VI I'lIAXEROGLOSSA DISCOGLOSSIDAE I 53 



Upper jaw and the voiiieis ure provided with teeth. The mules 

 have no vocal sac. The tadpoles are distinmiished by having 

 the opercular spiracle ])]aced in the middle of the thoracic region 

 (see general anatomical part, p. 44). 



The few members of this family have a peculiar distribution. 

 Liopelma is confined to New Zealand, where it is the solitary 

 representative of the Amphibia. Asccqihus is found in North 

 America. The other genera, Dlscoglossus, Bomhinator, and Alytes, 

 are typical of the Palaearctic sub-region, and are, with the excep- 

 tion oi Bomhinator, confined io the Western Provinces (cf. IMa]!. 

 Fig. 32, on p. 161). 



Discoglossvs. — The tympanum is indistinct, being more or 

 less concealed by the skin. The pupil is round or triangular. 

 The omosternum is small. The vertebrae are of the epichordal 

 type. 



I), pictiis, the only species, has a smootli and shiny skin, 

 provided with numerous small mucous glands. The palms of 

 the hands are provided with three tubercles, of which the inner- 

 most is the largest, and is carried by the vestige of the thumb. 

 The coloration of this species is very variable. The ground- 

 colour of the upper parts is a rich olive brown with darker, light- 

 edged patches, which are either separate or confluent in various 

 ways, forming broad, longitudinal bands, or a few larger asym- 

 metrical patches, separated in some individuals by a broad and 

 conspicuous light brown or yellowish vertebral stripe. An 

 irregular reddish band frequently extends from the eyes back- 

 wards along the sides. The under parts are mostly yellowish 

 white. This variability is purely individual, the most differently 

 marked and variously coloured specimens being found in the same 

 localitv and even amono;st thci members of one and the same brood. 

 Tlie male develops various nuptial excrescences, consisting of 

 ndnute, dark, horny spines, notably on the inner palmar pad, on 

 the inner side of the first and second finger, on the chin and 

 throat, and smaller and more scattered spicules on the belly and 

 legs. 



Tbis pretty and extremely active little creature, wliicii 

 measures between 2 and 3 inches in length, is confined to 

 the south-western corner of the Palaearctic sub-region, being 

 found in Algiers and Morocco, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and the 

 southern and western parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Curiously 



