Great Salamanders and their Associates 



follow this general rule and bear markings char- 

 acteristic of the species to which they belong. 



Misled by the froglike aspect of the skull 

 of some of these large amphibians, paleontolo- 

 gists were for a time led to suppose that there 

 was a still further resemblance ; and Waterhouse 

 Hawkins restored a labyrinthodont in the like- 

 ness of a huge frog, a frog larger than an ox, 

 of the size the frog in the fable aspired to. 

 But later discoveries revealed the existence of 

 a stout though stumpy tail, and showed that 

 this restoration was more picturesque than accu- 

 rate — showed, too, that the legs of a labyrintho- 

 dont were not at all like those of a frog, but 

 much shorter and not at all suitable for leaping. 

 Still they were probably pretty active animals 

 at times, for while all labyrinthodonts were, as 

 indicated by their teeth, carnivorous, the largest 

 among them were, by their gaping jaws and 

 long, sharp fangs, particularly well fitted for 

 playing the role of beasts of prey, and their 

 smaller brethren and the more sluggish fishes 

 must have fallen frequent victims to their vo- 

 racity. 



125 



