THE PROTEUS OF ADELSBERG 



treated of under Axolotl it need not be further referred 

 to for the moment. They are, as their name denotes, 

 provided with tails ; and they are also almost entirely 

 aquatic. There are a few exceptions, such as one of our 

 British newts, which is found on occasion without 

 visible means of subsistence in cellars and areas, and 

 such like remote spots, and is as a rule denominated 

 a " reptile " by the finders thereof. The Urodeles are 

 furthermore, with very rare exceptions, impatient of 

 great heat, and are almost limited to the north tem- 

 perate region. A few stray into Mexico and even South 

 America. There are plenty in Europe, and the most 

 notorious of these is perhaps the white and blind dweller 

 in the caves of Adelsberg, known as Proteus. That animal 

 may be often seen at the Zoo. So, too, a variety of 

 newts in the strictest sense of that term. With some 

 other forms we deal immediately. As to the Anura or 

 frogs and toads, there is an immense variety ; infinitely 

 more than there are of Urdeles. With this astounding 

 variety of different genera and species the frogs retain 

 the typical frog form, and no one can doubt for an 

 instant as to whether an amphibian is an Anuran or 

 is not. The Anura are as a rule not so purely aquatic 

 as are the Urodeles ; but there are exceptions, such as 

 the Cape clawed frog, with which we deal later. There 

 is not so much variation in the habits of this group as 

 might perhaps be expected from their large numbers. 

 The supposed flying frog of the East is, as it appears, 

 a bit of a fraud. In successive illustrations of that 

 amphibian the webbing between the toes, which is 

 believed to act as a parachute and allow of flying leaps, 

 seems to have grown in amount. It is merely a tree 

 frog which can leap above the average. Or to put it 

 more accurately, a tree-living frog, not a member of the 

 real tree-frogs or Hylidae, but of the terrestrial frogs or 

 Ranidae. The chief variation in habit is really the 



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