Dr. A. Giinther on the Tailless Batrachians. G9 



Both the series of Opisthoc/Iossa are not to be considered as form- 

 ing one continued series bet^veen the Jylossa and Prcteroylossa ; 

 they do not form one series of animals, descending from the most 

 highly organized form to the lowest one : such a gradation is equally 

 found in both series ; and one is at once struck with the identity of 

 the chararacters iu the single families, if brought side by side iu two 

 parallel series. 



OPISTHOGLOSSA. 



OXYDACTYLA. PlATYDACTYLA. 



fRanidne. Polypeclatidje. '\ 



Cystignatliidre. Hviodida;. 



Discoglossid.x Hylid^e. !„,; 



Asterophrj'didae. [ •' 



UperoliidcC. Phyllomedusidrc. 



Alytidffi. Pclodryadidae. ) 



Bombinatorina. Bombiiiatoridas. Micrhylida;, Micrhvlina. 



Br,chycephaii„qi;';s:;s,t,i,,.. i:::::::::! 



{Rhinoderniatida}. Ilvltcdactylidas. \ 

 BufonidT'''^'^* l^rachymerida:. Hyjaplcsina. 

 Hylaplesidae. J 



I am always afraid of admitting tcleological principles into natural 

 science ; the most important results of truth are gained by adhering 

 to objective facts, and by inquiring into them. Each system should 

 be adapted only to the present state of our knowledge of animals ; but 

 at last we must come to that point where analogies will enable us to 

 look further ; and tbe future will show (if it is allowed to presume 

 so far) that, among the forms which hereafter may be discovered, 

 there will be found correspondents to the Asterophrydidce, Phry- 

 niscidce, Brachycephalidcp, Bufonidcs, and Hylaplesidce, viz. : — 



1 . Hylina, without paratoids, with dilated sacral vertebra and free 



toes. 



2. O. platydactyla, without maxillary teeth and w ith imjierfcctly 



developed ear. 



3. Hylaplesina, with paratoids, with dilated sacral vertebra, and 



webbed toes. 



4. Biifonina, without paratoids, with not dilated sacral vertebra 



and free toes. 

 Only three genera are known belonging to the first group of 

 Amira, to the Aglossa, — Bactylethra, Pipa and Myobatrachus, the 

 latter of which is imperfectly known to myself from a short notice of 

 Dr. Gray in the ' Proc. Zool. Soc' All these three genera offer such 

 characters as to become the types of as many families. But as I do not 

 know whether the star-like configuration of the toes in Pipa, or the 

 horny claws of the toes of Ductylethra, have the same functional im- 

 portance as in the Oxydactyla and Platydactyla, or whether the 

 two horizontal fangs in the intermaxillary bone of Myohratrachiis Are 

 true teeth, or only apopliyses (as in the lower jaw of Tomoptevna^, 

 I am at a loss which of these characters must be subordinated to the 



