HYLA. 



257 



row, and two bones to the praehallux. Terminal 

 phalanges claw-shaped, swollen at the base. 



Measurements of Skeleton (in millimetres). 



Habits. — Hyla arborea holds a unique position 

 among European Batrachians from its scansorial, 

 arboreal habits. The adhesive disks in which its digits 

 terminate enable it to climb with the greatest facility 

 up smooth vertical surfaces, and a considerable part of 

 its existence is spent in the foliage of bushes and 

 trees. Owing probably to confidence in its protec- 

 tive coloration, this Batrachian makes no attempt 

 to escape when detected, and, although a powerful 

 jumper and expert acrobat, its attitude when handled 

 is so quiet and passive as to make it a pet in all 

 countries : alone of its tribe it does not inspire fright 

 or repulsion to most people, although the acrid secre- 

 tion of its skin is highly poisonous, and produces a 

 smarting sensation when applied to our mucous mem- 

 branes or to excoriated parts of our fingers. 



Its barometrical qualities, so valued in Germany, 

 where the little frog is kept in glass cylinders furnished 

 with a ladder standing in an inch or two of water, 

 which ladder the frog is supposed to ascend or descend, 

 and thus forecast the weather, have been much 

 exaggerated. Lendenfeld's experiments have con- 

 vinced him that no reliance can be placed on its 



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