TAILLESS BATRACHIANS 



239 



\ 



The eggs, which in both species are rather large, number- 

 ing eighty to one hundred to a brood, are laid from the 

 middle of May to the end of July. The larvae escape from 

 the egg-envelope after about a vv^eek, provided with small 

 external gills and a well-developed tail. Transformation 

 takes place in the autumn. 



B. igneus, as well as its congener, B. pachypus, do 

 exceedingly well in captivity, 

 living for as many as twenty 

 years, and feeding on almost any 

 moving object they are capable 

 of swallowing. When freshly 

 captured, specimens of both 

 species will often feign death. 

 Having gone through various 

 ridiculous contortions, they will 

 bend their spines, turn up their 

 heads, and the hinder part of 

 their bodies and limbs, thus ex- 

 posing the brilliant markings of 

 their under-surfaces, and in this 

 position will remain perfectly 

 motionless for a considerable 

 time. 



B. maximus, recently discovered in Southern China, 

 is the giant member of the genus, attaining a length of 

 four to five inches. Its coloration is much the same as 

 that of B. igneus. 



The skin of all these toads is very warty, and produces 

 an acrid secretion, freshly caught specimens becoming 

 covered with a white froth, which causes fits of sneezing 

 and running of the eyes. 



Fig. 24.— Eggs of the Yellow- 

 bellied Toad. 



{After BouUnger.) 



