170 FROGS, TOADS AND SOME FRESH-WATER FISH. 



rightly is hard to beat. The flesh of this creature has been des- 

 cribed as a cross between that of a sole and a spring chicken. 



In colour the edible frog varies from a light cream-yellow to a 

 dark green, the belly and under surface of the legs being lighter than 

 the upper parts. There are usually two white stripes running from 

 the back of the eye to the crutch. Just behind the eye is a disk, 

 which, when the frog croaks, is blown out into a bladder. Like all 

 frogs this species is a wonderful jumper. It spends most of its time 

 in the water, coming to the surface to breath. Its food consists c/1 

 all kinds of insects. 



The little brown frog (Rana japonica) is found in nearly all the 

 mountain streams of the interior. Its colour also shows considerable 

 variation, ranging from a light buff to a deep brown, sometimes almost 

 black. In the darker specimens the under surface of the legs are 

 often red in colour. This species has broad black bands extending 

 from the tip of the nose along the sides of the head, encircling the 

 bright golden eyes. 



Besides these two common members of the genus Rana, two others 

 have been recorded, namely R. reinhardti and R. nigromaculata. The 

 latter is common in the vicinity of Chin-wang-tao, and is of a brown 

 and green colour spotted with black. 



In the mountain streams of Shantung occurs the fire-bellied frog 

 (Bombinator igneus), an elegant little creature with the back and 

 upper parts green, and the belly and under part brilliant orange-red. 

 The latter are marked with black marblings. It is thus a beautiful 

 addition to the aquarium. It is small in size, not exceeding, two 

 inches in length. The skin is very rough, more like that of the toad. 



Of the true toads (Buf\o) there are only two species recorded. 

 These are Radde's toad (Bufo raddei) and the common toad (B. 

 vvlgaris). The first is a handsomely marked variety, not unlike the 

 natterjack toad (B. calamita) of Europe. The female is more hand- 

 somely coloured than the male, being of a light olive-buff colour marbled 

 with; dark brown. The male is of a light greeny-brown, without marb- 

 lings. It is very common in North Shensii and even in the Ordos Desert. 

 During the dry season it burrows deep into the loess or sand, and so 

 preserves itself from dessication. It spawns in the small rivers, moun- 

 tain streams and lakes, but otherwise keeps away from water. 



The common toad, though found nearly all over the world, is far 

 less common in North China than the foregoing species. It is of a dull 

 earth -brown colour, and would be an ugly creature indeed were it aot 



