PAIRING AND OVIPOSITION. 



73 



females of the same species, on the other hand, develop 

 on the back and limbs, during the breeding season, 

 peculiar pearl-like structures of the epidermis, which 

 are regarded as sensory, being provided with a special 

 innervation, same as we find developed during the 

 spawning season in the males of many Cyprinoid and 

 Salmonoid fishes. These organs have been dealt with 

 at great length by Huber and Maurer. 



Fig. 28. 





MMMm?A 



B 



■ys. 



HP P^ 



sf>MiP0n. f\: 



D 



1~«L 



E 



V* 



■Sy*.^ 



W 



, 



Sections through the nuptial asperities of males, much en- 

 larged (after F. Lataste). A. Bana temporaria. b. Rana 

 esculenta. c. Bufo vulgaris. i>. Bufo calamita. E. Disco- 

 glossus pictus. F. Bombinator paclujpus. 



The males of most of our Batrachians make them- 

 selves conspicuous during the pairing time by their 

 voice, whether they be provided with vocal sacs or 

 not. Although there are some, liana esculenta and 

 Hyla, in which the clamour is not restricted to the 

 breeding season, most others are comparatively mute 

 outside that period, and the vocal sacs undergo a sort 

 of regression, as is especially noticeable in Bana 

 temporaria and Bufo calamita. 



