THE TONGUELESS FROGS . 2655 



The Surinam toad is an inhabitant of the damp forests of the Guianas and Bra- 

 zil, and the females deposit their eggs after the usual manner in the water. At this 

 period the skin of the back of the female becomes extremely soft and much thick- 

 ened and the eggs, as soon as laid, are taken by the males and embedded one by one 

 in this softened skin, which soon closes over, so as to inclose each in a separate cell. 

 In these cells the eggs undergo the full course of development, the juvenile toads 

 issuing forth from their confinement in a perfect condition, although their dimen- 

 sions are, of course, small, and no gills being developed at any stage. Although 

 there may be as many as one hundred and twenty cells in the back of a single indi- 

 vidual, the more usual number is from sixty to seventy. The period from the depos- 

 ition of the eggs to the appearance of the young toads is eighty-two days, and the 

 young, when first bursting through the covering of their cells, generally protrude 

 the head or one limb. Soon after the birth of her offspring the female changes the 

 superficial layer of her skin by rubbing it off against stones or plants; the place oc- 

 cupied by each cell being then indicated by a small pit. Except during the breed- 

 ing season, the pipa appears to be completely aquatic. 



