76 The Naturalist in La Plata. 



our common Rana, though like it in colour, and I 

 at once dropped on to my knees and set about its 

 capture. Though it watched me attentively, the 

 frog remained perfectly motionless, and this greatly 

 surprised me. Before I was sufficiently near to 

 make a grab, it sprang straight at my hand, and, 

 catching two of my fingers round with its fore legs, 

 administered a hug so sudden and violent as to 

 cause an acute sensation of pain ; then, at the very 

 instant I experienced this feeling, which made me 

 start back quickly, it released its hold and bounded 

 out and away. I flew after it, and barely managed 

 to overtake it before it could gain the water. 

 Holding it firmly pressed behind, the shoulders, it 

 was powerless to attack me, and I then noticed the 

 enormous development of the muscles of the fore 

 legs, usually small in frogs, bulging out in this 

 individual, like a second pair of thighs, and giving 

 it a strangely bold and formidable appearance. On 

 holding my gun within its reach, it clasped the 

 barrel with such energy as to bruise the skin of its 

 breast and legs. After allowing it to partially 

 exhaust itself in these fruitless huggings, I experi- 

 mented by letting it seize my hand again, and I 

 noticed that invariably after each squeeze it made a 

 quick, violent attempt to free itself. Believing that 

 I had discovered a frog differing in structure from 

 all known species, and possessing a strange unique 

 instinct of self-preservation, I carried my captive 

 home, intending to show it to Dr. Burmeister, the 

 director of the National Museum at Buenos Ayres. 

 Unfortunately, after I had kept it some days, it 

 effected its escape by pushing up the glass cover of 



