THE BULLFROG 107 



tlieir way up into their father's mouth, and, from that 

 gaping aperture, out into the wide world. 



All frogs and toads are very much alike, the greatest 

 differences depending on the tongue. Except one Ame- 

 rican species, the Plpa, one African, and one Australian, 

 which three have no tongue at all, all the frogs and 

 toads have a tongue, which, unlike our own, is fixed 

 in front and free behind. A certain Mexican species 

 forms a single exception, and is like ourselves in the 

 mode of its tongue's attachment to the mouth. 



All frogs and toads form together a very natui-al order 

 of the class Batrachia, and this order of theirs is the 

 order of "the tailless ones" — the A/wura, or, as they 

 are sometimes called, the Ecaudata. Before, however, 

 speaking of other batrachian orders and comparing the 

 Anoura therewith, it may be interesting to our readers 

 to be told of one or two exceptional points in the struc- 

 ture of frogs and toads generally. 



The number of separate bones, or vertebrae, which 

 makes up the backbone, vary in different animals ; but 

 none have so few as the frogs and toads. They have but 

 nine at the most, and many have, as the /^/^>«, but seven. 

 A long styliform bone is attached posteriorly to their 

 vertebrae. The Anoura have also a noteworthy pecu- 

 liarity in the foot. Our own feet are formed of seven 

 short bones joined together in a cluster, and to these the 

 bones of the toes are attached in front. The bones 

 which are thus short and clustered in us, are short and 

 clustered in all other animals save the frogs and toads 

 and one or two animals (lemurs) which are often 

 classed with monkeys. In these animals (frogs, toads, 

 and certain lemurs) two of the bones which elsewhere 

 are thus short, are lengthened out so as to form another 

 segment to the hind limb. It is of course quite im- 



