PIPAS. URODELA. 73 



thing leads us to believe, that in such cases, the retreat of the 

 toad communicates externally by some hole which had been 

 accidentally closed, or had escaped observation. 



14. The PIPAS are still more hideous than the toads: their body 

 is more flattened, the head triangular, their eyes very small, their 

 hind legs short, and their anterior toes split at the end into three 

 or four small points; the tongue is entirely wanting. The species 

 best known, which inhabits the warm and humid parts of South 

 America, is celebrated on account of the manner in which its 



Fig. 37 



young are developed. The male places the eggs on the back of 

 the female, who immediately takes to the water, where the skin, 

 irritated by the contact of these bodies, swells, and forms cells, 

 in which the young are hatched, and remain until they have 

 completed their metamorphosis ; then the mother returns to land. 



FAMILY OF URODELA. 



15. The metamorphosis of Batrachians of this family is less 

 complete ; for, in the perfect state, they still preserve the long 

 tail, which, in the preceding family, only exists in the tadpole. 

 At the time of escaping from the egg, they are without feet, and 

 respire by branchiae, which are in the form of tufts, and three in 

 number; they are placed on each side of the neck, and float 

 externally. As in the Anoura, their extremities appear succes- 

 sively, but the fore feet make their appearance before the poste- 

 rior ; and, to complete the transformation of the tadpole, the 

 lungs are developed, and the branchiae disappear. In the adult 

 state, these animals have nearly the same form as lizards ; but 

 their head is flattened, and we do not perceive the tympanum 



,4. What arc the characters of Pipas ? 



1 5. What are the characters of the family of Urodela ? 



6 v 



