ANURA. STEGOCEPHALI. 313 



end of Febr. or beginning of March, hatch in about 5 days, leave tho 

 water in about 3 months, Eur., N. and temp. Asia'; R. esctdenta L., 

 the common water-frog of Europe, also in W. Asia and N.W. Africa, 

 is found locally in England at Foulmire Fen and Thetford etc., 

 probably introduced ; R. silvatica Leconte, N. Amer. ; R. catcshiana 

 Shaw {mugiena), bull-frog, E. N. Amer., to 7 in., will take ducklings ; 

 R. opisthodon, Solomon Islands, the whole metamorphosis takes 

 place in the egg. Rhacophorus Kuhl, E. Indies, Japan, Madagascar, 

 many species have dermal appendages, in Rh. pardalis (Borneo, 

 Phillipines) the webbed hands and feet are much enlarged and act 

 as parachutes ; the female of Rh. reticulatus of Ceylon attaches the 

 eggs to the surface of her belly, in other species the eggs are laid out 

 of water in a fCamy mass. Chiromantis Ptrs., trop. Afr. Ixalus 

 D. and B., E. Indies. Micrixalus, India. Chirixalus, Karin Hills. 

 Cornufer Tsch., Polynesia, Austro-Malayasia, Phillipines. Phryno- 

 batrachus Gthr., x\frica. Nyctihatrachus Blgr., India. Nannobatra- 

 chus Blgr., Ind. and Ceylon. Nannophrys Gthr., Ceylon. Arthro- 

 leptis Smith, Africa, Madagascar, islands of Indian Ocean, in A. 

 seychellensis the tadpoles are sometimes found adherent to the back 

 of the adult. Rappia Gthr., trop. Afr. and Madagascar. Megalixalus 

 Gthr., trop. Afr. and Madagascar. Cassina Gir., trop. Afr. Hylam- 

 bates A. Dum., trop. Afr. Hylixalus Esp., Ecuador. Prostherapis 

 Cope, S. Amer. Phyllodromufi Esp., Ecuador. Colostethus Cope, 

 Colombia. Trichobatrachus Blgr., Congo ; Gampsosteonyx Blgr. Congo ; 

 Phrynopsis, MozamVjique ; Batrachylodes, Solomon Islands ; Phry- 

 noderma, Karin Hills ; Oreobatrachus, Borneo. 



Sub-fam. 3. Dendrobatinae. Teeth absent. Mantella Blgr., 

 Madagascar ; Dendrobates Wagl., trop. Amer., D. tinctorius strongly 

 poisonous cutaneous secretion, D. braccatus of Brazil carries its tad 

 poles on its back. Cardioglossa, the Gaboon. 



Order 4. Stegocephali.* 



The Stegocephali are extinct salamander-like or lizard-like 

 Amphibia in which the dorsal surface of the skull is completely 

 covered by dermal bones. There is also usually a greater or 

 less development of bony dermal plates on other parts of the 

 body, and a parietal foramen is present between the parietal bones. 

 They make their appearance in the Lower Carboniferous and 

 extend through the Permian into the Upper Trias in which 

 they disappear. They are the earliest known pentadactyle 

 animals. 



The vertebral column varies considerably in structure. In some forms 

 the notochord appears to have been persistent and alinost unconstricted, 

 while at the other extreme of modification solid slightly amphicoelous 

 vertebrae are present (Labyrmthodonts). The ribs, which are one- or 



* Sometimes termed Phractaniphibia. For literature and fuller accoimt 

 see Zittel, Grundziige der Palaeontologie, 1895 (English edition. Macmillan 

 ■& Co., 1902); and Woodward, Vertebrate Palaeontology, 1898. 



