282 BAKID.S. 



on the inner side of the tarsus near its articulation 

 with the tibia. Two bones in the distal tarsal row, 

 and two in the prashallux. Terminal phalanges obtuse. 

 The different races are only distinguished by the 

 proportions of the femur and crus and the size and 

 form of the prashallux, as indicated externally. 



Measurements (in millimetres). 



Yar. ridibunda. F. typica. Var. lessonee. 



Humerus 



Radius-ulna 



Manus 



Pelvis 



Femur 



Tibia 



Tarsus . 



Pes 



c? ? <? ? <? ? 



22 



22 

 3 

 21 

 21 

 18 

 12 



Length of skull . .26 ... 33 ... 21 ... 27 ... 16 



Width of skull . . 29 ... 37 ... 22 ... 31 ... 17 



Least interorbital width 35... 4 ... 3 ... 35... 25 



Dorsal vertebral column 28 ... 35 ... 21 ... 30 ... 16 



Urostyle . 26 ... 37 ... 21 ... 28 ... 14 



23 ... 28 ... 19 ... 23 ... 14 



14 ... 17 ... 13 ... 15 ... 8 



21 ... 27 ... 19 ... 22 ... 14 



33 ... 45 ... 28 ... 37 ... 19 



38 ... 47 ... 32 ... 38 ... 20 



42 ... 51 ... 33 ... 38 ... 21 



20 ... 25 ... 17 ... 19 ... 12 



42 ... 53 ... 40 ... 43 ... 28 



16 



27 

 29 

 29 

 15 

 34 



Habits. — The so-called "edible frog" is the most 

 aquatic of our Batrachians. The young are some- 

 times found at some distance from water, but the 

 adults keep to ponds and ditches or even rivers (var. 

 ridibunda) and their banks, on which they may be 

 found sunning themselves on fine days, ready to 

 plunge into the water at the least disturbance and 

 conceal themselves for a while in the mud. Their 

 loud and varied croaking, — breheke and croax being the 

 most characteristic utterances, — in which they indulge 

 day and night, especially during the breeding season, 

 has attracted notice from the most remote antiquity. 

 The flesh of their hind quarters is much esteemed as 

 a delicacy, but owing to the late appearance of this 

 species in spring, JR. temporaria is the kind drawn 

 upon on the Brussels, Paris, and Geneva markets 

 during Lent-time, at which season great quantities are 

 consumed. In the late spring and summer this species 

 is more easily procured in large numbers, and there 



