AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS. 



All tenacious of life Generally oviparous. 



lar warts, or protuberances. Their bones are 

 more cartilaginous than those either of quadru- 

 peds or birds ; several of the species are desti- 

 tute of ribs; some are furnished with formidable 

 teeth, whilst others are entirely without; some 

 again are fierce and predacious, and others ex- 

 ceedingly mild. The majority, however, are in- 

 offensive. 



The bodies of the amphibia are cold to the 

 touch; this circumstance, and their usually squa- 

 lid and ugly form, have excited so great a disgust 

 as partly to have founded the notion of all of 

 them being venomous. Very few, however, 

 except among the serpent tribes, and even of 

 these not more than one sixth of the species 

 possess this dreadful quality. They are all ex- 

 tremely tenacious of life, and some of them will 

 continue to move and exert animal functions, 

 even destitute of their head or heart. Their 

 colors are often livid and disgusting, though 

 some are decorated with most splendid skins. 

 Many of them exhale a loathsome odor, owing 

 perhaps to the foulness of their abode, or the 

 .substances on which they feed. Their voices are 

 either harsh and unmusical, or else the animals 

 are entirely dumb. 



Amphibious animals are in general oviparous; 

 the reptiles, therefore, or those that have four 

 legs, are denominated oviparous quadrupeds, to 

 distinguish them from the viviparous quadrupeds. 

 They are usually very prolific. The eggs of some 



