Queries and Answers. 187 



of any of the others. Extremities of all the toes black. 

 The general colour of this animal varies in different indi- 

 viduals ; in some approaching to yellow, in others almost 

 to black. In such as were sickly, the black had a lurid 

 dingy appearance ; the colours lost their brightness, and the 

 yellow dorsal line became nearly obsolete. All the specimens 

 which have as yet fallen under my notice have been small, and 

 considerably under size. Pennant states the following to be 

 the dimensions of this reptile : — Length of the body two 

 inches and a quarter; the breadth, one inch and a quarter; 

 the length of the forelegs, one inch and one sixth ; of the 

 hind legs, two inches." 



Mr. Jenyns, besides enumerating these characteristics of 

 the form of the animal, gives a very pleasing account of its 

 habits. " Its great distinguishing habit," he remarks, " is 

 its mode of progression. Unlike the frog, which advances 

 by regular leaps ; and the toad, whose pace is seldom exerted 

 beyond that of a slow crawl; the natterjack has a kind of 

 shuffling run, which is seen to most advantage when it is fol- 

 lowing its prey, and by which means it is enabled, when in 

 full health and activity, to get over its ground with consider- 

 able quickness." Mr. Jenyns is of opinion that this species 

 does not spawn so early in the year as either the common toad 

 or frog. 



We have now quoted far enough to enable our readers to 

 distinguish the animal, which, notwithstanding the previously 

 existing doubts to the contrary, probably exists in every 

 county of the empire ; and we hope, through the research of 

 our correspondents, to have the pleasure to record, before this 

 time next year, various localities for it. We would request 

 from them, with the notices of localities, facts on the habits 

 of the animal ; for the latter is the more interesting kind of 

 information. That they may be aware what points in its history 

 are not already known, and how to keep the animal in con- 

 finement for convenient everyday examination (should any 

 one desire it), we shall now farther transcribe from Mr. 

 Jenyns's paper his account of his mode of keeping it, and of 

 the manners he observed in it while kept. We should hesi- 

 tate to trespass thus much, did we not feel assured that Mr. 

 Jenyns's devotion to natural history will readily permit us the 

 use of his remarks. Mr. Jenyns met with the natterjack in 

 bogs, on a (Gamlingay) heath, in considerable abundance; 

 but, as two solitary specimens were afterwards met with in two 

 other and distant places, he deems it not so local as was for- 

 merly supposed ; but that, from its general resemblance to 



