THE BAIIIA TOAD 337 



tints, of elegant shape or of frightful ugliness, crested or smooth- 

 , backed, terrestrial or aquatic, many more might be mentioned ; 

 f< but as their way of life is very similar, and their numerous 

 ^ modifications of structure are subjects of interest only to the 

 ; professed naturalist, I may well pass them over in silence, and 

 terminate the chapter with a few words on the toads and 

 frogs of the torrid zone. 



Of the former there is none more famous than the hideous Pipa 

 Surinamensis, which considerably exceeds in size the common 

 toad, and whose deformity is often 

 aggravated by a phenomenon unex- 

 ampled in the rest of the animal world, 

 namely, the young in various stages 

 of exclusion, proceeding from cells dis- 

 persed over the back of the parent. 

 It was for a long time supposed that the 

 ova of this extraordinary reptile were 

 produced in the dorsal cells without Surmam Toad. 



having been first excluded in the form 



of spawn ; but it is now thoroughly ascertained that the female 

 Pipa deposits her eggs or spawn at the brink of some stagnant 

 water, and that the male collects or amasses the heap of ova, and 

 deposits them with great care on the back of the female, where, 

 after impregnation, they are pressed into the cellules, which 

 are at that period open for their reception, and afterwards close 

 over them ; thus retaining them till the period of their second 

 birth, which happens in somewhat less than three months, 

 when they emerge from the back of the parent in their com- 

 plete state. This species inhabits the obscure nooks of houses 

 in Cayenne and Surinam, avoiding the light of day as if con- 

 scious of its unrivalled hideousness. 



Mr. Darwin thus describes a remarkable species of toad he 

 noticed at Bahia, "Amongst the Batrachian 

 reptiles, I found only one little toad, which was 

 most singular from its colour. If we imagine, 

 first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink, 

 and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over 

 a board freshly painted with the brightest ver- 

 milion, so as to colour the sides of its feet and 

 parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be gained. 



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