64 John Hewitt 



attracted by the smell of the dead tadpoles or the eggs, and 

 many people seeing the flies issuing from the ball think it was 

 deposited by them. 



Referring to this species, Mr. R. H. Harris, now stationed 

 at Cogweni Camp in Northern Zululand, writes: — *' While in 

 the bush yesterday (Nov., 21st), I came upon a pond and 

 noticed, attached to the trees bordering it, large masses of spume. 

 Thinking it might be cercopids, I collected one lump and found 

 inside it some thousands of cream coloured eggs and many tad- 

 poles. The outside of the masses was firm and dry, while inside 

 was considerable moisture resembling the spume one sees at 

 times on the sea shore. The masses were as large as cocoanuts, 

 attached to the branches sometimes as much as eight or nine 

 feet above ground, and overhanging the water." 



A very curious tadpole (Heleophr^ne) was found a few 

 years ago by Rev. P. Boneberg in Krantzkloof, Natal, the mouth 

 of this creature is modified into a large circular sucker, by means 

 of which the tadpole attaches itself firmly to the rocks in the 

 river beds. Living specimens when handled are apt to cause 

 great consternation by sticking like leeches to the hand of the 

 captor. Their home is a stream, strewn with boulders, and 

 interrupted by several falls and cascades in the valley of the 

 Krantzkloof; there, in virgin forest at an elevation of about 

 1 ,500 ft. the heleophrynes revel in little pools, browsing on rocks 

 especially where the water flows freely. Their parents probably 

 live in trees but nothing whatever is known of their habits, 

 and the only specimen in any collection is the juvenile example 

 reared from a tadpole by Boneberg from which the species 

 was described. 



The sucking habit would seem to be an adaptation to life in 

 mountain streams enabling the creature to enter its home even 

 when the streams are scoured by violent torrents of water. Such 

 an adaptation had not previously been known amongst African 

 toads but I have since learnt from two independent sources, Mr. 

 K. H. Barnard and Mr. J. H. Power, that similar tadpoles 

 occur on the mountains not far from Capetown. It is noteworthy 

 that tadpoles with large suckers around the mouth occur also 



