

8 BUFO LENTIGINOSUS.

Bufo musicus, Merrem, Versuch eines Syst. der Amphib., p. ISl.
Bufo musicus, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 113.
Carolina Toad, Vulgo.

Description. The head is very large, dark-coloured, and without warts,
except a few small ones on the eyelids. The mouth is of great size, without
either maxillary or palatine teeth. The snout is obtuse, and from its tip runs an
elevated bony line, subdividing at the nostrils, and forming the superciliary ridges;
these increase in elevation as they reach the posterior part of the orbit, where
they terminate in a rounded knob or tubercle; their great height gives to the
upper surface of the head a canaliculated appearance; a second ridge descends
from each of these, and completes the posterior border of the orbit. The upper
jaw is yellowish-brown, and deeply emarginate in front; the lower is white, and
furnished at its anterior part with a distinct hook, which is received in the notch
of the upper jaw.

The nostrils are small and round, placed near the point of the snout. The
eyes are large, prominent, and very beautiful; the pupil is black, the iris reticu-
lated with gold and black, and has an inner margin of yellow. The tympanum is
large and dusky, with a minute spot of a lighter shade in the centre. The
parotid glands are large, reniform, and exude a pale milky fluid when pressed;
the orifices of the canals, out of which it flows, are evident.

The back and sides are dusky, and covered with warts of different sizes; a pale
vertebral line extends from the head to the vent, on each side of which are found
the largest warts; an irregular row of spots of yellowish-white exists on the flank,
having somewhat the appearance of an indistinct band, extending from the inferior
and posterior part of the parotid gland to within a short distance of the thighs.
The whole inferior surface of the animal is dirty-white, with a strong tinge of
yellow.

The anterior extremities are short; the upper surface is dusky, with blotches

BUFO LENTIGINOSUS. 9

and bars of dark brown; the lower surface dirty-white, tinged with yellow. The
fingers are four in number, slightly depressed, and not palmated. On the outer
margin of the carpus, and opposite the thumb, is a large warty tubercle. The
posterior extremities are short, dusky brown above, marked with blotches and
transverse bars of darker brown, and dingy-white beneath. The toes are five in
number, and semi-palmated; the fourth a good deal longer than the others; the
metatarsus is furnished with two tubercles or knobs, the outer of which is carti-
laginous, and so long as to resemble a sixth toe.

Dimensions. Length of body, 2 inches 7 lines; of the thigh, 1 inch; of leg,
rather less than an inch; of tarsus and toes, 1 inch 2 lines.

Geographical Distribution. This toad is found in the Carolinas, Georgia,
the Floridas, and Alabama, and without doubt all along the northern shores of the
Gulf of Mexico. North Carolina or southern Virginia must for the present be
considered as its northern limit.

Habits. This animal is timid and remarkably gentle in its habits, remaining
concealed during the day in some dark place, and only venturing out as the dusk
of evening approaches. It feeds on various insects, which it seizes only while
alive and in motion. Catesby says it lives on ants and fire-flies, and will mistake
a piece of burning charcoal for an insect of the latter description. The male
seeks the female in the month of May, when hundreds of them may be seen
together in some stagnant pool, in which they deposit their spawn, and then
return again to the land. The males at this season are extremely noisy, though
at other times they are silent, or make only a slight chirp when taken. Like
many of the Hyla tribe, they have a large sac under the throat, which is
distended when the animal croaks.

I have seen an individual kept for a long space of time, which became perfectly
tame: during the summer months he would retire to a corner of the room, into a
habitation he had prepared for himself, in a small quantity of earth, placed there

10 BUFO LENTIGINOSUS.

for his convenience. Towards evening he would wander about tlie room in
search of food, seizing greedily whatever insect came in his way. Some water
having been squeezed from a sponge upon his head one hot day in July, he
returned the next to the same spot, and seemed very well pleased with the
repetition; nor did he fail dui'ing the extreme heat of the summer to repair to it
frequently, in search of his shower-bath.

General Remarks. Catesby first described and gave a figure of this animal
under the name of Land-frog; and although his figure is badly executed, both as
to drawing and colouring, (the elevation of the superciliary ridges not being
marked, and the eyes represented as red,) it has been I'epeatedly copied by later
naturalists, as Foster, Shaw, &c. The name, however, Rana (Bufo) terrestris,
cannot be retained, as it is previously applied to another animal.

Bosc, who, from a long residence in Carolina, had a good opportunity of
examining this animal, refers it to the Rana musica of Linnaeus, in which he is
followed by Daudin, Merrem, and most naturalists. This cannot be correct,
tor there arc no toads, as far as has been hitherto ascertained, common to North
and South America; and Linnaeus, in the twelfth edition of the Systema Naturae,
gives Surinam as the country of his Rana musica. Neither the specific name
terrestris, nor musicus, can then be applied to this animal, but we must give it the
one next in order under which it is found described — Rana (Bufo) lentiginosa of
Shaw.

Hni'o errtbroiiohJM.

7'.-yr/f7, /jfnx

s\.

p. .r. Duva/., r.iU,, fhil'

11

BUFO ERYTHRONOTUS.— i7o/6roo>[".

Plate II.

Characters. Head short, rather pointed; upper jaw entire; body short and
thick, brick-dust colour above, dirty yellowish-white and granulated beneath.
Length, 20 lines.

Description. The head is short, brownish-red above, with the superciliary
ridges but slightly elevated, and the snout rather pointed. The upper jaw is
entire, or without a notch, and brown, with a few reddish-white spots; the lower
jaw is white. The nostrils are small and near the snout, with a very slight ridge
extending to the front of the orbit. The eyes are very large and prominent, with
a black pupil and bright golden iris, through which passes a black band. The
tympanum is small, brown below and red above. The parotid glands are kidney-
shaped, and secrete a greyish-white fluid. The body is short, thick, and rounded,
warty or granulated above, of Spanish-brown colour, with a light vertebral line.
The throat and chest are silver-white, with small dusky spots; the abdomen
yellowish-white, and minutely granulated.

The anterior extremities are small, pepper-and-salt grey above, with alternate
transverse bars of brick-dust colour and black; there are four fingers, distinct,
and nearly of equal length, with a very large wart or knob at the carpus, and a
smaller one beside it. The posterior extremities are short, and coloured like the
anterior; there are five toes, semi-palmate, the fourth longest; there are also two
prominences, or warts, at the tarsus.

12 BUFO ERYTHRONOTUS.

Dimensions. Length of body from snout to vent, 20 lines; of thigh, 6 hnes;
of leg, 6 lines; of tarsus and toes, 6 lines.

Habits, This animal is found in the deep forests of oak in the neighbourhood
of Charleston, and is apparently rare, as in nine years I have not seen more than
a dozen specimens, consequently nothing can be said of its habits.

Geographical Distribution. As yet this animal has only been observed in
South Carolina.

General Remarks. There is no doubt that this animal is an adult, though I
was at first disposed to consider it the young of the large toad of similar colour
mentioned by Bartram in his Travels in Florida, which as yet I have never
seen. Subsequent observation has, however, convinced me to the contrary; for
Bartram's animal weighed nearly a pound, while no specimen of the Bufo
erythronotus exceeded twenty lines in length; nor can it be the young of the
Bufo lentiginosus, as the superciliary ridges are not elevated, and the slight
elevation that does exist is between the nostrils and orbit; or the young of the
Bufo Americanus, which is sometimes red, for this latter animal does not inhabit
the low country of South Carolina, nor has it the spade-like process at the foot,
as in that animal; nor, in fact, is it the young of any animal, as might be inferred
from its size, for I have seen the male and female together, and have seen their
spawn.

Inno cjuercjciiH.

*./uv/ff:f.t)i/?r'

r .? J>ar»l,Z!ih TTn/f

13

BUFO QVERCICVS.—Holbrook.

Plate III.

Characters. Head short; snout pointed; superciliary arches slightly elevated;
body short, very flat, rounded at the flanks, above dusky, with a yellowish
vertebral line, on each side of which are black blotches; abdomen silver-grey;
throat dusky; groins tinged with yellow.

Description. The head is short, with the snout rather pointed, and the
nostrils near its extremity; from each nostril extends a slightly elevated ridge,
increasing in height to the occiput, where it terminates in a small knob. The
eyes are prominent and beautiful, with a black pupil and grey iris, having an
inner circle of bright golden; the tympanum is evident but small; the parotid
glands are oblong and large, though but slightly elevated.

The body is short and greatly depressed, almost flat; while the flanks are so
rounded and projecting as to give the animal an orbicular appearance. The
abdomen is flat and completely granulated.

The anterior extremities are small, short, and terminate in four fingers, with a
small wart at the carpus; the posterior extremities are also short, small, and
delicate, with five slightly webbed toes, and two small warts at the metatarsus.

Colour. The head above is dusky, with a yellowish central longitudinal line;
the superciliary ridges are grey, with a white mark in the centre; on each side
of this longitudinal line is an oblong black spot, extending from it to include most
Vol. v.— 3

14 BUFO aUERCICUS.

of the posterior part of the orbit of the eye; a small part only of the orbit in
front of this is light coloured; the upper jaw is light brown.

The back of the animal is dusky-brown, with a vertebral line of pale yellow,
marked with a few scattered small warts of reddish-brown colour; on each side of
this line are irregular black blotches, with here and there a slight tinge of reddish-
brown; the back is covered with innumerable warts and granulations, of variable
size and colour, generally black, but the smaller ones of dusky-red; on each flank,
and extending from the axilla downwards towards the posterior extremity, is an
oblong black blotch, bounded with white both above and below.

The throat is dusky; the abdomen silver-grey, yellowish at the groins, and with
a pale tinge of yellow around the vent. The anterior extremities, as well as the
posterior, are dusky-brown above, marked with black transverse bars or spots;
their inferior surface is coloured like the abdomen, except the fingers and toes,
which are reddish-brown.

Dimensions. Length of the animal from the snout to vent, | of an inch; length
of thigh, 5 lines; length of leg, 5 lines; length of tarsus and toes, 65 lines.

Habits. This beautiful little species of toad is mostly found about sandy
places that are covered with a small species of oak, which springs up so
abundantly where pine forests have been destroyed; whence it is commonly
enough called the Oak Frog, which specific name I have preferred. It spends
most of its time in concealment under fallen leaves, or partially buried in the
sand, from which it is washed out by heavy rains. In the breeding season they
seek out stagnant pools, where they deposit their spawn, during which time the
male makes a slight chirp, not unlike some kinds of insects.

Geographical Distribution. As yet the range of this animal seems very
limited: I have only found it near Charleston in South Carolina, and at Smithville

BUFO aUERCICUS. 15

in North Carolina; further observation will doubtless prove its existence in other
states.

General Remarks, That this little animal is not the young of any other
species I am certain, for

1. It cannot be the young of the Bufo lentiginosus, for the superciliary ridges
are not elevated in proportion, the upper jaw is not emarginate, and with the
young of that species I am well acquainted.

2. It cannot be the young of the Bufo Americanus, as that animal is not found
near Charleston, and besides, it wants the characteristic spade-like process to the
foot.

3. It cannot be the young of the Bufo erithronotus, for its whole form is
different. It is not half the size, nor are its toes half as extensively webbed; it
is, in fact, a distinct and adult animal, for I have seen male and female together,
and have seen the female deposit her spawn, even when confined in a glass vessel.

> lllllo AniriK

•I'ICilllllS,

/y//.Vw//V// ,V I '/r/fti/r.v/./

I .v /h/rrt/, /.//// / //I/"

17

BUFO AMERICANUS.— Lecow/e.

Plate IV.

Characters. Head short; snout rounded; nostrils placed near the snout;
tympanum moderate and very distinct; parotid gland narrow, elongated, elliptical;
body short, bloated; anterior extremities large, fingers free; posterior extremities
short, toes semi-palmated; a spade-like process at the root of the first toe.

Synonymes. Bufo Americanus, Leconte.

Bufo musicus, Harlan, Journ. Acad. Nat. Scien., vol. v. p. 344.
Common Toad, Vulgo.

Description. The head is short, with the snout almost rounded; the mouth is
much smaller than in the Bufo lentiginosus, and the jaws are entire. The
nostrils are small, and placed near the snout. The eyes are large and brilliant;
the pupil dark, with the iris presenting a minutely reticulated appearance of black
and gold. The superciliary ridges are but slightly elevated, and do not terminate
in a knob posteriorly; the membrane of the tympanum is moderate and very
apparent; the parotid glands are narrow, elliptical, and very long.

The body is short, thick, and bloated, and has its superior surface covered
with warts of different sizes. A longitudinal line of dirty-white runs from the
occiput to the vent; on each side of this are several conspicuous, well-defined
spots, varying in colour, size, and shape: we sometimes find them systematically
arranged in rows. Along the flanks is a broad but indistinct band, extending to
the posterior extremities; this band is so broken as to give the appearance of a

13 BUFO AMERICANUS.

row of black and white spots. The abdomen is granulated, and of a dirty
yellowish-white.

The anterior extremities are short; their upper surface dusky, with minute
spots of white; the lower is of the same colour as the abdomen; the fingers are
distinct, and not palmated. The posterior extremities are short, their superior
surface ash-colour, with blotches and transverse bands of black, extending to the
tarsus; the leg is shorter than the thigh; the toes are semi-palmated, and five
in number; a large spade-like process occupies the place of a sixth, on the
metatarsus, as in Scaphiopus.

Dimensions. Length from snout to vent, 2? inches; of thigh, 1 inch; of leg,
less than an inch; of tarsus and toes, 1 inch 6 lines.

Geographical Distribution, This is the most widely diffused of all the
American toads. I have observed it from the mountains of Maine through all
the Atlantic states. It is, however, remarkable that this animal leaves the sea
shore in the south; for I have never met with it in the low country of South
Carolina, although common in the upper districts of the state. Leconte has
traced it along the western side of the Alleghanies, and in the valley of the
Mississippi.

Habits. This animal is very mild and tmiid, living under stones or dead or
decaying trees, or in holes in the earth, and frequently making its way into
cellars, and dark and lonely corners: as evening approaches, it issues from its
place of concealment in search of insects, and at these times frequently falls a
prey to snakes and owls. It may be brought to a partial state of domestication,
and will swallow flies from the hand.

Early in the spring these animals resort to shallow pools in great numbers, for
the purpose of depositing their spawn, and at these times their music is very

BUFO AMERICANUS. 19

familiar to all, consisting of a prolonged trill, continued by different individuals,
both day and night, and not unpleasant when at a sufficient distance.

The toad is looked upon with aversion by the greater part of mankind; its
swollen body, its warty and tuberculous skin, with the large parotid glands, give
it such a repulsive appearance, that it seems hard to believe an innocuous
disposition can belong to a shape and colour so offensive to the eye; hence the
vulgar have always considered it venomous: it is nevertheless perfectly harmless,
destroying only the insects that nature has appoitioned for its food. To an
unhandsome exterior, however, it often owes its safety, being very abundant and
entirely helpless.

It has been commonly supposed that the humour exuding from the skin and
glands is poisonous, yet no experiments have proved it so, and certainly no injury
has ever arisen from handling or examining the animal. Experiments have been
made in Europe with the secretions of the common toad of that continent, and
apparently with different results; for naturalists are still at variance — Laurenti*
considered the exudation innocuous, while Okent believes it poisonous, and his
opinion is supported by some interesting experiments of Davy,J which prove that
"the skin of the European toad is possessed of minute follicles, secreting a thick
yellow fluid, of a poisonous nature."

General Remarks. Leconte was the first to separate this toad from the
southern animal, with which it had been previously confounded.

Schlegel considers the Bufo Americanus as identical with the common toad of
Europe, from which however it differs specifically^

1. The head is smaller in proportion.

* Laurenti, Synop. Rep. p. 195. f Oken, Zool., B. II., § 19S.

I Dr. Davy, Phil. Trans, for 1826, Part II., p. 127.

20 BUFO AMERICANUS.

2. The body is less full and bloated.

3. Its motion and gait are much more lively and active.

4. It differs entirely in having a spade-like process at the root of the first
toe, which in a measure approximates it to the Scaphiopus.

Leconte first proposed calling this animal Bufo Americanus; and although he
has never published a description, still it is due to him to I'etain the name, which
seems to me sufficiently appropriate; for although there are many toads in the
United States, there are none so common, so widely extended, and so much like
the Bufo communis of the old world. Indeed, we regard it as the representative
of that animal in North America, and have taken it as the type of our genus
Bufo.

.' Ult..'„',;/,,V,.'

I'l 1 1 To coyiiiiliiB
5,

/'.V ////»-«/ /.i/h /■////"

21

BUFO COGNATUS.— Say.

Piatt V.

Characters. Head large, canaliculated posteriorly, smooth anteriorly; body
above dusky, verrucose, and marked with vertebral and oblique lateral lines of
yellowish-brown; abdomen dirty white and granulated; feet armed with a spade-
like process near the root of the first toe.

Synontmes. Bufo cognatus, Say, in Long's Exped. to Rock. Mount, vol. ii. p. 190.
Bufo cognatus, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 109.

Description. The head is large, rounded at the snout, and canaliculated or
marked with a deep groove above. This groove begins at the posterior part of
the head, m here it is deep, but it hardly reaches the anterior canthus of the eye,
when it disappears, and the remaining portion of the head is smooth.

The nostrils are rather near the snout. The eyes are large and prominent,
with the pupil dusky and the iris grey, reticulated with bright yellow.

The mouth is very large, with the jaws entire. The tympanum is distinct, but
of moderate size. The parotid glands are large, and of oblong form.

The body is thick, rounded, dusky-brown above, and is covered with small
black warts, which are most numerous and prominent near the sides. A yellow-
ish-brown vertebral line extends from the head to the rump, from which proceed
oblique lateral lines of the same colour. The first oblique lateral line begins at
Vol. V.

22 BUFO COGNATUS.

the head and runs to the side, behind the shoulder; the second begins near the
middle of the back by two branches which soon unite and run to the groin; a
third line begins still further back and extends to the hips.

The abdomen is duigy yellowish-white, and is thickly granulated.

The anterior extremities are dusky-brown above, and dingy-white below, with
four fingers, free in their whole extent. The posterior extremities are well
developed, coloured like the back above, with bars of yellowish-broAvn, and are
dingy-white below. There are five toes, semi-palmated, with a spade-like process
at the metatarsus, near the root of the first toe.

Dimensions. Length, SJ inches.

Habits. The Bufo cognatus "resides in prairies destitute of timber, where
they are much exposed to the direct rays of the sun."

Geographical Distribution. This toad has as yet only been found towards
the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

General Remarks. Mr. Say was the first naturalist that observed this reptile,
which he described under the specific name cognatus. I have never seen the
living animal, and cannot, therefore, answer for the correctness of the colours of
the accompanying plate. The specimen that I saw seemed closely allied to the
Bufo Americanus, yet it is a larger animal, with the head shorter and broader,
and the body differently marked; and Say observes that its habits are different, as
it does not dislike the sun's rays.

I''.ni;\ .sh)iii;i I '.iiiili

/'.)■ IJiiru/, I,,/// /■//,.

23

E N G Y S T O M K.—Fitzinger.

Genus Engystoma. — Characters. Head small, pointed; mouth minute; tongue
elongated, elliptical, movable only at its posterior extremity; tympanum concealed;
jaws and palate without teeth; males with a sub-gular vocal vesicle; body oval,
covered with a smooth skin; no parotid glands; anterior extremities with four
fingers, free; posterior short, with five toes, not palmated.

ENGYSTOMA CAROLINENSE.— Ho/6?oo£

Plate ri.

Characters. Head small, short, pointed; body short, thick, nearly oval,
covered with a delicate skin; chestnut above, and thickly mottled with blackish
specks beneath.

Synonyme. Engystoma Carolinense, Dumeril et Bibron, Hist. Nat. des Rept, torn. viii.
p. 743.

Description. The general form of this animal approaches the oval; the skin
is smooth; the head remarkably small and short, though large for the genus; its
extent is marked by a delicate fold of the integuments behind the orbits; its
shape is triangular, the snout being very pointed; the upper jaw is dark brown,
the lower dark grey; the mouth is inferior and minute.

The nostrils are very small, lateral, and placed near the snout. The eyes are

24 ENGYSTOMA CAROLINENSE.

exceedingly minute, and but slightly prominent; the pupil is black, the iris very
dark grey.

The body is round, somewhat flattened in the living animal, and smooth; dark
brown along the vertebral line, and chestnut on either side of it; the sides of the
head and neck below the orbits, and the flanks, are greyish; the throat and
abdomen lighter, all thickly sprinkled with blackish specks.

The anterior extremities are chestnut-brown above and yellowish-brown
beneath; the fingers are five in number, short, and distinct. The posterior
extremities are short and thick, chestnut-brown above, with a few dark spots;
the toes are five in number, short, and not palmated.

Dimensions. Length of body, 1 inch; of thighs, f of an inch; of leg, | of an
inch; of tarsus and toes, | of an inch.

Geographical Distribution. Hitherto this animal has never been found north
of Charleston; its range extending westward to the Lower Mississippi, where it
has been observed by Lesueur.

Habits. The Engystoma Carolinense passes most of its days in concealment,
near old fences, or under the bark of fallen and decaying trees, emerging only
towards evening and after heavy rains. They are frequently seen with myriads
of the young of the Bufo lentiginosus, apparently washed from their places of
concealment by summer showers, which has led many to suppose that they
descended with the rain. It makes a feeble chirp at night, and at times when
captured; and being but a clumsy swimmer, if thrown into water it repeats this
chirp frequently in its endeavours to escape.

General Remarks. This is the only species hitherto observed in the United
States, and must not be confounded with those of South America. The Engystoma
ovale is nearly twice the size of our animal, is uniformly dusky on the back, and

ENGYSTOMA CAROLINENSE. 25

has a white hne along the posterior surface of the thigh, and a white spot at the
axilla. Besides this our species differs in the comparatively greater size of the
head and mouth, as well as in the markings.

It is possible that Bosc* referred to this animal when he says he observed in
Carolina a "crapaud bossu, ou une grenouille" living under the bark of dead
trees, though he describes its skin as so excessively delicate as to prevent his
preserving it alive even for a short time, in order to make a drawing of it. Now,
though the skin of our animal is smooth and delicate, I have kept them alive for
several months, and even sent them from Charleston to Philadelphia, where they
not only arrived in safety, but lived a considerable time after.

Dumeril and Bibi'on describe an Engystoraa rugosat as inhabiting the United
States, and suppose that I have confounded it with the Engystoma Carolinense.
Now I never saw their Engystoma rugosa, and if I had, should never have mis-
taken it for the Engystoma Carolinense, which has a smooth skin. The only
ecaudate batrachian animal, with which I am acquainted, resembling an
Engystoma in form and size, is the Bufo quercicus; but this is a true toad, with
parotid glands, warty skin, &c.; whereas all the genus Engystoma, as I receive
it, have smooth skins and no parotid glands.

Their Engystoma rugosa is probably a Mexican animal, as they say it came
from "des parties meridionales de I'Amerique du Nord."

* Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., torn. vi. p. 489. t Hist. Nat. des Rept, torn. viii. p. 744.

27

Family II. CAUDATA.

CHARACTERS.

1 . The presence of a tail, at all periods of their existence, readily distinguishes

the animals of this family from those of the last, though it varies in length
and in form.

2. The body is elongated, round, and covered with a skin adherent to the

muscles beneath.

3. The extremities vary in number; there may be four, (Salamandra,) or two,

(Siren.)

4. The tongue varies in shape, size, and mode of attachment.

5. The tympanum is not visible.

Remarks. Fitzinger makes a very natural subdivision of this family into two
tribes.

Mutahilia, or such as undergo a metamorphosis, as Salamanders; and

ImmiitahUia, or such as are hatched with the forms they are permanently to
retain, like the Siren.

28

Tribe I. MUTABILIA.

CHARACTERS.

The animals of this tribe undergo a complete metamorphosis; the young
breathe only in water, and with gills, like fish; but in their adult state, respiration
is performed with lungs.

The tribe Mutabilia includes two genera, Salamandra and Triton, distinguished
by their mode of existence, whether terrestrial or aquatic, and each with its
pecuhar and appropriate organization.

'S ■

,/ <Jtieen dti

.S.ilariiiLrulr;j gulhj =liitefil;

t'.9 Oiwai It^ t'hdti'H '

29

SALAMANDRA .—Laurenti.

Genus Salamandra. — Characters. Maxillary and palatine bones armed with
minute teeth; tongue more or less pediculated, and free; body elongated, round,
without a sternum; ribs in a rudimental state; pelvis suspended by ligaments;
tail of variable form, most commonly round; extremities four; fingers four; toes
five.

Remarks. The animals of this genus live entirely on land in their adult state,
or are only found in water during their breeding season, when they approach it
to deposit their spawn.

Salamanders may be arranged in two sections, according to the disposition of
their teeth.

I. Salamanders with palatine teeth in transverse and longitudinal series.

SALAMANDRA GUTTO-LINEATA.— i2o/6rooyt.

Piute VII.

Characters. Head short and thick; snout obtuse; body pale straw-colour
above, with a vertebral line of black, bifurcating behind the occiput; a lateral
black band, in which is a row of white spots, and beneath this a white line. Tail
nearly twice as long as the head, neck, and body.
Vol. v.— 5

30 SALAMANDRA GUTTO-LINEATA.

Description. The head is short and thick, with the snout rounded. The
mouth is rather large; the tongue is round or mushroom shaped, attached by a
small pedicle in the centre, and is very movable. The palate is armed with
numerous and minute teeth; a transverse series begins on each at the internal
and posterior margin of the posterior nares; run inward and backward and
unite in the middle of the palate; behind these teeth, and after a smooth space of
a Hne, begins a broad longitudinal group that occupies the centre of the palate,
increasing in breadth posteriorly.

The nostrils are antero-superior near the snout, and open upwards. The eyes
are large and prominent, with a black pupil and a flame-coloured iris. The neck
is but slightly contracted, and has a distinct transverse fold at the throat.

The body is elongated and cylindrical. The anterior extremities are small,
and terminate in four fingers; the posterior are larger and stronger, and end in
five toes. The tail is round, and very long.

Colour. The head is yellow above, mottled with black; the upper jaw yel-
lowish, the lower whitish. The neck, body, and tail above are straw-colour;
behind each orbit begins an indistinct line of black, which unite half an inch back
of the occiput, and form a large vertebral line, which is extended to one inch
beyond the posterior extremities; from the snout runs a black band through the
lower part of the iris, along the flank, to near the end of the tail; beneath this is
a white line, extending from the angle of the mouth along the flanks above the
anterior and posterior extremities to about midway of the tail. The whole
inferior surface of the neck, abdomen and tail, below the lateral white line, is
dark grey. The superior surface of the anterior and posterior extremities is
yellow; both the arms and the thighs have a black line on their posterior faces;
the latter a white line, continuous with the white lateral one already described.

Dimensions. Length of head, 7 lines; length of body to vent, 2 inches; length
of tail, 4 inches 4 lines: total length, 6 inches 11| lines.

SALAMANDRA GUTTO-LINEATA. 31

Habits. The Salamandra gutto-lineata is a land animal, and only seeks the
water, as do others of the genus, at certain seasons of the year. They are most
commonly found in damp, moist places, as under fallen trees, or near springs of
water.

Geographical Distribution. This animal has only yet been observed in
Carolina, where I have seen them in the middle country; and Dr. Wurdeman has
furnished me with specimens from Greenville, near the mountains, where he says
they abound.

General Remarks. The Salamandra gutto-lineata bears some resemblance to
the Salamandra cirrigera of Green, though it is three times the size; and indeed
one of the four specimens that have fallen under my observation had two small
cirri to the upper jaw. These cirri, however, should not be looked upon as of
any great consequence in determining the species, for some have them, others
not; and the same I know to be true of the Salamandra cirrigera. They should
rather be regarded as certain developments that take place during the generative
season of the animal, and disappear when that is passed. The Salamandra
cirrigera differs furthermore from the Salamandra gutto-lineata in having a black
lateral line only; the white spots, the white lateral and black vertebral lines that
characterize the latter, arc wanting in the cirrigera.

Sala2n.aiidr<i HaliuonPci

TW.aill pirii'

8,

J^.SJiaya/,j:it/, ^/»//?

33

SALAMANDRA SALMONEA.— Scorer.

Plate VIII.

Characters. Head large, flat; snout obtuse, truncated, with a salmon-coloured
line on each side to the orbits; body and tail yellowish-brown above; salmon-
colour, with a tinge of yellow, at the sides.

Synonyme. Salamandra salmonea, Storer, MSS.

Description. The head is large and flattened above, with a broad and almost
square snout. The mouth is rather large; the tongue is small, sub-round, and
attached by a slender and rather short pedicle. The palatine teeth begin on each
side at the outer and posterior margin of the posterior nares, which are very
large; thence they run inwards and forwards to a line with their anterior border,
and then suddenly turn back and run parallel to each other throughout the whole
length of the palate. These teeth are all exceedingly minute and much arched
backwards.

The nostrils are near its extremity, far apart, and antero-superior. The eyes
are very prominent and large, the pupil deep black, the iris shining copper-colour.
The skin of the chin and neck is smooth, with a transverse fold.

The body is cylindrical and much elongated. The tail is longer than the body,
thick and rounded at the root, compressed laterally, and pointed at the tip.

The anterior extremities are short and small, with four fingers, distinct, the

34 SALAMANDRA SALMONEA.

second and third longest. The posterior extremities are twice the size of the
anterior, and terminate in five toes, distinct, the third and fourth longest.

Colour. The head is yellowish-brown above, and salmon-colour at the sides,
with a very bright salmon-coloured line extending from the nostril to the superior
part of the orbit of the eye. The upper jaw is pale salmon-colour, with a few
brown spots; the lower is nearly white, or palest flesh-colour. The chin and
throat are white. The upper surface of the body and tail is yellowish-brown,
with greyish marks; the flanks and sides of the tail are salmon-colour, with a
tinge of yellow; the thorax and abdomen are white; the under surface of the tail
is pale salmon-colour. The anterior extremities are yellowish-brown above and
clear white below; the posterior are of similar colour, both above and below.

Dimensions. Length of head, 7 lines; length of body to vent, 2^ inches; tail
beyond the vent, 2j inches: total, 6j inches.

Habits. But little is known of the habits of the Salamandra salmonea; it was
first observed on land, in a moist situation, among the mountains of Vermont, by
Dr. Binney, who kept it alive for nearly a year, feeding it on flies, which it
devoured very greedily.

Geographical Distribution. This Salamander seems peculiar to the moun-
tainous parts of our country. Dr. Binney found it in Vermont; Dr. Dekay
observed it in Essex county. New York; and M. Cabanis, a Prussian naturalist,
procured me several specimens among the mountains of South Carolina.

General Remarks. To my friend Dr. Storer, of Boston, I am indebted for
the description of the Salamandra salmonea.

KalamFiruli'si iuln';i

On iifx)ru- //yj' ^tjff/t -

l-^OumJJ.a/i /■//!/"

35

SALAMANDRA RVBRA.—Daudin.

Plate LY.

Characters. Head short; snout rounded; eyes prominent; body above red,
with numerous small black points; flanks red, immaculate; abdomen orange-red,
immaculate.

SrNONTMEs. Salamandra rubra, Daudin, Hist. Nat. des Rept., torn. viii. p. 227, pi. xcii.
fig. 2.
Salamandra rubra, Latreille, Hist. Nat. Rept, torn. iv. p. 305.
Salamandra rubriventris. Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 353.
Salamandra rubriventris, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 97.
Salamandra maculata. Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 350.
Salamandra maculata, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 96.
Salamandra sub-fusca. Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 351.
Salamandra fusca, Greeii, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien., vol. i. p. 357.
Salamandra fusca, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 96.

Description. The head is rather large, with the snout rounded; the mouth is
small; the tongue round, attached by a short pedicle, but is very movable. The
palate is armed with a series of minute teeth that begin on each side behind, and
without the posterior nares, which are very small; these run first inwardly, but do
not meet in the middle of the palate, as they suddenly turn backwards in a
longitudinal direction, the two series separating from each other more and more
posteriorly.

The nostrils are antero-superior and near the snout. The eyes are prominent,

36 SALAMANDRA RUBRA.

with the pupil black and the iris golden and large. The neck is not much con-
tracted, and has a marked cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is cylindrical and stout; the anterior extremities are small, and are
furnished with four fingers; the posterior are larger, and have five toes, slightly
palmated at their root. The tail is shorter than the body, thick at the root, but
soon becomes tapering, ends in a point, and is compressed laterally.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the animal is red, with a few scattered
black points about the head, and becoming very numerous along the back and
tail; the flanks are brighter red and immaculate; the whole inferior surface of
the animal is orange-red; the extremities are coloured hke the flanks above, and
like the abdomen below, but rather less bright.

Dimensions. Length of head, 6 lines; length of body, 2i inches; length of tail,
2 inches: total length, 4 inches 9 lines. I have observed individuals of still
greater dimensions.

Habits. The Salamandra rubra is a land animal, and is found under rocks,
fallen and decaying trees, &c., and preying on such small insects as inhabit the
same localities. Dr. Green has also frequently seen it in the water, whither it
doubtless repaired during the breeding season; and he observed that it was then
much more lively and active than when met with on land.

Geographical Distribution. This Salamander inhabits the Atlantic states
from Massachusetts to Florida, inclusive; but I have no knowledge of its
existence west of the Alleghany Mountains.

General Remarks. Palisot de Beauvais was the first naturalist who observed
this animal, which is certainly one of the most beautiful of our Salamanders; he
found it under logs and in shady places in Pennsylvania, during his residence
there.

SALAMANDRA RUBRA. 37

Daudin, however, gave the first description of it, and this he accompanied with
a tolerable figure; he is wrong, however, in supposing the abdomen to be marked
with a dusky line.

I refer, without much hesitation, the Salamandra sub-fusca and Salamandra
maculata of Green to the Salamandra rubra, although I have never had an
opportunity of examining those animals, yet Dr. Pickering informs me that they
are identical; and even Mr. Green was latterly in doubt whether they were
distinct species.

Vol. v.— 6

S.il;Miut itfllM U'l'i' iim.s.-r .

/.*.../.y^' /Vi,j

10.

39

SALAMANDRA GLUTINOSA.— Grmz.

Plate X.

Characters. Head large, semi-oval; tail round, nearly twice the length of
body. Colour above bluish-black, with minute white spots on the back and tail,
larger and frequently confluent white spots on the flanks.

Synonymes. Salamaiidra glutinosa, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scieii. Philad., vol. i. p. 337.
Salamandra variolata, Gilliams, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 460.
Salamandra cylindracea, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 94.

Description. The head is large and approaches a semi-oval form; the snout
is rather pointed than rounded. The mouth is rather large; the tongue is thin,
sub-cordiform, broadest behind, and attached by a pedicle, rather broad and short.
The palate is armed with minute teeth, which begin on a line with the posterior
and external face of the posterior nares on each side, and run at first transversely
or inwards, and then a little backwards, but they do not meet in the middle of the
palate; half a line behind these begins a group of numerous small teeth, which
extend throughout the whole length of the middle and posterior part of the palate,
increasing in breadth posteriorly.

The nostrils are lateral, and near the snout. The eyes are large and promi-
nent; the pupil black; the iris dusky. The neck is slightly contracted, with a
large cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is elongated and cylindrical. The tail is nearly twice the length of
the body, cylindrical, or almost imperceptibly compressed at its tip.

40 SALAMANDRA GLUTINOSA.

The anterior extremities sustain four fingers; the posterior are twice the size
of the anterior, and terminate in five toes, sUghtly united at their roots.

Colour. The ground colour of this animal is a beautiful bluish-black over the
whole superior surface; the back and tail is sparsely dotted with minute white
spots, more or less abundant; on the flanks and sides of the tail these spots are
much larger and frequently confluent: sometimes specimens occur where all these
spots are nearly wanting, and the animal then appears of a simple bluish-black
colour.

Dimensions. Length of head, 6 lines; length of body, 2 inches 3 lines; length
of tail, 3 inches 10 lines: total length, 6 inches 10 lines.

Habits. The Salamandra glutinosa lives most of its time concealed under
rocks, or under the bark of fallen and decaying trees, and is frequently so
numerous that many are found under the same tree. Fallen trees seem a
favourite residence of this species of animal, probably because the insects it preys
upon choose the same locality; it will, however, emerge from its place of con-
cealment after rains or in the dusk of evening in search of its prey.

Geographical Distribution. This I consider as the most common of the
North American Salamanders, and most widely diflused, abounding from latitude
43° to the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Pickering has seen it in Ipswich, Massachusetts,
and Dr. Storer in the neighbourhood of Boston; Professor Green in Pittsburg,
Pennsylvania; Say in Florida; and I have seen it in Virginia and in the Carolinas,
and have received it from Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana.

General Remarks. To Professor Green belongs the merit of having first
observed and accurately described this animal, under the name Salamandra
glutinosa; and nearly at the same time, and in the same work, Gilliams gave it a
new description and a new name, Salamandra variolata; long afterwards Dr.

SALAMANDRA GLUTINOSA. 41

Harlan adds a third specific name, cylindracea, for the same animal. I have
retained, however, that imposed by Professor Green, as it has the right of
priority, and is on the whole well enough, as the animal gives off a great quantity
of glutinous matter when taken in the hand.

Sal;i(u,ttiflr.-i cj-vthzaniitH .

r.^jfi/jp/

PS.Jyuyui.LUh rhii"^

43

SALAMANDRA ERYTHROxNOTA.— Green.

Plate XL

Characters. Head short, snout obtuse; body cylindrical, with a broad reddish-
brown vertebral band, from the snout to the end of the tail; flanks yellowish-
brown; abdomen white; tail shorter than the body, tapering and pointed.

Synontmes. Salamandra erythronota, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 356.
Salamandra cinerea, Green, loc. cit., vol. i. p. 356.
Salamandra erythronota, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 95.
Salamandra cinerea, Harlan, loc. cit., p. 95.

Description. The head is short, and the snout rather pointed. The mouth is
small; the tongue is sub-round, rather large, flat, thin, attached posteriorly, and
free only at its lateral margins; less so in front. A group of minute teeth begins
behind each of the posterior nares, and runs backwards and inwards until they
meet; thence they are continued along the middle of the palate to its posterior
part, the group being broadest behind.

The nostrils are lateral and near the snout. The eyes are small, but very
prominent; the pupil black, the iris copper-colour. The skin on the chin is
smooth, with a transverse cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is cylindrical and slender; the tail round at its root, and terminating
in a point. The anterior extremities are delicate, and terminate in four fingers,
the inner one very short; the posterior are much larger, and end in five toes,
distinct, the internal as well as the external very short.

44 SALAMANDRA ERYTHRONOTA.

Colour. The head above is reddish-brown, the upper and lower jaw tinged
with yellow. The back is marked with a broad vertebral band of reddish-brown,
which extends to near the tip of the tail; below this the flanks are yellowish-
brown, as well as the sides of the tail. The anterior and posterior extremities
are yellowish-brown above. The whole inferior surface of the animal, body, tail
and extremities, is dusky-white.

Dimensions. Length of head, 3^ lines; of body to vent, 1 inch 3 lines; of tail
beyond vent, 1 inch 2 lines: total length, 2 inches 8 lines.

Habits. This is entirely a land animal, and is found under rocks and stones.

Geographical Distribution. The Salaniandra erythronota is, perhaps, the
most common species in the northern states, from latitude 44° to 39°; it is
abundant in the neighbourhood of Boston and Philadelphia; and if it be identical
with the Salaniandra cinerea, of which I have no doubt, then is its range very
extensive, for Dr. Blanding has seen it as far south as Camden, in South Carolina,
and Say as far west as Louisville, in Kentucky.

General Remarks. The Salaniandra cinerea is no doubt identical with the
Salamandra erythronota — its form, its proportions, its habits and localities are
precisely the same, being often found in company under the same stone; its colour
is the same, except in having only a small remnant of the reddish-brown vertebral
band, or in wanting it altogether, which may be the result of old age. Dr. Green,
who first described the Salamandra cinerea, has, by further investigation, come
to the conclusion that these two species are identical; and in this he is supported
by Dr. Pickering. I have never had the opportunity of examining these animals
alive, as might be desired.

To Professor Green belongs the merit of havins first observed and described
the Salamandra now under consideration; for although he believed it was only a
variety of an animal described by Rafinesque, yet he informed me that Rafinesque

SALAMANDRA ERYTHRONOTA. 45

afterwards told him that the Salamandra erythronota was not the animal he
(Rafinesque) had in view, and which, indeed, he had published under some other
name.

To Dr. Dekay I am indebted for the drawing of this animal, which was done
from life by Mr. Hill.

Vol. v.— 7

SalaMianilra aui'-iculala .

Rogers ptnjc^

F S JJlLfaLJbzlk Phil"

12.

47

SALAMANDRA AVRlCVLATA.—HolbrooL

Plate XII.

Characters. Head small, with a reddish-brown spot near the ear; body and
tail cylindrical, with a series of minute reddish-brown spots on each side.

Description. The head is small, rounded above and in front. The tongue is
small, round, pediculated, and very movable. A thick group of minute teeth
begin behind the posterior nares, and unite in the middle of the palate; behind
this transverse row, after an interval of two lines, begins a longitudinal group,
which soon subdivides into two lines, diverging more and more from each other
near the posterior margin of the palate.

The nostrils are small, lateral, and are wider apart than in the Salamanders
generally. The eyes are prominent, but small; the pupil is black, the iris reddish-
brown. The neck is slightly contracted, with a small cutaneous fold at the
throat.

The body is long and cylindrical; the tail is long, round, but shghtly com-
pressed at the tip.

The anterior extremities are small, with four fingers, of which the third is the
longest. The posterior extremities are also small, but thicker than the anterior;
they each terminate in five toes, of which the third is the longest.

Colour. The Salamandra auriculata is dusky-brown above, rather darker

48 SALAMANDRA AURICULATA.

upon the head, with an oblong reddish-brown spot behind the ear. On each side
of the body is a row of small and sub-round reddish-brown spots, extending as
far as the extremity of the tail; these spots on the flanks frequently are double,
but very closely approximated. The throat and abdomen are light grey, with a
tinge of violet at the throat.

Dimensions. Length of head, 4 lines; of body to vent, 2 inches 2 lines; of tail,
2h inches: total length, 5 inches.

Habits. Nothing is known of the habits of this animal.

Geographical Distribution. The specimens from which the above description
was taken came from Riceborough, in Georgia, and Avere furnished me by my
friend Dr. Harden.

^ %

./ « U.i.cl,a.rd,4i.tL>:

Siiltiniii iiiiv ii i|iiaili'iiniii nihil u .

1' S lJiiyat,Mith. f

13

49

SALAMANDRA QUADRIMACULATA.— /Zo/iroo^.

Plate XIII.

Characters. Head rather large; snout rounded; body elongated, stout, dusky-
above, tinged with purple, and marked with two series of elongated, sub-quadrate
red spots; tail of similar colour, with a red mesial line.

Description. The head is rather large, with the snout rounded. The tongue
is round, and sustained on a short pedicle. The palatine teeth are very minute,
and begin on each side at the inner and posterior margin of the posterior nares,
and run inwards to unite in the middle of the palate; half a line behind these
begin two longitudinal groups, placed side by side, and broader behind.

The nostrils are latero-anterior. The eyes are large and prominent, with the
pupil black and the iris golden, tinged with red. The neck is contracted, and
has a transverse cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is elongated, but tolerably robust; the anterior extremities are small,
with four delicate fingers; the posterior extremities are nearly double the size,
and sustain five toes. The tail is longer than the body, compressed at the side,
tapering and ends in a point.

Colour. The superior surface of the head is dusky, tinged with purple. The
back and tail are of similar colour, the former marked with two rows of small
elongated, sub-quadrate red spots, and the latter with a red mesial line. These
spots and lines are bright in young animals, but in adults they are much obscured.

50 SALAMANDRA QUADRIMACULATA.

The inferior surface of the whole animal is pepper-and-salt grey, with a strong
purple tinge; the upper surface of the extremities are dusky; the inferior are
dusky, tinged with purple.

Dimensions. Length of head, 5 lines; length of body to vent, 1 inch 6 lines;
length of tail beyond vent, 1 inch 9 lines: total length, 3 inches 8 lines.

Habits. This is a land animal, but I am ignorant of its habits, never having
seen but two living specimens.

Geographical Distribution. The range of the Salamandra quadrimaculata is
much more extended in the Atlantic states than I had at first believed; it is
common in Georgia and Carolina, and is an inhabitant of Pennsylvania, from
which state I have received living specimens; and no doubt it may be found in
all the intermediate country.

General Remarks. The specific name of this animal has been chosen from
the sub-quadrate red spots on the side of the mesial line; other Salamanders have
similar series of spots, but not of the same form; the Triton dorsalis has round
spots, but that is entirely a water animal; and the Salamandra symmetrica has in
like manner small round spots on either side of the vertebral line, but then that
has a rough skin.

Salamaiidra aJeffei'soniana.

J.Qu.ta,<ltt<.

F y l)i'Ba7 Ulh Vhiloilflphu^

1*.

51

SALAMANDRA JEFFERSONIANA.— Green.

Plate XIV.

Characters. Head very large; eyes full and prominent; body long, cylindrical,
light brown above, marked with azure spots; tail length of body, compressed and
pointed at the tip.

Stnontmes. Salamandra Jeffersoniana, Green, Maclurian Lyceum, p. 4.
Salamandra Jeffersoniana, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 98.

Description, The head is very large, with the snout rounded and full. The
mouth is large; the tongue is small, round, pediculated, though slightly attached
anteriorly. The palate is armed with numerous minute teeth, that make a trans-
verse row back of the posterior nares, and with two longitudinal series reaching
to the posterior extremity of the palate.

The nostrils are near the snout. The eyes are remote and prominent, with
both pupil and iris entirely black. The neck is contracted, and has a well
marked transverse fold at the throat. ^

The body is elongated, cylindrical; the tail is as long as the body, round, and
tapering to near its extremity, which is compressed and pointed.

The extremities are well developed; the anterior are provided with four fingers;
the posterior with five toes, all remarkably long.

Colour. The whole animal above "is dusky -brown, interspersed with beautiful

52

SALAMANDRA JEFFERSONIANA.

azure-blue points, scattered irregularly over the whole surface; on the tail and
legs these points are so grouped as to form small blue spots, while along the
spine they are scarcely visible." "The throat and abdomen are purple."

Dimensions. Length of head, 8 lines; length of body, 2 inches 6 lines; length
of tail, 2 inches 10 lines: total length, 6 inches.

Habits. Professor Green says this animal is terrestrial, and feeds on insects,
earthworms, &c., and that "it creeps with much facility along the ground, being
greatly assisted in its motions by its extremely long fingers and toes."

Geographical Distribution. Western Pennsylvania, near Charter's creek, is
the only known locality of the Salamandra Jeffersoniana.

General Remarks. This animal was first observed and described by Professor
Green, an excellent herpetologist. Never having seen the animal alive, I cannot
answer for the correctness of the colours of the accompanying figure; yet it was
copied from an original drawing of Peale, done for Professor Green.

Jialaniauilva cirri|4era.

/ ^i^e^y* aW.

/•S.J?u^,l,Zif/, T'/id-

15.

53

SALAMANDRA CIRRIGERA.— Green.

Plate XV.

Characters. Head short; snout rounded; two barbels to the upper jaw,
between the nostrils and lip; body above pale yellow, mottled with black points,
and a dusky lateral line; tail compressed, longer than the body.

SrNONTMEs. Salamandra cirrigera, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., vol. iv. p. 253.
Salamandra cirrigera, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 99.

Description. The head is short, with the snout rounded or obtuse, and with
two barbels or cirri nearly one-fourth of an inch long, in life, projecting from
between the nostrils and upper lip. The mouth is very small; the tongue is elon-
gated, oval, thin, and very movable. The palate is armed with a transverse row
of minute teeth that begin on each side at the inner and posterior margin of the
posterior nares; behind these is a broad longitudinal group of exceedingly minute
teeth that extend to the posterior border of the palate.

The nostrils are anterior and far removed. The eyes are prominent and large,
with a dusky pupil and golden iris. The neck is contracted, and has a transverse
cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is elongated, but tolerably robust. The tail is longer than the body,
compressed at the sides, tapering, and finally ends in a point. The anterior
extremities are small, delicate, and terminate in four fingers; the posterior are
larger, and sustain five toes.

Colour. The head above is pale cream-colour, tinged with red; the upper
Vol. v.— 8

54 SALAMANDRA CIRRIGERA.

jaw of similar colour, and the lower lip and throat nearly white. The back and
tail above are pale cream-colonr, with a tinge of reddish-brown, and speckled or
variegated with numerous small dusky points; a dusky interrupted lateral line
begins behind the eye on each side, runs along the flanks above the extremities,
and is finally lost near the tip of the tail; below this line the flanks are mottled
brown, with an irregular series of small white spots; the abdomen is yellowish-
white, with a slight purple tinge along the mesial line; the extremities are
coloured like the back above, and like the abdomen below, though more dusky.

Dimensions. Length of head, 2^ lines; length of body to vent, 1 inch 5 lines;
length of tail, 1 inch 7 lines: total length, 3 inches 2^ lines.

Habits. Not much is known of the habits of this Salamander; it, however,
lives on land, and probably never seeks the water but in the breeding season;
and yet the barbels at the snout would seem to indicate an aquatic animal.

Geographical Distribution. Louisiana and Mississippi are as yet the only
States in which this Salamander has been observed.

General Remarks. The general appearance of this animal is so much like
the Salamandra bilineata, that I was for a long time unwilling to receive it as
a distinct species, not regarding the cirri as an indisputable specific character;
for it is well known that many Salamanders put out "singular ornaments," or
have curious developments at certain periods of the year; yet Dr. Green believes
these cirri to be permanent in the male.

The distinctive characters perhaps the most to be depended on, between this
animal and the Salamandra bilineata, should the barbels be wanting, which some-
times happens, is the shape of the tail: in the former it is compressed laterally
throughout its whole extent, and in the latter it is round; besides, one inhabits
the Atlantic states generally, while the other is confined, as far as is known, to the
extreme south.

iSnluiiitwiilin boliiieata .

O Kcgers pitMcf

r S JJuval JjlhV

16.

55

SALAMANDRA BILINEATA.— Green.

PlaU XVI.

Characters. Head small; body cylindrical; tail longer than the body, and
slightly compressed towards the tip. Colour above brownish-yellow, with a black
lateral line on each side; belly yellow.

Synonymes. Salamandra bilineata,* Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 325.
Salamandra flavissima, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 97.

Description. The head is small, with the snout rather rounded than pointed.
The tongue is small, sub-oval, thin, pediculated, and very movable. The palate
is armed with a transverse row of minute teeth that begin behind the inner
margin of the posterior nares; behind these teeth are two longitudinal groups
extending to the posterior extremity of the palate.

The nostrils are lateral, though near the snout. The eyes are prominent, the
pupil black, with a golden iris. The neck is not much contracted, but there is a
slight cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is cylindrical. The tail is also cyhndrical, long, thick at the root,
but soon becomes slender, and is slightly compressed towards the tip.

The anterior extremities are exceedingly small and delicate, and terminate in
four small fingers. The posterior are twice the size, and have five toes.

* From an error of the press, this stands Salamandra bislineata.

56 SALAMANDRA BILINEATA.

Colour. The upper surface of the animal is brownish-yellow, with a black
lateral line on each side, which begins behind the orbit of the eye, and is continued
without interruption along the flanks, above the anterior and posterior extremities,
and is generally lost near the end of the tail. The inferior surface of the whole
animal is bright yellow, and the skin so delicate as to allow the intestines to be
seen, which gives to the anunal a darker appearance along the mesial line.

Dimensions. Length of head, 3 lines; length of body to vent, 1 inch 5 lines;
length of tail beyond vent, 2 inches 2 lines: total length, 3 inches 10 lines.

Habits. The Salamandra bilineata is found on land, but in damp places only,
and is more lively and active than are Salamanders in general. It lives concealed
under rocks or old trees, whence it emerges after a rain, or in the dusk of
evening, to seek its prey.

Geographical Distribution. This animal has a wide range; Dr. Pickering
has observed it in Salem, Massachusetts; Professor Green in Jersey; and I have
found it in the lower part of North Carolina, and have received it from Greenville
and Pendleton, in South Carolina.

General Remarks. Professor Green first observed and described this Sala-
mander under the name it here bears.

Dr. Harlan afterwards, apparently unaware of this, gave of it another descrip-
tion as the Salamandra flavissima, a name which must consequently be erased
from our catalogue of reptiles, as that imposed by Professor Green has the right
of priority.

!S a Lfiiiici ucli fi Syn\uie Ltu-

ZiM^OjTi^J ir jsx

17.

rSUiti-a/i Lr^t-J'MU

57

SALAMANDRA SYMMETRICA.— i?a?/aH.

Plate XVII.

Characters. Head, body and tail brownish-red; throat and abdomen orange-
colour; a row of deep red spots on each side of the vertebral line symmetrically
arranged; tail longer than the body, small and compressed; skin rough.

Stnonymes. Salamandra stellio, Say, Amer. Jour, of Arts and Scien., vol. i. p. 264.
Salamandra symmetrica, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 98.

Description. The head is short, and the snout rather pointed; the mouth is
small; the tongue is small, with a short pedicle, and is only free and movable at
its sides; a transverse row of minute teeth begins on each side of the palate behind
the posterior nares; these run inwards and unite in the centre. The longitudinal
series is very small, yet it extends throughout the whole palate behind the trans-
verse row.

The nostrils are latero-anterior. The eyes are small and beautiful, with the
pupil black and the iris flame-colour. The neck is about the size of the head,
with a small transverse cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is cylindrical, slightly compressed at the sides; and the whole animal
is covered with a rough cuticle.

The anterior extremities are small and dehcate, terminating in four slender
fingers; the posterior have twice the bulk of the anterior, and terminate in five

58 SALAMANDRA SYMMETRICA.

short flexible toes. The tail is thick at the root, but soon becomes flattened,
small, and terminates in a point.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the head, neck, body and tail, as well
as that of the anterior and posterior extremities, is brownish-red; the inferior
surface of the throat and abdomen is reddish-orange, with black dots; the inferior
surface of the tail is the same as the superior, but with a glow of orange.

Dimensions. Length of head, 4 lines; length of body to vent, 1 inch 8 lines;
length of tail beyond vent, 1 inch 8 lines: total length, 3 inches 8 lines.

Habits. Although placed by some among the aquatic Salamanders, the very
skin, roughened as it is, would seem to shew that this animal is destined to live
on land, and that it only approaches the water at certain seasons. I have always
seen it on land, but in damp places, as under fallen trees or rocks, from whence
it emerges after heavy rains, or in the dusk of evening, in search of insects,
earth-worms, &c.

Geographical Distribution. The Salamandra symmetrica has a very wide
range; I have received it from Florida and Alabama, and have seen it in Carolina,
Virginia, and as far north as the Green Mountains of Vermont. Though abun-
dant in the upper parts of Carolina, yet I have never seen them in the flat country
around Charleston, or along the sea coast of the southern states.

General Remarks. Harlan was the first who made this animal known to
naturalists. Previous to his description it seems to have been confounded with
the Stellio of Catesby, represented in the beak of the Ardea herodias. They
were no doubt deceived by the spots on the sides of the body, which should have
led them to a distinctive mark. The animal of Catesby differs from the one here
described in many respects: it has the skin soft and smooth; the colour brown;
the dorsal spots white; much less regular in size and disposition, and extending
on the tail.

.„f:^^'

")

=<,i.

Salaiiiandru Haldewiani

y/tfif .M 2></^au,, Jtr.M.^mxf

18.

P SJ>uyal,I.it/t F/iJ-

59

SALAMANDRA UALDEMANl—HolbiooL

Plate XVIII.

Characters. Head flattened above; snout rounded; body and tail pale yellow
above, slightly olive at the flanks, marked with dusky spots and blotches, disposed
somewhat in three irregular longitudinal series.

Description. The head is of moderate size, a little flattened above, with the
snout rounded. The mouth is small; the tongue is broad, sub-round, and attached
by a broad, short pedicle. The palate is armed with a group of minute teeth,
which begin on each side behind the posterior nares, run within and backwards,
but do not meet in the mesial line; behind these, and in the middle of the palate,
is a second group of minute teeth arranged in a longitudinal direction.

The nostrils are near the snout, lateral, but open a little upwards. The eyes
are prominent and large, with the pupil dusky, and the iris bright yellow. The
neck is contracted, with a slight transverse fold at the throat.

The body is cylindrical and slender; the anterior extremities are small, with

four fingers; the posterior are much larger, and sustain five toes. The tail is

longer than the body, slender and round, only a little compressed towards the
tip.

Colour. The head and neck above are pale yellow; the lips are lighter, and
the throat yellowish-white. The body above is straw-colour, tinged with olive
at the flanks, and marked with numerous small dusky or brown blotches, variable
in size, and disposed without much order; the largest, however, are on the flanks;

go SALAMANDRA HALDEMANI.

the throat is pale yellow; the abdomen is of similar colour, with its central
portion strongly tinged with purple; the extremities are coloured like the back
above, but with fewer and smaller dusky spots, and are yellow below.

Dimensions. Length of head, 5 lines; length of body to vent, 1 inch 8 lines;
length of tail, 1 inch 11 lines: total length, 4 inches.

Habits. Little is known of the habits of the Salamandra Haldemani, except
that it is a land animal, and is found under old logs and stones, &c.

Geographical Distribution. This Salamander inhabits the states of Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland and Virginia, from all of which I have received specimens, and
it will doubtless be found much more widely extended when our herpetology shall
be better known.

General Remarks. My friend, S. S. Haldeman, Esq., of Pennsylvania, to
whom I am indebted for much information on the habits of reptiles, was the first
naturalist who observed this Salamander, and procured me a specimen from the
borders of the Susquehanna river, and to him I have dedicated the species.

,,.>V>i»^*^

1

\

'''**»*»M*>''*

Salamandj'a Jon^icauda.

J II Rtrl,„,rl. d,.lt PS J)ui'«l. L.ilh Ph.l'

19

61

SALAMANDRA LONGICAUDA.— Gree«.

Plate XIX.

Characters. Head narrow; snout rather pointed; body elongated, lemon-
coloured above, and marked with small, irregular, oblong, or round black spots;
tail more than twice the length of body, compressed at the sides, and marked
with transverse black bands.

Synontmes. Salamandra longicauda, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 351.
Salamandra longlcaudata, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 96.

Description. The head is short, and the snout obtuse; the mouth is of mode-
rate size; 'the tongue is pediculated, oblong, and slightly notched posteriorly.
The palate is armed with minute teeth, which begin on each side behind the inner
margins of the posterior nares, and then run inwards and a little backwards to
unite in the middle of the palate; a line and a half behind this transverse row
begin two longitudinal series of teeth, which are continued in distinct groups to
the end of the palate, and separate more and more from each other posteriorly.

The nostrils are lateral and near the snout. The eyes are small, but prominent,
the pupil black and the iris golden. The chin and neck are smooth, with a
strongly marked cuticular fold at the throat. The body is cylindrical, small and
delicate. The tail is twice the length of the body, compressed at the sides, and
exceedingly thin and slender.

The anterior extremities are rather long and slender; there are four delicate
Vol. v.— 9

62 SALAMANDRA LONGICAUDA.

fingers, distinct, and all nearly of the same length. The posterior extremities are
nearly twice the size of the anterior, with five distinct small toes.

Colour. The head is lemon-colour above, and the chin and throat nearly the
same. The body above is of similar colour, with numerous small irregular black
spots; the thorax and abdomen are yellowish-white. The tail is coloured like
the back, but the black spots on it are lengthened into transverse bars. The
anterior as well as the posterior extremities are similar in colour above to the
back; below they are straw-colour.

Dimensions. Length of head, 5 lines; of body to vent, 1 inch 10 lines; of tail
beyond the vent, 3^ inches: total, 5 inches 10 lines.

Habits. Dr. Harlan places this among the aquatic Salamanders; and Professor
Green informs me that he has also observed this animal, which is one of the most
beautiful of our Salamanders, in water, and that its motions are exceedingly
graceful. There can be but little doubt, however, that it lives in general on land,
as its whole organization, teeth, tongue, &c., all place it among the true Sala-
manders; besides, Haldeman assures me that he has found it on land and at a
distance from water. Professor Green probably saw it in water during its breed-
ing season, for he further remarked that it is found on land in marshy places.

Geographical Distribution. The Salamandra longicauda is found in most of
the northern parts of the United States. Dr. Smith has seen it in Massachusetts;
Professor Green has observed it near Albany, and at Princeton, New Jersey;
and Dr. Pickering informs me that they are found in the neighbourhood of Pitts-
burgh, west of the Alleghany Mountains.

General Remarks. This is another of our Salamanders observed and first
described by Professor Green, of Philadelphia.

■t ' -4 A!

.S.il;)niandr;i ^r.TmilnlH

fS Ot*f'ad,J.ri/i FUl*

20.

63

SALAMANDRA GRANULATA.— Z)eA7()/.

Plate XX.

Characters. Head large; body elongated, cylindrical; tail round, slender,
slightly longer than the body and head; skin granulated, greenish slate-colour
above, varied with grey and brown beneath.

Synontme. Salamandra granulata, Be Kay, New York Fauna, vol. ii.

Description. The head is large, flattened, and smooth above, sub-truncate or
rounded in front. The tongue is pediculated. The eyes are prominent, with the
upper margins of the orbit very projecting. The neck is contracted, with the
gular fold very distinct.

The body is elongated, cylindrical, and covered with a granulated skin; that
under the lens exhibits the appearance of chagreen. The tail is long, slender,
very slightly compressed, and ending in a slender, acute point.

The anterior extremities are very small, with four minute fingers; the posterior
are much larger, and sustain five toes.

Colour. The colour of the whole animal above is a lustrous dark greenish-
slate, of a uniform hue. The chin and throat are mottled grey; the gular fold
is a soiled white, and the abdomen is mottled with brown and grey; the tail below
is uniform ashen-grey; the soles of the feet white. "These colours must be
received with some reserve, as they were taken from a specimen preserved in

g4 SALAMANDRA GRANULATA.

spirits, and sent to me by Dr. Emmons from the northern district of New York;
yet that gentleman, who saw it alive, says the colours are but little changed."

DiJiENsioNs. Length of head to fold, 7 lines; from the fold to vent, 2 inches
5 lines; length of tail beyond vent, 3 inches 6 lines: total length, 6 inches 9 lines.

Geographical Distribution. This Salamander has as yet only been observed
by Dr. Emmons in the northern districts of New York.

General Remarks. I have never seen the Salamandra granulata, and am
indebted to my friend Dr. De Kay for the above description, as well as the
accompanying plate. At first it would seem to resemble some varieties of the
Salamandra glutinosa where the white dots are wanting; but the granulated skin
prevents their being confounded.

J.yneeri ,dr/ J'S Diioal.ZMJ'/iii''

21.

65

SALAMANDRA QUADRIDIGITATA.— /Zo/6/oo/t.

Plate XXI.

Characters. Head large; body long and slender; tail very long; fingers four;
toes four.

Description. The head is very large for the size of the animal, with the snout
full and rounded. The tongue is round, flattened, and sustained on a short
pedicle. There are a few scattered exceedingly minute teeth just behind and
between the posterior nares.

The nostrils are latero-anterior, and near the extremity of the snout. The
eyes are large and prominent, with a dusky iris and a golden pupil. The neck is
smaller than the head, with a narrow cutaneous fold at the throat.

The body is much elongated and cylindrical. The tail is very long, round, or
is compressed only towards its tip. The anterior extremities are very small, and
are provided with four minute fingers; the posterior are rather larger, with four
toes, equally minute.

Colour. The whole animal above is pale straw-colour, with a few minute
dark brown spots or vertebral lines; the flanks are marked with an irregular
series of dark brown spots, sometimes approaching a lateral line; the abdomen is
bluish silvery-white.

Dimensions. Length of head, 4 lines; length of body, 1 inch; length of tail,
2 inches: total length, 3 inches 4 lines.

66 SALAMANDRA Q.UADR1DIGITATA.

Habits. The Salamandra quadridigitata is entirely a land animal. In general
it remains concealed under fallen and decaying trees, and only ventures abroad
after heavy rains or in the dusk of evening, in search of small insects, on which
it feeds.

Geographical Distribution. This Salamander is abundant in the middle
section of our state, which must for the present be considered as its northern
limit; hence it inhabits the intervening country to the Gulf of Mexico. Mr.
Couper and Dr. Harden have both furnished me with specimens from Georgia,
and I have also received them from Florida.

General Remarks. This animal bears some resemblance at first view to the
Salamandra gutto-lineata, from which, however, it differs in many and important
characters. This is the only one of our Salamanders with which I am acquainted
that has four fingers and four toes, and from this circumstance is its specific
name derived.

Salamandra venenosa

On St^ne byj'^'t^u^en

rSBm-al.Lilk PhW^

22.

II. Salamanders with transverse groups only of palatine teeth.

Remarks. The animals of this section approach in their form, as well as in
the arrangement of their palatine teeth, &c., the Tritons or Aquatic Salamanders.
In some the tail is round, but in most it is compressed laterally, and yet they are
as terrestrial in their habits as any other of our Salamanders.

SALAMANDRA VENENOSA, Barton.

Plate XXII.

Characters. Head moderate; snout slightly rounded; body and tail above
bluish-black, with a row of round or oval yellow spots on each side; under surface
bluish-black, tinged with purple.

SvNONYMES. Salamandra venenosa, Barton, Daud. Hist. Nat. des Kept, torn. viii. p. 229.
Salamandra sub-violacea, Barton, Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc, vol. vi. p. 112, pi. iv. fig. 6.
Salamandra sub-violacea, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 93.

Description. The head is of moderate size, with the snout full and rounded;
the tongue is large, flat, sub-oval, and broadest before; it is adherent by an
extensive base below, and by a narrow point behind, and is only movable at its
lateral margins. The palate is armed with a transverse row of minute teeth,
which pass from side to side behind the posterior nares, the row being a little
arched backwards in the centre.

The nostrils are latero-superior and near the snout. The eyes are small, but
prominent, with a black pupil and dark grey iris.

68 SALAMANDRA VENENOSA.

The neck is slightly contracted, and has a large, transverse, cutaneous fold at
the throat. The body is elongated, tolerably thick, cylindrical, and covered with
a smooth skin. The tail is cylindrical at its root, but soon becomes more or less
compressed laterally and terminates in a point.

The anterior extremities are small, with four fingers, all nearly of the same
length. The posterior are larger, and end in five toes, of which the third and
fourth are longest.

Colour. The head is bluish-black above, with four or five round yellow or
orange spots; a small one is at the back of each orbit, and another behind the
temples; both the upper and lower jaws are black; the chin and throat are bluish-
black, with a purple tinge. The whole superior surface of the body and tail is
bluish-black, with a row of yellow or orange spots, round or oval, on each side,
extending to the tip of the tail. The belly is bluish-black, with a strong tinge of
purple or violet. The extremities are coloured like the back, and are each
marked with one or two small round yellow spots.

Dimensions. Length of head, 10 lines; length of body to vent, 2 inches 5
lines; of tail, 2^ inches: total length, 5f inches.

Habits. This is another land Salamander, passing most of its time in moist
places, as under the trunks of fallen and decayed trees, or under rocks and stones,
and only appearing abroad after heavy showers of rain, or at the dusk of evening,
in search of its food, which is earth-worms, as well as various small insects.

Geographical Distribution. The Salamandra venenosa is abundant at the
northern portions of the United States. Professor Green informs me that it is
common near Albany; Dr. Binney has observed it in Vermont; Dr. Storer in
Massachusetts; and Say saw it in Ohio. For the present, Maryland must be
considered as its southern limit — south of that state I have no evidence of its
existence. Daudin, Harlan, and some other naturalists, however, speak of it as

SALAMANDRA VENENOSA. 69

inhabiting South Carolina, and refer it to the Salamander represented in the beak
of the Ardea herodias of Catesby, which animal Say supposes to be identical
with the Salamandra dorsalis. Catesby's Salamander is probably neither one
nor the other, if his description is to be relied on.

General Remarks. The history of our acquaintance with the Salamandra
venenosa is as follows. In 1803, Dr. Barton obtained a living specimen of it from
the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, which he presented to the American Philo-
sophical Society, accompanied with a description and figure of the animal; but
under what specific name does not appear, for I have consulted the records of
the society, and they simply state, that a paper of this kind was read by Dr.
Barton, and referred to a committee, consisting of Latrobe and others.

Now it is possible that Latrobe, or perhaps Dr. Barton himself, might have
given some account of the animal to Rafinesque, or that he (Rafinesque) might
have been present at the reading of the paper, for certain it is that he sent a
good description to Daudin, who published it in his work under the specific name
it now bears, which was probably given by Barton, and communicated through
Rafinesque to Daudin, for the latter gives the specific name as one imposed by
Dr. Barton.

Six years after, Barton published his account of the same animal in the sixth
volume of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, under the name
Lacerta (Salamandra) sub-violacea, from its colour. It would appear then that
the specific name Venenosa is the appropriate one, at least so far as regards
priority, as it was first published by Daudin, with a reference to Barton, who had
no right to change a specific name, even though imposed by himself, after it had
been once published to the scientific world.

Vol. v.— 10

^?/r ,yM//f fyfj^^/y^jr-//

iSulainiiii({fti last lulii

/•X l>r/t'rr/J.,M /■/tj/'

71

SALAMANDRA FASCIATA.— Greew.

Plate XXIII.

Characters. Head short, broad; snout large and rounded; body and tail
above palest ash-colour, with irregular transverse bluish-black blotches on the
back, and bars on the tail; throat and abdomen indigo-blue, tinged with purple;
tail length of body, and compressed laterally.

SrNONYMES. Salamandra fasciata, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 350.
Salamandra fasciata, Harlem, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 94.

Description. The head is large, short, broad, thick, and rounded in front.
The tongue is sub-oval, elongated, thin at the margins, attached behind, and
movable at all other margins, less so in front. The palate is armed with a trans-
verse series of minute teeth, arranged in three groups; the two external are
behind the posterior nares; the central and larger group occupies transversely
the middle of the palate.

The nostrils are latero-superior, and nearer the snout than the orbit. The
eyes are very prominent, with the pupil black and the iris of darkest grey.

The neck is but slightly contracted, with a well marked transverse cutaneous
fold at the throat. The body is sub-cylindrical, a little compressed, and covered
with a smooth skin. The tail is thick, rounded on its superior and inferior
margins, though compressed laterally.

The anterior extremities are short and rather stout, with four fingers, distinct;

72 SALAMANDRA FASCIATA.

the posterior are nearly twice the size of the anterior, and have five toes, the
third and fourth longest.

Colour. The head is palest ash-colour above, with two or three bluish-black
blotches, the largest of which is about the occiput; the upper jaw is bluish-black,
and the lower is of similar colour, but of lighter tint. The body is also of
palest ash-colour above, marked with irregular blotches of bluish-black, placed
transversely; the abdomen is uniform indigo-blue, with a tinge of purple; the tail
is coloured like the back, but has transverse bars instead of blotches.

Dimensions. Length of head, 5 lines; of body to vent, 1 inch 7 lines; of tail, 1
inch 4 lines: total length, 3 inches 4 lines.

Habits. This is another true Salamander, and one of the most beautiful of
the genus. I have kept them alive for many months in a small box filled with
meadow moss, (Sphagnum,) which w^as occasionally moistened; and it was
observed that they always chose the superior surface of the moss for their
resting place, while their fellow prisoner, a Salamandra venenosa, was always
found deeply buried.

Geographical Distribution. Professor Green first observed this animal in
New Jersey; Professor Hitchcock found it in Massachusetts, and furnished my
friend Dr. Storer, of Boston, with the fine specimen from which the accompanying
plate was taken; in the west it has been observed by Dr. Hildreth, near Marietta,
Ohio, who sent a specimen to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia;
at the south Dr. Blanding saw it at Camden, South Carolina; I have found it near
Charleston, and lately Dr. Binney observed it in Georgia.

General Remarks, The Salamandra fasciata was first accurately described
by Professor Green, of Philadelphia, who has done so much to elucidate the
history of this obscure family of reptiles; and it is remarkable that so large and
so beautiful an animal should so long have escaped the observation of our
herpetologists.

Sahimiiiidra lalpoidri

f^// fifo/{r//r./f^/i

/".9 M/fift/,M/j, fUW^

24.

73

SALAMANDRA T ALPOIDEA.— Holbrook.

Plate XXIV.

Characters. Head very large; body short, thick, chimsy; tail short, thick,
compressed; colour above dusky, almost black; beneath dusky, with a tinge of
purple.

Description. The head is very large and flattened, with the snout full and
rounded. The mouth is large; the tongue is of sub-rhomboidal form, smallest
behind, where it is perfectly adherent; at all the other margins it is free. The
palate is armed with a transverse group of minute teeth, extending across behind
the posterior nares, which are large; the series is a little arched backwards in the
middle, where the teeth are largest and most numerous.

The nostrils are near the snout, latero-superior, and open a little upwards and
backwards. The eyes are small, but prominent, with the pupil black and the iris
dusky.

The neck is contracted, with a well marked cutaneous fold at the throat. The
body is short, thick, clumsy, rather flattened than cylindrical, and covered with a
smooth skin. The tail is short, very thick at its root, and compressed laterally
throughout its whole extent.

The anterior extremities are short, thick, and stout, ending in four short fingers.
The posterior extremities are still stouter in proportion, and terminate in five
toes, slightly united at their roots.

74 SALAMANDRA TALPOIDEA.

Colour. The whole animal above, head, body, tail, and extremities, is of a
dusky uniform colour, approaching to black. The throat, belly, and under surface
of the tail are also dusky, but have a strong tinge of purple.

Dimensions. Length of head, 5 lines; of body to vent, 1 inch 5 lines; of tail,
1 inch 3 lines: total length, 3 inches 1 line.

Geographical Distribution. The only locality that I have at present for the
Salamandra talpoidea, is the sea islands on the borders of South Carolina, where
it was discovered by Dr. Burden, one of my pupils.

General Remarks. The habits of this animal are not a little curious, as it
burrows in the ground like a mole, where it seems constantly to dwell. It chooses
light soil for its residence, and if disturbed, it will bury itself in a few seconds,
and there continue its course concealed from view; but its track can often be
followed by the elevation produced on the surface of the soil, smiilar to that seen
in fields infested by moles (talpa). It is curious that this animal has the teeth
and tail of a Triton, and yet has never been seen in water, but always on land.

75

TRITON .—LaurentL

Genus Triton. — Characters. Palatine teeth mostly in transverse series;
tongue adherent, except at its edges, never pediculatedj tail compressed; fingers
four; toes five, more or less palmated at their roots.

Remarks. The animals of this genus are entirely aquatic, and soon die if
taken from their accustomed element; yet, as their respiration is carried on Avith
lungs, they cannot breathe under water, and are, consequently, obhged to
approach its surface for atmospheric air.

Another remarkable feature in the character of the animals of the genus
Triton, is their power of restoration of parts when mutilated, or their complete
reproduction of organs destroyed. This reproductive power is so active, that the
hmbs of a Water Newt may be removed, and in less than one year they will be
perfectly restored.* The newly formed extremities may in turn be amputated,
and will in turn be replaced by others. Even the eye may be extirpated, and, in
less than eighteen months, this delicate organ, with its complicated apparatus of
humours and transparent media, will be perfectly reproduced.!

In arranging the Tritons in two sections, it is to be understood that I speak
only of those inhabiting the United States; and they all, so far as I have observed
them, have the tongue more adherent than Salamanders, and never pediculated;
the tail is always compressed; and the palatine teeth, with one or two exceptions,
are arranged in transverse groups.

* Blumenbach, Spec. Phys., p. 31. f Vid. anatomical part of this work.

/.T Ei.-hord -itV.

IVilon ilorsalis.
15-

fS IhiU'^.Ulh.,

77

I. Tritons with transverse and longitudinal series of palatine teeth.

TRITON DORSALIS.— Har/an.

Plate XXV.

Characters. Head and body above olive-brown, with a tinge of green; on
each side of the mesial line is a row of bright vermilion circular spots; throat
and abdomen orange, studded with small black dots; tail longer than the head,
neck, and trunk; greatly compressed laterally throughout its whole extent.

Synontme. Salamandra dorsalis, Harlan, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. vi. p. 101.

Description. The head is short, broad behind, and rather pointed at the snout.
The mouth is large; the tongue is broad, flat, entire, adherent in all parts, except
at its lateral and anterior margins.

The nostrils are anterior; the eyes are full and prominent, the pupil black, the
iris flame-colour; the neck and body are the same size as the head, and cylindrical
in form, with a transverse fold at the throat.

The anterior extremities are small and delicate, and terminate in four small
fingers; the posterior extremities have more than twice the bulk of the anterior,
and terminate in five short flexible toes, united at their roots. The tail is thick
at the root, but soon becomes compressed at the sides throughout its whole
extent.

Vol. v.— 11

78 TRITON DORSALIS.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the Triton dorsalis, head, neck, and
body, as well as the tail and extremities, is of an olive-brown colour, with often a
tinge of green, and numerous small dots of black, most abundant on the tail; on
each side of the vertebral line is a row of bright or red spots, symmetrically
disposed; these spots vary a good deal in size in different individuals, but their
colour is almost always the same. The inferior surface of the animal, throat,
abdomen and tail, as well as the anterior and posterior extremities, is orange,
studded with small black dots, most numerous about the abdomen and throat.

Dimensions. Length of head, 5 lines; length of body, 1 inch 41 lines; length
of tail, 2 inches: total length, 3 inches 9i lines.

Habits. The Triton dorsalis is eminently aquatic in its habits; I have never
heard of its being found on land, and indeed, when taken from its native element,
its progression is difficult, its skin becomes dry, and it soon dies. In water it is
very hardy, supporting great cold, and is torpid only during the excessive cold of
winter; for I have frequently observed them under ice of an inch thickness,
swimming with great vivacity.

Geographical Distribution. This animal is found from one end to the other
of the Atlantic States; I have seen it in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

General Remarks. The Triton dorsahs was first described by Dr. Harlan.

tv

Trifon fi^rinus.

JM je IciLn.l-<£, dtV

F S DTivaZ^ZTlTt. P?uiZ»

26.

79

TRITON TIGRINUS.— Grec«.

Plate XXVI.

Characters. Head large, snout rounded; body elongated, bluish-black, with
irregular lemon-coloured blotches; tail longer than the body, greatly compressed
at the sides, ancipital, and coloured like the body.

Synonymes. Salamandra tigrina, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. v. p. 116.
Salamandra tigrina, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res. p. 93.

Description. The head is large, broad, flattened above and rounded in front.
The mouth is large; the tongue is broad, sub-round, entire, adherent posteriorly,
a little less so anteriorly, and is loose and movable only at its lateral margins.
The palatine teeth are arranged transversely in three groups; one begins behind
the outer margin of the posterior nares on each side, and runs for two lines
inwards and backwards; between the internal extremities of these groups, but on
a line a little in front, begins the largest group, which also runs transversely, but
is a little arched forward in the middle of the palate.

The nostrils are latero-superior, near the snout, and open upwards. The eyes
are large and prominent, the pupil black, the iris golden, reticulated with brown.
The neck is contracted; the chin is smooth, and the throat has a transverse
strongly marked cutaneous fold.

The body is robust and cylindrical; the tail is longer than the body, and
compressed at the sides so as to ofl'er a narrow margin above and below.

8Q TRITON TIGRINUS.

The anterior extremities are short and thick; there are four fingers, short,
distinct, the middle ones longest, and nearly of the same length. The posterior
extremities are larger than the anterior, and have five toes each, palmated at
their roots.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the animal, head, neck, body, tail, as
well as the extremities, is bluish-black above, marked with irregular spots and
blotches of lemon-colour. The chin is dusky-yellow; the throat and abdomen are
cinereous, with blotches of dusky-yellow; the inferior surface of the tail and
extremities are clouded yellovi'.

Dimensions. Length of head, 10 lines; of body to vent, 21 inches; of tail, 3^
inches: total length, 6 inches and 7 lines.

Habits. This animal is found on land, under rocks and stones, or under
decaying vegetable matter, as leaves, &c. in forests.

Geographical Distribution. This species of Salamander inhabits the northern
states from New Jersey to Massachusetts.

General Remarks. The Triton tigrinus appears to be somewhat allied to the
Salamandra venenosa in the general arrangement of its colours, but it is found,
on closer examination, to be widely diflerent, as may be seen in their respective
descriptions, by which one will be found to be a land, and the other a water
animal.

Tiiton iiip;r;i

■ lyUfCi, dtt-

rS.Stcu.cl !.uA. fniC.'

27

81

TRITON NIGER.— Green.

Plate XXVII.

Characters. Body above black; abdomen purplish, with a few white spots;
tail round at base, flattened and ancipital at tip.

SrNONYMES. Salamandra nigra, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. i. p. 353.
Salamandra intermixta, Green, Maclurian Lyceum, p. 5.
Salamandra picta, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 98.
Salamandra nigra, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 97.

Description. The head is small, with the snout rather pointed. The mouth
is of moderate size. The tongue is sub-oval, thin, broadest behind, narrow and
adherent in front, loose and most movable at its posterior margin. The palate is
armed with a transverse group of minute teeth, and others are placed in a
longitudinal direction along the mesial line.

The nostrils are small and latero-superior. The eyes are prominent, with a
black pupil and dusky-grey iris. The neck is shghtly contracted, and has a large
transverse fold at the throat.

The body is stout and sub-cylindrical; the tail is thick and round at the root,
but it soon becomes compressed, and is ancipital near the tip, which is pointed.

The anterior extremities are short, and sustain four fingers; the posterior are
much larger, and terminate in five toes, slightly united at their bases.

82 TRITON NIGER.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the animal is black, with a slight
bluish tinge. The throat and abdomen are purple. The young animals are often
rather brown than black, with a few amber-coloured spots on the flanks.

Dimensions. Length of head, 4 lines; length of body, 2 inches; length of tail,
2 inches: total length, 4 inches 4 lines.

Habits. The Triton niger is entirely aquatic in its habits.

Geographical Distribution. This animal inhabits the Atlantic states from
lat. 43° to the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Pickering found it near Salem, in Massachu-
setts; Professor Green observed it in Pennsylvania; I have seen it in Carolina and
Georgia, and have received specimens from Louisiana.

General Remarks. Professor Green was the first naturalist who observed
and described the Triton niger under the specific name it here bears.

Tfilon |)()]'|iliyritica

/'Ouf^/i d^ .

I nni'aijM/i l-Jui:

tw

83

TRITON PORPHYRITICUS.— Green.

Plate XXVIII.

Characters. Head moderate; snout obtuse; body elongated; tail length of
body, compressed, and slightly carinated on the upper and lower margins of its
posterior half; superior surface of the whole animal dark brown, interspersed with
irregular whitish spots.

Synontmes. Salamandra porphyritica, Green, Maclurian Lyceum, p. 3.
Salamandra porphyritica, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 98.

Description. The head is rather large, with the snout obtuse and rounded.
The mouth is moderate. The tongue is broad, elongated, thin, attached poste-
riorly, less so anteriorly, and most movable at the lateral margins. The palate
is armed with a transverse row of minute teeth, beginning on each side behind
the outer margin of the posterior nares.

The nostrils are latero-superior, near the snout, and open upwards and a little
outwards, with a slight ridge extending from them to the anterior angle of the
eye. The eyes are rather small, with a black pupil and dusky iris. The neck is
contracted, and has a large transverse cutaneous fold below.

The body is cylindrical and long. The tail is much compressed, carinated on
the upper and lower margin of its posterior half; in length it is equal to the body.
The extremities, with the fingers and toes, are but slightly developed.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the animal is brown, more or less

84 TRITON PORPHYRITICUS.

dusky, interspersed with irregular whitish spots, which on the flanks are arranged
in irregular longitudinal series. The throat and abdomen are whitish, shaded
with dusky-brown.

Dimensions. Length of head, 6 lines; length of body to vent, 2 inches; length
of tail beyond vent, 1 inch 11 Unes: total length, 4 inches 5 lines.

Habits. Professor Green says he found this animal abundant in French creek,
and that it does not differ in its habits from the water Salamanders in general.

Geographical Distribution. The only known locality of the Triton porphy-
riticus is the western part of Pennsylvania.

General Remarks. Professor Green was the first naturalist who observed
this animal, and he gave an excellent description and plate of it in the Maclurian
Lyceum. Never having seen the Triton porphyriticus alive, I cannot vouch for
the correctness of the colour of the accompanying plate, yet it was copied from
the original of Professor Green.

^fVtVrf J'mjr ^

Triton iiLO'eixs
2 a.

fj £u9ftJ .'rt/- f/ffM/f''

85

TRITON INGENS.— GrecH.

Plate XXIX.

Characters. Head large, depressed; snout full and rounded; body bluish
slate-colour, with light ash-coloured sub-ovate spots; tail large, broad, much
compressed; fingers four, slightly palmated at roots; toes five, slightly palraated,
external toe fimbriated, as in Menopoma.

SvNONYME. Salamandra ingens, Green, Jour. Acad. Nat. Scien. Philad., vol. vi. p. 254.

Description. The head is very large, rounded at the snout, and flattened
above. The mouth is large; the tongue is broad, circular, extensively attached,
and is only slightly movable at its anterior and lateral margins. The palatine
teeth are arranged in three groups transversely, a small group behind the posterior
nares, with a larger group occupying the middle of the palate.

The nostrils are antero-superior and very near the snout. The eyes are large
and prominent, with a black pupil and dusky-grey iris.

The neck is contracted, and has a large transverse fold at the throat. The
body is large and sub-cylindrical. The tail is stout, longer than the body, much
compressed laterally, and terminates in a rounded extremity.

The anterior extremities are short, thick, and sustain four fingers, slightly
palmated at their roots. The posterior extremities are much larger, and termi-
nate in five toes, the external of which is fimbriated on its outer margin.
Vol. v.— 12

86 TRITON INGENS.

Colour. The whole animal above is bluish slate-colour, marked with irregu-
larly sub-ovate pale ash-coloured blotches, disposed without order. The lips and
throat are dark brown; the belly is slate-colour.

Dimensions. Length of head, 1 inch; length of body to vent, 4 inches; length
of tail, 5 inches: total length of the animal here described, 10 inches. I have
seen one specimen more than 12 inches long.

Habits. I know nothing of the habits of the Triton ingens, save that it is
entirely an aquatic animal.

Geographical Distribution. This reptile has as yet been observed only in
our western waters. Professor Green received his first specimen from Louisiana;
Professor Kirkland has since observed it in Ohio, and Professor Troost in Ten-
nessee; and to him am I indebted for the accompanying plate, which was done
from life.

General Remarks. Professor Green was the first naturalist who observed
this animal, and he describes it under the appropriate specific name ino^ens, as it
is in fact the largest of all our Salamandroidea.

87

Tribe II. IMMUTABILIA.

CHARACTERS.

I. The animals of this tribe undergo no metamorphosis, but come into hfe with
the forms they are permanently to retain.

II. The body is elongated and cylindrical.

III. The tail is long, round, or compressed, and sometimes ancipital.

IV. The extremities vary in number; in some there are four, (Menopoma,)
in others only two, (Siren.)

Remarks. This tribe of reptiles embraces some of our most remarkable
species, as the Siren, Lacertina, Menobranchus, Lateralis, &c. Fitzinger has
ao-ain subdivided this tribe into two families, each of which includes two or more
genera.

Family I. CRYPTOBRANCHOIDEA.

CHARACTERS.

The reptiles of this family are destitute of gills at all periods of their existence,
and breathe by means of exposed spiracles or branchial orifices at the neck.

T/wf.V.Coy^in. JIfD-pinxf

Amphiuma trieaiis
30.

^. S.Du i-a/. J. if A. PAU-^

89

A M P H I U M A .—Garden.

Genus Amphiuma. — Characters. Head large; lips thick and extensive; supe-
rior maxillary bone with a thick series of small teeth; palatine teeth in two
longitudinal rows; inferior maxillary bone with a single series; a single spiracle
at each side of the neck; body eel-shaped; extremities four, imperfectly developed.

AMPHIUMA MEANS.— Garrfm.

Plate XXX.

Characters. Head large, sub-oval; snout depressed and rounded; neck con-
tracted, with a transverse fold at the throat; body eel-shaped, and of a bluish-
black colour, tinged with violet; anterior extremities very small, with two
fingers; posterior still smaller, with two toes.

Synontmes. Amphiuma means, Garden, Smith's Correspond, of Linnteus, vol. i. p. 599.
Amphiuma means, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 85.
Chrysodonta larvseformis, Mitchell, Med. Record., No. 19.
Congo Snake, P'lilgo.

Description. The head is very large, elongated, sub-oval, and flattened above,
especially near the snout, which is full and rounded. The mouth is large, extend-
ing to one-half the length of the head, and is provided with rather thick movable

90 AMPHIUMA MEANS.

lips. The tongue is broad, oblong, flat, smallest before, attached posteriorly, and
is only free at its anterior and lateral margins for about two lines.

The upper jaw is armed with a thick series of minute teeth, that are all arched
a little backwards; the lower jaw has also a single row, but less numerous. The
palatine teeth are arranged in two rows, which begin near the superior maxillary
series in front, run along the palate, separating more and more from each other,
and terminate behind the inner margin of the posterior nares.

The nostrils are small and anterior, being placed at the very margin of the
upper lip, and are near together. The eyes are distant from the snout, superior,
very small, and covered with a production of the cuticle; a slightly depressed line
runs from the eyes towards the nostrils, and marks the position of some minute
glands.

The neck is contracted, with a transverse fold at the throat, and a single
spiracle or branchial orifice at each side, which is partially covered in front by a
thin fold of skin. The body is eel-shaped; and the vent appears like a longitu-
dinal fissure just behind the posterior extremities. The tail is very long, round
near the root, compressed laterally towards the tip.

The extremities are but imperfectly developed, and seem but little larger in the
old than in the young animal. The anterior are very short, small, placed near
the spiracle, and terminate in two small fingers. The posterior are placed before
and a little on the sides of the vent, and sustain the same number of toes.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the animal is deep bluish-black, tinged
with violet; the lips and throat are rather lighter in colour, and the belly is dark
purple.

Dimensions. Length of head, 2 inches; length of body, 20 inches; of tail
beyond the vent, 6 inches: total length, 28 inches.

AMPHIUMA MEANS.

91

Habits. The Amphiuma mg^ins lives in muddy waters or in mud. Harlan
says they have been found at Pensacola, three feet or more deep in mud, of the
consistence of mortar, in which they burrowed like earth-worms. They inhabit
the ditches of our rice-fields, and feed on small fish and various fresh-water
shells, as Unio, &c.; beetles and other insects have also been found in their
stomachs. Sometimes like eels they are found on dry land, but for what purpose
they approach it is unknown.

Geographical Distribution. North Carolina must, for the present, be con-
sidered as the northern limit of this animal, and it is even very rare in that state.
In South Carolina it is more common, but is only abundant in some districts, as
about Combahee river. The Amphiuma means is also found in the Floridas,
Alabama, and Mississippi, and is said to be abundant in Louisiana.

General Remarks. This singular reptile was made known to Linnaeus by Dr.
Garden of Charleston, South Carolina, so often mentioned in the progress of this
work, but at too late a period to allow him to give it a place in any of the editions
of the Systema Naturae published during his hfe time.

Garden, in his letter to Linnaeus,* describing this reptile, calls it "an unknown
animal, the only one I ever saw;" and further he says, "at first sight I suspected
it to be another species of Siren, but upon nearer examination I found so many
differences, that there proves to be no relationship between them." Two years
subsequent to this, I find Dr. Garden, in a letter to Mr. Ellis, of London, for the
first time calls this animal "Amphiuma means."t

As Linnaeus never published any account of this animal. Garden's description
was of course locked up in manuscript, and thus our animal remained unknown
to other naturalists for just fifty years from the time of its discovery. In 1821,
Sir James Edward Smith, the eminent botanist, published the "Correspondence

* Smith's Correspondence of Linnseus, vol. i. p. 333. t Ibid. vol. i. p. 599.

92 AMPHIUMA MEANS.

of Linnaeus with other NaturaUsts," in which ia_ contained the letter of Garden
describing the Amphiunia means.

The next account, so far as I know, of our animal, may be seen in the work
of Rusconi, an Italian naturalist, "Amours des Salamandres Aquatiques," and is
but an extract of a letter from Dr. Pockels, of Brunswick. Pockels observed it
in the Hunterian Museum, and supposed it to be the Siren lacertina in its perfect
state,* and as such sent a description and drawing of it to Rusconi, which agree
perfectly with the Araphiuma means, and not at all with the Siren lacertina. It
must be remembered, that most naturalists of that period, considered the Siren
lacertina as the larva of some large and unknown Salamander.

»

Dr. Harlan, in the third volume of the Journal of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia, published some interesting remarks on the anatomy of
the Amphiuma means, and says that he never saw the slightest appearance of
gills even in specimens that did not exceed three inches in length.

To Cuvier we are, however, indebted for the best account of the anatomy of
this animal, and he clearly proves that it cannot be the Siren lacertina in any
stage of development whatever, its organization is so entirely dissimilar.

The Amphiuma means is known to the negroes with us under the name of
Congo Snake, and is regarded, without the slightest appearance of truth, as
exceedingly venomous.

* J'ai decouvert un fait scion moi tres-interessant; j'ai vu dans le Museum Hunterien une
Sirene lacertina avec les rudiments des pieds de derriere, &c. &c. Rusconi, loc. cit., p. 11.

■f. ^hirc/i de! ■

AmpliiiiKwi li'iil.iclyla.
31.

■'" ^- i'Hoal i«/*. /VjiV*

93

AMPHIUMA TRIDACTYLUM.— Cwwie/-.

Plate XXXI.
Characters. Anterior extremities with three fingers; posterior with three toes.

Synonymes. Amphiuma tridactylum, Cuvier, Mem. du Mus. d'Hist. Nat., torn. xiv. p. 17.
Amphiuma tridactylum, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 86.

Description. "The description of the Amphiuma means will apply in almost
all respects to the species with three toes. Its general form is the same; its
length is twenty times its diameter; the length of its head is nearly one-fourteenth
of the body; the tail constitutes exactly one-fourth. In a word, in order to dis-
tinguish them, it is necessary to confine our attention to the extremities, when we
observe that the hands and feet are divided each into three toes, perfectly distinct,
which constitutes the only visible external character."

Habits. I am unacquainted with the habits of the Amphiuma tridactylum, but
suppose them to be similar to those of the Amphiuma means.

Geographical Distribution. This reptile is found in Louisiana, from which
state Cuvier received his first specimen. They also inhabit Mississippi and
Arkansas, as Dr. Pitcher observed them in Neorho river, and presented the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia with a fine specimen procured near
Fort Gibson.

General Remarks. It is to Cuvier that we are indebted for the description of
this animal.
Vol. v.— 13

T K Fat/, f.i„ul

Metiopomu Alleghanensis

3?

-F S J)u,faU.l^Lt^ ThW^

95

MENOPOMA .—Harlan.

Genus Menopoma. — Characters. Head large, flat; upper jaw with two con-
centric series of minute teeth; inner series less extensive and terminating before
posterior nares; lower jaw with a single series; single spiracle on each side;
extremities four; fingers four; toes five, all short and palmated.

MENOPOMA ALLEGHANIENSIS.— Lf^;m7/e.

Plate XXXII.

Characters. Head very large, broad, flat; mouth large, with thick lips; two
series of teeth in the upper, and a single series in the lower jaw; body short, pale
cinereous, with dusky blotches; extremities short; fingers and toes short, more or
less palmated.

SrNONYMEs. Salamandra Alleghaniensis, Latreille, Hist. Nat. Rept., torn. ii. p. 253, pi. 1.
Salamandra Alleghaniensis, Daitdin, Hist. Nat. des Rept, torn. viii. p. 231.
Molge gigantea, Merrem, Versuch eines Syst. der Amphib.
Salamandra gigantea, Barton.

Abranchus Alleghaniensis, Harlan, Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., vol. i. p. 233, pi. 17.
Menopoma Alleghaniensis, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. S7.
Hellbender, Vulgo.

Description. The head is large, flat, and broad, with the snout full and
rounded. The mouth is large, and covered with thick fleshy lips. The tongue

96

MENOPOMA ALLEGHANIENSIS.

thin, broad, flat, rounded in front, attached behind and below, free and movable
only at its anterior and lateral margins. The superior maxillary teeth are
arranged in two concentric series, of which the internal are most prominent, but
are less numerous as they terminate before and on the outer side of the posterior
nares.

The nostrils are anterior and very small. The eyes are very minute and black.

The neck is contracted, with a single spiracle or bronchial opening on each
side, but there is no cutaneous fold at the throat. The body is stout, thick, sub-
cylindrical, and the vent appears a circular orifice, with a plaited margin, unlike
the longitudinal fissure of the Salamanders. The tail is large, much compressed
laterally, broader below, with a rayless fin along its whole superior border, and is
ancipital only for an inch or two from its tip.

The anterior extremities are short, thick, and fimbriated throughout their whole
external border; there are four fingers, short, flattened, without nails, and palmated
at their roots. The posterior extremities are also short, thick, and still more
broadly fimbriated on their posterior border; there are five toes, palmated, the
two internal have the web least extensive.

Colour. This animal I have never seen alive, but Dr. De Kay represents it as
pale slate-colour, mottled with dusky; and from his plate was the accompanying
figure coloured.

Dimensions. Length of head, 1| inches; length of body, 9 inches; length of
tail 4j inches: total length, 15 inches.

Habits. The Menopoma Alleghaniensis lives entirely in water. It is car-
nivorous and very voracious, feeding on fish, worms, and shell-fish.

Geographical Distribution. The Menopoma Alleghaniensis is found in the

MENOPOMA ALLEGHANIENSIS. 97

Alleghany river and its tributaries, and doubtless inhabits many of the branches
of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

General Remarks. This reptile was first described by Latreille from a fine
specimen procured by Michaux, the botanist, in Virginia, among the Alleghany
Mountains.

To Dr. Harlan, however, we are indebted for an excellent description of the
anatomy of this animal, and he first recognised the impossibility of placing it
among the Salamanders, and established for it a new genus, Menopoma.

N. B. — The beautiful plate accompanying this description, was done for Dr.
Harlan from life, but uncoloured, by Mr. Peale. The snout, however, seems to
me much more truncated than in the preserved specimens that I have examined;
in them it appears full and rounded, as in the next species, {Menopoma fusca.)

■mj-f^i^x •

-*'»"'*' fi

•f ' i^s./Jin.K^

Menopoma fuscy .

^^e./lu.-ii Uci

■sa

99

MENOPOMA FVSCA.—HolbrooL

Plate XXXIII.

Characters. Head large, flat; snout full and rounded; body above uniform
umber, beneath paler.

Description. The Menopoma fusca resembles in its general form the Meno-
poma Alleghaniensis, but its head is rather larger in proportion, and the snout
more full, broader and rounded; the palatine group of teeth is more concentric
with that of the superior maxillary, but after all, we must depend chiefly on the
colour to distinguish this animal from the Menopoma Alleghaniensis.

Dimensions. The proportions of this animal are the same as those of the
Menopoma Alleghaniensis, yet it reaches a greater size — I have seen one nearly
18 inches in length.

Geographical Distribution. This reptile inhabits the waters of the moun-
tainous regions of North Carolina and Georgia, where they are said to be
abundant.

General Remarks. I have never seen but one individual of this species,
which was captured in the waters of French Broad, by my friend Dr. Hardy, of
Ashville, Buncomb county, North Carolina. The colouring may be relied on, as
it was done from life.

Siren Lacerlina

C Suffers j?iJtj^'

TSJ)uycU.J.Mi ehW

3*.

101

Family II. PHANEROBRANCHOIDEA.

CHARACTERS.

Gills permanent; spiracles or branchial orifices concealed by branchial tufts.

SIREN . — LhmcEus.

Genus Siren. — Characters. Head short; mouth small; tongue arrow-shaped;
palatine teeth minute, numerous on the outer margin of the bone; gills persistent
during life; branchial tufts three; spiracles three; body eel-shaped; anterior
extremities, but neither pelvis nor posterior extremities.

SIREN LACERTINA.— Lm«a;«s.

Plate XXXIV.

Characters. Head short; frontal region elevated; snout depressed; branchial
tufts three; spiracles three; body anguilliform; tail long, compressed, with a
rayless fin above and below; anterior extremities only with four short, small
fingers each; colour above dusky, approaching to black, with numerous white or
yellowish-white spots; abdomen purplish.
Vol. v.— 14

102 SIREN LACERTINA.

Synonymes. Siren lacertina, Linnseus, Amocnit. Acad., torn. vii. p. 311.
Mud iguana, Ellis, Phil. Trans. London, vol. Ivi. p. 189.
Murena siren, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. Linn., torn.' i. pars iii. p. 1136.
Siren lacertina, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. iii. p. 601.
Siren lacertina, Schneider, Hist. Amphib., fas. i. p. SS.
Siren lacertina, Daudin, Hist. Nat. des Rept, torn. viii. p. 272.
Siren lacertina, Merrem, Versuch eines Syst. der Amphib., p. 18S,
Siren lacertina, Harlan, JNIed. and Phys. Res., p. SS.
Mud Eel or Siren, Vulgo.

Description. The head is rather small for the size of the animal, sub-oval,
with the forehead elevated, and the snout flattened and truncated. The mouth is
small, and covered with tolerably thick lips; the tongue is arrow-shaped, broadest
and adherent posteriorly, free only at its anterior and lateral margin. There are
no teeth in the upper jaw, but a broad group of numerous minute teeth begins at
the anterior margin of the palate bones and extends along their outer border.

The nostrils are small, latero-anterior, and open outwards. The eyes are
superior, very small, black, and covered with a cuticular prolongation. The neck
is contracted, with three spiracles or branchial openings, elliptical, vertical, the
central one largest; these are covered by three branchial tufts, of which the
anterior is smallest and the posterior largest.

The body is eel-shaped, though robust; the tail is long, compressed, ancipital,
with a rayless fin both above and below.

The anterior extremities alone exist, and these are but slightly developed, so as
to be of little service, if any, in progression, and yet they are in constant motion
as the animal moves from place to place on land, and are folded back when it
swims in water. There are four short fingers to each extremity, the tips of which
are rather pointed, slightly curved, and terminate in semicorneous tips.

Colour. The whole superior surface is dusky, sometimes almost black, and is

SIREN LACERTINA. 103

generally, though not always, studded with small white or milky-white dots. The
under surface is purple, with a tinge of violet.

Dimensions. Length of head, 1 inch; length of body, 12 inches; length of tail,
6 inches: total length, 19 inches. They frequently reach dimensions much
greater. I have often seen them 2 feet long; and Dr. Philip Tydiman, of
Charleston, informs me that many years since he procured one nearly 3 feet in
length for the celebrated Blumenbach of Goettingen.

Habits. The Siren lacertina lives chiefly in mud, and is abundant in our rice-
fields, and are often thrown out in great numbers, at certain seasons, when the
ditches are cleaned; being regarded, however, as venomous by the slaves, they
are instantly killed or dreadfully mangled, and left to serve as food for racoons or
for turkey-buzzards ever on the watch.

Sometimes they leave the soft mud, in which they commonly burrow, and take
to the water, in which they swim with great swiftness. My colleague. Professor
Moultrie, assures me that occasionally they are taken by persons angling for the
common perch of Carolina, (Pomotis Vulgaris,) with a bait of earthworms.

Sometimes they leave the water entirely, like eels, and are found on dry land;
but whether in search of food, or to rid themselves of parasitic animals, cannot at
this moment be determined.

Geographical Distribution. The range of the Siren lacertina begins as far
north as latitude 35°, whence it reaches through South Carolina and Georgia to
East Florida; but I have no evidence of their existence in any of the rivers or
streams that empty into the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Conrad the conchologist, in
fact ascertained, that the dividing ridge of high land between the waters of the
Appalachicola and Altamaha rivers, was an important limit in the geographical
distribution of fresh-water shells; and it will doubtless be found the same as
regards other animals exclusively aquatic.

104 SIREN LACERTINA.

General Remarks. The Siren lacertina was first observed in South Carohna
by Dr. Garden, who sent it with the following remarks to Linnaeus: "this extra-
ordinary two-legged animal lives in dams and ponds of fresh-water all over the
province (South Carolina). I have them of all sizes, from 4 inches to 3 feet in
length, and they always appeared to me the same animal in every thing but
magnitude."

Linnseus, struck with the singular appearance and organization of this curious
reptile, wrote to Dr. Garden, that "nothing had ever so much exercised his
thoughts, nor was there any thing he so much Avished to know as the real nature
of an animal so extraordinary." Unable to refer it to any family of reptiles, he
instituted for it a new order and genus; Ordo III., Amphibia meantes; Genus,
Siren; which were published in the seventh volume of the Amoenitates Academicse,
for the year 1765.

At first Linnseus seems to have thought it possible that the Siren might be the
larva of some large and unknown Salamander,* and not an animal in its perfect
or ultimate state; and he further says, "if it is a larva the Doctor (Garden) will
doubtless find specimens with four legs." This opinion was adopted by the most
celebrated naturalists until within a few years; thus Lacepede says that he "never
for a single moment doubted that this animal was a larva and ought not to form
a new genus." Even Cuvier himself was at first inclined to this opinion, though
he subsequently abandoned it.

The publication of the correspondence of Garden with Linnseus on this subject
in 1821, settled the question at last; for in 1770 he writes, "I have taken every
opportunity of examining whether the Siren undergoes any metamorphosis or not;
and though I have observed them in various stages, from its smallest to its largest
size, I have never perceived any variation in form or other respects;" and in

* Siren lacertina an Larva Lacertse? Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 371.

SIREN LACERTINA. X05

1771 he further remarks — "I have now clearly ascertained that the Siren is
oviparous, and that it never undergoes any metamorphosis." These observations
have been confirmed by several American naturalists, as Leconte, Dr. W. Hume,
and Dr. E. Ravenel of Charleston.

Siren intermedia

ThoftH. /M-ffan. jUJ)//tju'

;i.'i.

fX-J^uyti/.I.li/i 7-JUi^

107

SIREN INTERMEDIA.— Lecorete.

Plate XXXV.

Characters. Head rather small, flattened; snout small and rounded; neck
contracted; spiracles concealed by a fleshy trilobate operculum, smooth above,
reticulated and fringed below; colour dusky, approaching to bluish-black.

Synontmes. Siren intermedia, Leconte, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., vol. i. p. 53.
Siren intermedia, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. S9.
Siren intermedia, JVagler, Naturlich. Syst. der Amphib., p. 310.

Description. The head is sub-oval and rather small, with the frontal region
depressed, and the snout small, rounded and not truncated as in the Siren
lacertina. The mouth is small; the tongue is small, arrow-shaped, though rather
rounded in front, and is only free at its tip, and for a short distance at its anterior
and lateral margins; the teeth are very minute.

The nostrils are latero-anterior. The eyes are small, black, and covered with
cuticle, as in the eel. The neck is contracted, and the spiracles or branchial
orifices are concealed by a fleshy trilobate covering on each side, which is smooth
above, but reticulated and fimbriated below; and this net work seems to be made
up of minute filaments resembling the fimbriated gills of the Siren lacertina.

The body is eel-shaped. The tail is thick at its root, but soon becomes
laterally compressed, and towards the tip is ancipital, with a narrow rayless fin
above and below. The anterior extremities, which alone e.xist, are small, short.

J 08 SIREN INTERMEDIA.

and terminate each in four short unarmed fingers, of which the external is very
minute.

Colour. The whole superior surface of the animal is dusky, approaching to
bluish-black; beneath it is tinged with purple.

Dimensions. Length of head in the specimen above described, 8 lines; length
of body to vent, 6 inches; length of tail 2i inches: total length, 9 inches 2 lines.

Habits, The Siren intermedia frequents swamps and rice-field ditches, like the
Siren lacertina; but of the nature of its food I can say nothing.

Geographical Distribution. This reptile inhabits Georgia and South Carolina;
Leconte observed it in the former, and Dr. Blanding in the latter state.

General Remarks. Leconte was the first naturalist who observed this animal,
and described it under the specific name it here bears.

T'AofM^ti^an, Jlt.D.pim^

Siren striata
36.

J- JiHuyai.ZilAJ'iat

109

SIREN STRIATA.— Leco«/e.

Plate XXXVI.

Characters. Head small, depressed; snout rather pointed; colour above
dusky, with a broad yellow stripe on each side, and another stripe stdl paler
below; abdomen speckled brownish-white.

Synonymes. Siren striata, Leconte, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., vol. i. p. 54, pi. 4.
Siren striata, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 88.
Siren striata, JVagler, Naturlich. Syst. der Amphib., p. 310.

Description. The head is small, sub-oval, flattened, with the snout rather
pointed. The mouth is small; the tongue is small, arrow-shaped, and pointed in
front, free only at its tip, and for a short distance along its anterior and lateral
margins.

The nostrils are anterior. The eyes are lateral, and rather large for a Siren,
and are of a dusky-grey colour. The neck is contracted but slightly, and has a
single spiracle on each side, concealed by three fleshy prolongations, with fim-
briated edges, the anterior very small.

The body is eel-shaped. The tail is long in proportion, thick, and rounded at
its root, but is soon compressed laterally, and is ancipital near its tip, though
hardly furnished with a rayless fin, as in the two last species. The anterior
extremities, which alone exist, are very small, and terminate each in three minute
unarmed fingers.
Vol. v.— 15

no SIREN STRIATA.

Colour. The whole animal is dusky-brown above, with a yellow band or stripe
on each side, and a second band of paler colour below; the "abdomen is speckled
greyish-white."

Dimensions. Length of head, 7 lines; length of body to vent, 3h inches; length
of tail, 2 inches: total length, 6 inches 1 line.

Habits. The Siren striata does not seem to differ much in its habits from the
Siren lacertina, it seeks the same localities and the same food. Leconte, however,
says they do not burrow in mud, but swim constantly in water, and die soon if
removed from it; yet the recent observations of Dr. Harden of Riceborough, in
Georgia, prove that they are often found in soft mud.

General Remarks. It is again to that accurate naturalist Leconte that we are
indebted for a knowledge of this beautiful reptile.

Menol)i'aiiflius nmiiilatus

SJJ f//>pkff.-^ pf//j~'

/■S /!///,,/. i/M /■////"

37.

Ill

MENOBRANCHUS .—Harlan.

Genus Menobranchus. — Characters. Gills persistent through life; head large;
mouth large; upper jaw armed with a single series of small, conical, pointed
teeth; palatine teeth in a series nearly concentric with the superior maxillary, and
terminating behind the posterior nares; neck contracted, with two spiracles on
each side, covered by three branchial tufts; tail compressed laterally, ancipital;
extremities four; fingers four; toes four.

MENOBRANCHUS MACULATUS.— Barnes.

Plate XXXVII.

Characters. Body above dusky cinereous-grey, irregularly interspersed with
sub-circular spots of darker hue; a brown stripe extends from the snout back-
wards over the eye.

Synonymes. Menobranchus maculatus, Barnes, Amer. Jour. Arts and Sci.,vol. xiii. p. 68.
Proteus of the Lakes, Mitchell, Amer. Jour. Arts and Scien., vol. iv. p. 181, also vol.

vii. p. 63.
Monograph of Doubtful Animals, Barnes, Amer. Jour. Arts and Scien., vol. xi. p. 268.
Menobranchus lateralis, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 89.

Description. The head is large, flattened, with the snout truncated abruptly.
The mouth is large, reaching to the eyes, and is covered by thick fleshy lips.
The tongue is large, full, entire in front, free and movable only at its apex, and
for a short distance along its lateral and anterior margins.

112 MENOBRANCHUS MACULATUS.

The nostrils are small, lateral, and very near the margin of the upper lip. The
eyes are small and far asunder. The neck is contracted, with a transverse
cutaneous fold at the throat, and three rows of external gills on each side, which
are placed on the posterior margins of corresponding fleshy prolongations, and
supported by three "branchial arches, between which are two apertures or open-
ings apparently for the water to pass through;" these gills are exceedingly minute,
and resemble fringe of the finest texture.

The body is elongated and sub-cylindrical, a little depressed along the mesial
line, and is covered with a smooth skin permeated by many pores. The tail is
long, broad vertically, ancipital and rounded at the tip.

The anterior extremities are short, and terminate in four unarmed fingers; the
posterior are nearly of the same size, and end in four toes without nails.

Colour. The ground colour of the whole superior surface of the animal is
dark cinereous-grey, produced by minute yellowish specks on a dark bluish
ground, and irregularly interspersed with sub-circular spots of a darker hue, and
of the size of a pea; a brownish stripe begins at the snout and extends backwards
over the eye. The throat and abdomen along the mesial line are nearly white.
The margins of the tail are often of an orange tint, with blackish blotches near
the tip. This animal I have never seen alive, but Professor Benedict says, "the
gills are of a most rich crimson colour, and these the animal keeps in constant
motion as a fish does its gills; in bringing them down to the neck the filaments
are brought pretty close to the fleshy fimbrise; on elevating them the fimbriae
dilate and float as it were in the water, presenting from the beauty of their colour
and gracefulness of their motions an appearance beautiful beyond description."

Of the correctness of the drawing and colouring of the beautiful accompanying
plate, there can be no doubt, as it was done from life by an accomplished artist
as well as profound scholar, the Right Reverend J. H. Hopkins, Bishop of
Vermont.

MENOBRANCHUS MACULATUS. 113

Dimensions. Length of head, I5 inches; breadth of head, II inclics; length of
body to vent, 7 inches; length of tail beyond, 3i inches: total length, 12 inches.

Habits. Of the habits of this reptile but little is known; in general it remains
at the very bottom of the waters it inhabits, where it swims or creeps along the
ground with a slow serpentine motion; it is said rarely to leave the water and
crawl to the shore. The Menobranchus maculatus is seldom taken, except in the
months of April and May, which is their spawning season; at this time they are
found about waterfalls, where they conceal themselves in crevices of rocks, and
are now often caught with the hook baited for catfish (Silurus) or eels, though
little desired by the fishermen, by whom they are regarded as poisonous, and are,
consequently, seldom taken in hand. Their eggs are about the size of peas, and
as many as one hundred and fifty have been counted in a single female. The
Menobranchus maculatus feeds on various kinds of worms, insects, shell-fish, and
crustaceous animals.

Though living almost entirely in water, it does not appear that it opens its
mouth, or that the water passes through it to the branchial arches, as in fishes,
during respiration; but that function seems to be performed "simply by the
vibratory motion of the gills in water." "When kept in a vessel containing a
large quantity of water, or in which the water is frequently changed, it manifests
but little disposition to rise to the surface for atmospheric air; but when the
quantity of water is small, or not often changed, it soon finds the air in the water
insufficient for its purposes, when it ascends to the surface, takes a mouthful of
air, and sinks again with it to the bottom."

Geographical Distribution. This reptile has as yet been found only in Lake
Champlain and Lake Erie, and their tributary streams. They are said to be
common at the Falls of Onion river, near Burlington, Vermont.

General Remarks. There can be no doubt that this animal was first described

H4 MENOBRANCHUS MACULATUS.

by Schneider;* indeed, his description is too good to be mistaken; he says he
found it in the Museum of Professor Helwigg, at Brunswick — that it came from
Lake Champlain — that it is reputed poisonous by fishermen, &c. &c.; he regards
it, however, as a species of Siren.

This reptile is next mentioned in the work of Daudin, who very erroneously
regarded it as the larva or young of the Menopoma Alleghaniensis.

Di'. Mitchell gave a good description of it in the seventh volume of Silliman's
Journal of Arts and Sciences, under the name of Proteus of the Lakes.

The account, however, of this animal, given by Mr. Barnes, aided by Professor
Benedict, is the most accurate and most interesting of any that has fallen under
my observation.

* Pervenit eo ex Americano lacu Champlain dicto transmissum, ubi captum cum piscibus
timent ecu venenatum piscatores. Corpus ultra 8 pollices longum et fere poUicem crassum,
molle, spongiosum, multis poris pervium, in utroque latere tribus macularum rotundarum,
nigrarum seriebus varicgatum: cauda compressa et anceps, utrinque maculata, inferiore acie
recta, supcriore curvata, in finem leretusculum terminatur. Caput latum et planum: oculi
parvi, narcs anteriores in margine labii superioris, maxillae superioris gemina; ut inferioris,
dentes conici, obtusi, satis longi: lingua lata, integra, anterius soluta: apertura oris patet
usque ad oculorum lineam verticalem: labia piscium labiis similia: pedes dissiti quatuor, tetra-
dactyli omnes, absque unguiculis: ani rima in longitudinem patet: Branchia; utrinque ternse
extus propendent, appositse superne totidem arcubus cartilagineis, quorum latus internum
tubercula cartilaginea, velut in piscium genere, exasperant, &c. &c.

Mi'iMtlninichUf; Lii1<*n»lis

" % /;///■..-/, /,i/4/V/,

,;8.

115

MENOBRANCHUS LATERALIS.— %.

Plate XXXVIII.

Characters. Head large, flattened above, truncated at the snout; body elon-
gated, dusky-brown above, with a dark vitta extending from the nostrils through
the eye, and along the flanks to the tail, which is compressed and ancipital;
branchial tufts red.

Synonymes. Triton lateralis, Say, Long's Exped. to Rock. Mount., vol. i. p. 5.
Menobranchus lateralis, Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res., p. 89.

Description. The head of the Menobranchus lateralis is large, broad, flattened
above, truncated or almost sub-emarginate at the snout. The mouth is large,
reaching to the eyes, and is covered with thick fleshy lips. The tongue is broad,
full in front, and is free and movable at its tip, and for a short distance at its
anterior and lateral margins.

The nostrils are lateral, and very near the margin of the upper lip. The eyes
are small and far asunder, with the pupil as well as iris dark grey. The neck is
contracted, with two spiracles or branchial orifices on each side, concealed by
three branchial tufts.

The body is elongated, sub-cylindrical, and covered with a smooth soft skin.
The tail is long, laterally compressed, ancipital and rounded at the tip, like that
of an eel. The vent is a longitudinal fissure.

There are four extremities; the anterior are short, placed behind and near the

11(3 MENOBRANCHUS LATERALIS.

gills, and terminate in four small fingers destitute of nails; the posterior extremi-
ties are nearly of the same size as the anterior, and terminate in four unarmed
toes.

Colour. The head above, as well as the whole superior surface of the animal,
is uniform dusky-brown; from the nostrils on each side extends a dark or even
black vitta through the eye, along the flanks, though there it is less distinctly
marked, and is finally lost on the tail. The inferior is dirty flesh-colour at the
throat and abdomen. The branchial tufts are of beautiful crimson colour during
the life of the animal, but become discoloured and dark soon after death. I have
never seen the Menobranchus lateralis alive, yet I have every reason to believe
the accompanying plate to be accurately drawn and coloured, as it was done from
life by Mr. Heimors, under the direction of Professor Troost.

Dimensions. Length of head, li inches; length of body to vent, 7 inches;
length of tail, 3^ inches: total length, 12 inches.

Habits. The Menobranchus lateralis lives in deep waters, and feeds on small
shell-fish, crustaceous animals, &c. &c.

Geographical Distribution. This reptile has a wide range, it being found in
many of the rivers and streams that open into the Mississippi on its eastern side,
but I am not aware of its existence west of that river. Say found it as far north
as Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, and Troost as far south as Cumberland river, in

Tennessee.

General Remarks. The Menobranchus lateralis was first described by Say
from a specimen taken by himself with a hook in the Alleghany river. He con-
sidered it a Triton, and applied to it the specific name "lateralis," from the dark
"vitta" along the side of the head and body. At first I was disposed to believe
that the Menobranchus maculatus and the Menobranchus lateralis were one and
the same animal; but I am now convinced that the latter is at least a well marked

MENOBRANCHUS LATERALIS. U7

variety, if not a distinct species; it is more slender in proportion — its colour and
markings are different — it is found only in the western waters that run into the
Mississippi, while the former inhabits the rivers and streams that flow into the
northern lakes and all the tributaries of the St. Lawrence river.

Reptiles known to inhabit the United States, but which I have never been
able to procure.

Ameiva tessellata. Say. Long's Exped. to Rocky Mount., vol. ii. p. 50.

"Characters. Above black, marked with nine or ten longitudinal lines, and
eighteen or twenty transverse ones, dividing the whole surface in a tessellated
manner, the lines being brownish on the back, yellowish on the sides; scales of
the back small, convex and rounded; beneath bluish-white; throat and neck yellow-
ish; head olivaceous, covered with plates; scales on the throat somewhat larger
than those on the back; anterior feet yellowish within, covered with minute
scales; on the exterior and posterior sides greenish-white, with confluent black
spots and minute scales; the anterior side yellowish, with larger scales; pores of
the thighs very distinct and prominent; tail elongated, brownish above, spotted
with black near the base; beneath, impure white, immaculate; the scales carinated
and placed in transverse series. Length, one foot; tail, eight and a half inches.
Inhabits Arkansas Territory." Dr. Harlan thinks this animal may prove the
Ameiva sexlineata, which can hardly be, as Say must have been well acquainted
with the latter animal; and besides, their colour and markings are entirely
different.

Vol. v.— 16

118 CONCLUSION.

Coluber favigasler, Say, Long's Exped. to Rocky Mount,, vol. i. p. 185.

Characters. Above olivaceous; beneath yellow; lower jaw beneath white; scales
destitute of a carina. Total length, three feet eleven inches; tail, eleven inches;
abdominal plates, one hundred and seventy-six; caudal scales, eighty-four.
Inhabits Missouri.

Conclusion. I have now described and figured all the reptiles, with one or two
exceptions, that I am at this moment willing to admit into our Herpetology, as
existing within the limits prescribed for this work. That a great many more will
be found when the vast country west of the Mississippi shall be explored, there
cannot be the least doubt, but their description must be left to other and abler
hands.

THE END.

ERRATA.

Vol. v., p. 30~fourth line from top, after " each" add " side."

I. 93 — fourth line from bottom, for " Neoro " read
" Neosho:'

SYNONYM ES.

Bufo ientiginosus, p. 7, for page 106 read page 109.

da Carolhiu."
sea-blue."
Helicops abacurus."
'lis Tropidonotus."
' read "carinated hex-

118 CONCLUSION.

Coluber favigaster, Say, Long's Exped. to Rocky Mount., vol. i. p. 185.

Characters. Above olivaceous; beneath yellow; lower jaw beneath white; scales
destitute of a carina. Total length, three feet eleven inches; tail, eleven inches;
abdominal plates, one hundred and seventy-six; caudal scales, eighty-four.
Inhabits Missouri.

Conclusion. I b^'^'f "f^"' /locr-viK^;! — a a j -n ^i-- ^ .•' ■•'

exceptions, that I ;
existing within the
be found when the
cannot be the leat
hands.

THE END.

ERRATA.

Vol. I. page 36, fourth line from top, for "Cistuda clausa," read "Cistuda Carolina.'"
Vol. II. p. 27, third line from bottom, for "dark sea-blue," read "■deep sea-blue."
Vol. IV. p. 27, fifth line from bottom, for "Coluber abacurus," read "Helicojis abacurus."
" p. 38, ninth line from top, for "The Tropidonotus," read " This Tropidonotus."
« p. 42, twelfth line from top, for "hexagonal carinated scales," read "carinated hex-
agonal scales."

%

^:r

i^

iqj:

O X

«*^:^

»-:»>:i>i

saiiiJL

-'^Ji

>:»3 .->s3»v

-^'\

^^^f^

4*>T

(IM

•s>

' '>Bie» ^:» ^ iiirsrft.

.>t>

»c

^^;

^^..--f'^L,- =^^

*'>.^^-

*^^B»j>i\-.

bS5>

*>.«

i»> 1

o:

,> >j.

3' JOj>i • 3>JXg»y .

':x:j?-

>.£»

#.

•-> _ J^ .»-*

■m^

■■ M

.'.■ .^>'

^ ?

,>_

»^ J,

^

a

9^

2ir

>

\ 1 «Ti»'i

^I'l-rifi,

^:j

^3» ^
1 ~3& ^

^

^

BT
^

J

...... J

1

^

>>:>3j>:y-

, ^^* ^^..' ,3*"^

^Q^i^-:

£»:

»J5^

^■g?.

^

'^^^

Jt» J

g^f

%^4^

»>

^

> :