AMPHIBIANS. 



OUR amphibians are, like our reptiles, few and small, 

 numbering only seven. From reptiles, the members of 



this class may readily be distinguished by the 

 Definition of , . , , -i i 



Am hibian metamorphoses they undergo, resembling, in- 

 deed, fishes in their earlier stage; and these 

 changes are undergone, not in a torpid state like that 

 of insects, but in continuous activity. These animals are 

 oviparous, spawning like fish. Like the reptiles, they cast 

 the slough periodically, usually making a meal of it. It 

 is interesting to note that the newts assume during the 

 breeding season, the only time at which they take to the 

 water, certain ornamental crests, often serrated or fes- 

 tooned, as well as additional webbing on the toes to enable 

 them to hold their own in their temporary abode. All 

 these amphibians are able to breathe through the skin. Of 

 tailless amphibians we have four : the common and edible 

 frogs (the latter an introduction from the Con- 

 Form? tinent )> the toad > and the natterjack. Of tailed 

 forms we have but three: the common, palmate, 

 and great water newts, Bell's fourth species having been 

 rejected by later authorities. 



