BUFO. 233 



Measurements of Skeleton (in millimetres). 



Habits. — Like its congener Bufo vulgaris, B. viridis 

 is terrestrial and crepuscular; but, as the breeding 

 season is much more prolonged, lasting from April to 

 the end of June or the middle of July, owing to the 

 different condition of the ovaries in the females, males 

 are found swimming about in the water day and night 

 three months in the year. C. Koch mentions having 

 found spawn near Frankfort-on-the-Main in August, 

 1871. The green toad jumps and swims well, its 

 movements being more lively than those of the common 

 toad, and very different from those of the natterjack, 

 with which, curiously, this species has been united by 

 some authors, who, no doubt, had never observed the 

 two alive. This toad is often found near the dwellings 

 of man, in small gardens, or on waste ground and heaps 

 of rubbish, even in the suburbs of large cities, as Berlin 

 and Frankfort-on-the-Main, where I have myself come 

 across them in such situations. In some parts of 

 Germany it has received the name " Hausunke," from 

 its abundance in cellars. Young specimens are espe- 

 cially conspicuous, hopping about in broad daylight 

 throughout the summer. The odour of the cutaneous 

 secretion, which is produced very readily and in great 

 abundance, reminds me of a linseed poultice. 



The voice of the breeding male is louder than that 

 of the common toad, but much less powerful than 

 that of the natterjack. But for the intensity, it may 



