202 



Series B.— FIRMISTERNIA. 



Pectoral arch immoveable, the coracoids firmly united 

 by a simple epicoracoid cartilage ; prcecoracoids rest- 

 ing with their distal extremity upon the coracoids, or 

 connected with the latter by the epicoracoid cartilage. 



Family 5.— RANID^J. 



Vertebrae proccelons, without autogenous ribs ; dia- 

 pophyses of sacral vertebra cylindrical. Upper jaw 

 toothed. 



This family, the most specialised of the order, 

 contains a large number of genera, and its distribution 

 extends over the greater part of the world, Australia, 

 New Zealand, and the southern parts of South 

 America excepted. The genus Bana is its only repre- 

 sentative in the western Palsearctic sub-region. 



8. Rana. 



Linnseus, Syst. Nat., p. 354 (1766).— Partial. 



Pupil horizontal. Tongue free and forked behind. 

 Vomerine teeth. Tympanum distinct or hidden. 

 Fingers free ; toes webbed ; outer metatarsals sepa- 

 rated by web. Omosternum and sternum with a 

 strong bony style. 



The distribution of this genus is the same as that 

 of the family, but only one species, out of about 160 

 that are now known, is found in the tropical parts of 

 South America, and one in the extreme north of 

 Queensland ; the great bulk belong to the Indian 



