BATRACHIANS. 37 



do not properly belong to the Batrachia ; nor is their place in the S3'stem as yet 

 quite satisfactorily determined. They seem rather to be a very humble fonn of 

 reptile ; while the Pneudkhthyes should rather be subordinated to the class Pisces : 

 though, as we have seen, there are naturalists who would refer all of the Bafrachia 

 to the fish class, certain forms amongst them rising to a parallelism of development 

 with Reptilia, but still not constituting true reptiles. The mode of reproduction 

 especially is in favotrr of this view. Both Psemlophidia and Pseudichthyes are inter- 

 tropical or subtropical animals, whereas the rest of the Batrachia Gradientia belong 

 almost exclusively to the northern temperate zone ; any exceptional case occurring 

 probably in very elevated regions. Of sixty-six ascertained species, forty-nine are 

 American, and there are five from Japan, inclusive of the Sieboldtia maxima. But 

 more species have been discovered since the catalogue cited has been di-awn up, and 

 of course there must be many yet to be discovered. Five species are referred to the 

 Pseudophidia, and three only to the Paeadichthyes. — Ed. 



