TAILLESS BATRACHIANS 217 



nothing extraordinary in the accidental importation of 

 individuals of a tropical species of frog into Europe ; but 

 it is an interesting experience that the species should have 

 permanently established itself. This is owing, in the first 

 place, to the favourable conditions under which it found 

 itself placed, and, secondly, to the peculiar mode of its 

 reproduction." 



The eggs, which number about twenty, are deposited 

 on leaves, and the frogs hatch out after a fortnight. 



In Chiroleptes, of Australia, a burrowing genus, the 

 first finger is opposite to the others. The fingers are 

 free, the toes webbed, with the tips not dilated. 



C. platycephalus is known to the natives as the " Water- 

 holding Frog," on account of the large amount of water 

 stored up in the body cavity, giving the creature a much 

 swollen appearance. Prof. Baldwin Spencer has come 

 across this species in Central Australia, where the natives 

 collect large numbers of these frogs, especially in the very 

 hot weather, thus securing water for drinking purposes, as 

 much as a wineglassful of liquid being contained in a 

 single specimen. He says that they seem to prefer hard 

 clay rather than sand for digging in, as the sand beds are 

 evidently too loose for the formation of the burrow. The 

 frogs are found about a foot underground, in the hard- 

 baked clay, puffed out into a spherical shape, just filling 

 up a cavity, the walls of which are moist. 



The eggs of this curious little creature are laid during 

 the rainy season, in temporary puddles, which, unless a 

 second rainfall occurs, quickly dry up, causing the death 

 of the tadpoles. By far the greater number in consequence 

 never attain maturity, in spite of the fact that the develop- 

 ment is exceedingly rapid. 



