THE BREEDING BEHAVIOUR OF THE FROG 167 



but has thcni on the soles of its feet as well. These are obviously quite 

 useless for holding the female, but are in just the right place for pro- 

 viding a frictional foothold on another male, as I have just described. 

 In the Midwife Toad, Alytcs ohstctricans, there are no nuptial pads. 

 Fatio (1872) attributed tliis to the short time of amplexus, and much 



Fig. 42. A Fight 



The male in possession is on the left. The attacking male has secured a 

 hold on the ventral side of the female, with his head and arms hidden from 

 view behind her head. His legs are extended downwards, and are the two on 

 the right. They have probably been pushed there by the other male, whose 

 right foot has just pushed his opponent's left downwards. His left foot has 

 probably completed a similar movement, and has sUpped away to the left. 

 The female takes no part in these struggles, and remains immobile, with 

 legs extended. Her legs can be seen with feet turned outwards, below. 

 The extraordinary position of the legs is characteristic — frogs can place 

 their legs in what seem to be the most improbable positions. For example, 

 a frog can rub its own back with the soles of its feet. 



later Kammerer (1923) considered that the reason for the absence of 

 the pads was that, in this species, mating takes place on land, so that the 

 skin of the female is not slippery. Mating in Alytes, however, occurs 

 in the burrow made by the male, to which the female goes attracted 

 by the call of the male. Males are said to dispute about the female, 

 but the details are probably different. It is probably this and not the 

 habit of breeding in water that is the important point. 



