154 ANURA CHAP. 



enough it is absent in the Balearic Isles. Rather aquatic in its 

 habits, frequenting pools and streams, it is also often found 

 on land. 



The male has a feeble voice, which sounds like"ha-a, ha-a-a," or 

 " wa-\va-wa," uttered in rapid succession. The pairing season lasts 

 a long time, in Algeria from January to October, but a much shorter 

 time in the north of Portugal, where it extends over the spring 

 and summer months. Boulenger has made extensive observations 

 on many specimens kept in captivity. The embrace, which 

 never lasts long, is lumbar. The eggs are small, 1 to T5 mm. 

 in diameter, dark brown above and greyish below, each sur- 

 rounded by a gelatinous capsule of 3-7 mm. in diameter. The 

 eggs are laid singly, and a set amounts to from 300 to 1000, the 

 whole mass sinking to the bottom of the pool. Each female lays 

 several times during the season. The eggs are developed very 

 rapidly, the larvae escaping sometimes after thirty -six hours, 

 but usually from the second to the fourth day. The external 

 gills are lost on the seventh day, when the tadpoles are 11 mm. 

 long; the hind-limbs appear on the tenth, and after, four weeks 

 the tadpoles reach their greatest length, namely from 25-30 mm. 

 The fore-limbs appear on the thirtieth day, and a few days later 

 the most precocious specimens leave the water and hop about. 

 Others, however, of the same brood took from two to three months 

 in metamorphosing. 



This species lives on insects and worms, and can swallow its 

 prey under water. 



Bombinator. The tympanum is absent and the Eustachian 

 tubes are very minute. The pupil is triangular. The omosternum 

 is absent. The vertebrae are absolutely epichordal. The fingers are 

 free, the toes are webbed. The upper parts are uniformly dark, and 

 are covered with small porous warts. The general shape of the 

 head and body is depressed or flattened downwards. The habits 

 are eminently aquatic. This genus consists of three species, two 

 of which are European, the third Chinese. 



B. ignevs. The under parts are conspicuously coloured bluish 

 black with large irregular red or orange-red patches ; the upper 

 parts are more or less dark grey or olive black. The iris is 

 golden, speckled with brown. The male has a pair of internal 

 vocal sacs by which the throat can be inflated ; nuptial ex- 

 crescences are developed on the inner side of the fore-arm and the 



