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This system of giving each plant or animal a name of two words, generic and specific, was suggested by Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist, in the eighteenth century. An animal is sometimes referred to by its generic name only, where there is no necessity to mention species, but both names must be used if a particular species is being discussed.
When you know these facts about scientific names, they become interesting and helpful. A glance at the glossary will show that the group names of animals usually refer to some characteristic shared by the group, and for that reason a good dictionary is a great source of satisfaction to science students. A knowledge of the meansing of one word will often enable a student to define another word which is new to him. It is also interesting to discover the true meanings behind the words we use. For example, tadpole means, literally, "toad head," or toad that is all head, or a young toad, but is used to mean an immature frog or salamander, as well. The word amphibian, taken from the Greek, amphi, on both sides, or in two places, and bios, life, means an animal which lives part of its life in the water and part of its life on land.
Frogs and toads are known as tailless amphibians. The animals commonly called salamanders, newts, mud-puppies, and water dogs, are the tailed amphibians. They are sometimes mistaken for lizards, which
they resemble in shape, but their soft, moist skins are scaleless.
Salamanders have four legs which are short and rather awkward in appearance. One pair is located just back of the head; the second pair of legs is far back on the long body near the tail.
Most young salamanders have gills which they gradually lose, and which are usually replaced by lungs. A few of the tailed amphibians live in the water all their lives and never lose their gills. One such animal is about twelve inches long when fully developed, and has three pairs of bushy gills attached to each side of its head. Some adult salamanders are lungless and depend mainly on their moist skins for respiration.
Salamanders eat smaller animals which live near the bottom of the stream. They also feed upon the eggs of fish. Those you are most likely to find are from four to eight inches in length. The adults usually live on land in damp places, but lay their eggs in the water. Young salamanders will
be found in the water, hiding under stones or among plant roots.
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