TAILLESS BATRACHIANS 



233 



toes, and a more or less distinct tympanum, the latter in 

 being stout and toad-like, with broadly webbed toes and 

 no tympanum. 



The Parsley Frog, Pdodytes punctatus, is greyish or pale 

 olive above, with small irregular bright green spots, 

 which are occasionally confluent into more or less regular 

 cross-bars on the limbs ; an X-shaped light marking is 

 usually distinct on the back. The male differs from the 

 female in having a shorter body, longer and more robust 

 fore limbs, and in the presence of an internal vocal sac, 



Fig. 22. — Eggs of the Parsley Frog. 



{After Boulenger.^ 



which communicates with the mouth through a long slit 

 on each side of the tongue. 



The Parsley Frog, which is abundant throughout 

 France, Spain, and Portugal, is thoroughly nocturnal, and 

 is only met with in the daytime during the breeding 

 season. It jumps in the manner of true frogs, swims well 

 in spite of its free toes, and is a good climber, ascending 

 smooth surfaces to which it adheres by means of its 

 abdominal surface. The breeding season commences as 

 early as the end of February, and lasts until the beginning 

 of April ; it has also been recorded as having bred in July, 

 August, and September. The eggs, deposited in stagnant 

 water, are rather small, and are laid in two strings, forming 

 a band, which are twined round weeds below the surface 



