FAMILY EC AU DAT A. TAILLESS. 



107 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. RAMA (Celtic, ran, he cries out.) Head triangular, upper jaw armed 

 with a row of fine teeth on its edge, and an interrupted transverse row on 

 the palate ; a pair of extensible vesicles behind the angles of the lower jaw 

 in the male ; body of slender form ; anterior limbs furnished with four toes 

 distinct, posterior legs very long, powerful, and provided with five webbed 

 toes more or less completely ; skin generally smooth, but slightly granulated 

 on the belly. 



2. CEUATOPHRIS. Head large ; skin granular ; tongue heart-shaped ; 

 upper eyelid prolonged into the form of a horn ; mouth wide ; limbs 

 short ; toes four ; webs small. 



3. HYLA ; 4. BOFO ; 5. PIPA. Under the Linneean genus Roma are 

 included not only the True Frogs, but also the Tree Frogs, Toads, Pipas, 

 from which, however, they are 



remarkably distinguished by the 

 following characters : the Tree 

 Frogs, Hyla, have a large ex- 

 expanded membrane at the tips 

 of their toes shaped like an 

 inverted saucer. The Toads, 

 Bufo, have a more bulky form, Skeleton of Frog, 



shorter limbs, and no teeth in the jaws ; their ston is covered with nume- 

 rous warts, and behind each ear is a large mass of pores ; they crawl and 

 rarely leap. The Pipas, Pipa, have the body flattened, a broad triangular 

 head which has neither teeth nor tongue, the eyes are very small and placed 

 near the edge of the upper jaw ; the bony larynx is of enormous size ; each 

 toe of the fore foot is cleft at its tip into four small points, and the hind 

 feet are five-toed and strongly webbed. 



ECAUDATA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



RANA Frog. Like the other genera of this order, Frogs, when first 

 excluded from the egg, have not their perfect form, but undergo a series of 

 changes which are not complete till the lapse of one hundred days, and in 

 others, one hundred and forty days after the eggs have been first dropped 

 from the parent. Till the animal has assumed its perfect form, it is fur- 

 nished with a tail, which drops off in the last stage of the metamorphosis. 

 During a considerable period of its progressive change, it is entirely an 

 aquatic animal, and furnished with gills, and is also a vegetable feeder, but 

 as it approaches perfection, the gills are absorbed, lungs are produced, and 

 the Frogling, leaving the water, begins to feed on insects, which subse- 

 quently become its sole food. The progressive changes which the Tadpole 

 undergoes from the time it emerges from the shell, till it becomes a perfect 

 Frog, will be best understood by the following figures : 1. Tadpole just 

 born ; 2. Hinder feet produced ; 3. Anterior feet developed, and the tail 

 diminished ; 4. Animal perfectly formed, but with a tail ; 5. A perfect 

 Frog ; tail gone. 



The apparatus of the tongue is very curious ; its base is attached to the 

 back of the lower jaw, and its tip, which is bifid, is directed backwards 

 when at rest ; by this position it is not only enabled to protrude its tongue 

 to a very considerable distance, but also to render it narrower or wider as 

 may suit its convenience. The tongue is bedewed with a very viscid 

 secretion, so that whatever it touches adheres to it. The eyes are very 

 prominent and convex, enabling them to see in every direction, both before 

 and behind, so that they easily perceive and escape from enemies, which 

 they have not strength to resist. Their skin is very smooth, and covered 

 with a slippery slime which renders them difficult to hold. Townson has 



observed, from experiment, that the .skin has the power of absorbing fluids 

 to a very considerable extent, so as, he imagines, to preclude the necessitv 

 of the animal taking water by the mouth. He states, that if a Frog be 

 placed on moist blotting-paper, it becomes twice as heavy as before, in the 

 space of an hour and a half ; and, also, that fluids, instead of passing oft' by 

 the kidneys, are given off by transpiration through the skin. 



Frogs are found in moist and marshy places among the wet grass, and 

 commonly by the water-side ; some prefer the water, and some the land for 

 the greater part of the day, but hide themselves during the heat, and come 

 out only towards the cool of the evening, and in the morning. During 

 winter-time they bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of ponds, and 

 pack very closely, as if to preserve the degree of heat necessary to support 

 life ; for, although they can bear a very low temperature, and even freezing, 

 according to Hearne's testimony, without the destruction of life, it is certain 

 they are much affected by the state of the weather, as they leave their 

 winter abode, and come to land earlier or later as the spring is warm or cold, 

 and return to it in autumn as the weather becomes cold. 



Frogs are predaceous ; they feed on insects and their larvae, on worms, 

 small mollusca, and the spawn of fishes ; but they will not touch anything, 

 unless they observe it moving, and therefore presume it to be alive. They 

 do not hunt for their food, but sit quietly watching in some cool spot, till 

 their prey comes within five or six inches, when they dart on it with 

 unerring precision, and, striking it with their tongue, carry it into their 

 mouth, and swallow without masticating it. If, however, they swallow 

 anything which displeases, they vomit it up, as Roesel saw one do with a 

 wasp which he had offered it. 



In England, Frogs are held en horreur, as M. Clocquet observes ; but in 

 France, and on many other parts of the Continent, some species are highly 

 prized as dainties for the table. The most approved is the Green Frog, also 

 called the Edible Frog (R. Esculents), which is not in season till July. It 

 is from two to three inches in length (Plate 7). The Brown Frog is also 

 eaten, especially in the central parts of France. The latter is in season much 

 earlier, and is generally exposed for sale in the markets, but no true 

 gourmand would think of a dish of Frogs before July. The whole animal 

 is not eaten, but only the hind quarters, which are skinned, and generally 

 served up with white sauce ; the taste is insipid, and not unlike the flesh of 

 Rabbits ; but they are not so commonly used for food in France as we 

 suppose. They are caught in nets, or with hooks baited with pieces of red 

 rag, which must be shaken to induce them to strike at it. They are de- 

 voured without mercy by snakes, fishes, and birds ; the Storks, especially, 

 are very fond of them, and were it not for them, Egypt would be overrun. 

 The species are numerous. 



CERATOPHRIS. The Horned Frog (C. Varius) is ornamented with a 

 horn-like membranous prominence over each eyelid ; it is embellished 

 with various colours, and besides being a beautiful, is also an active little 

 animal. It is found in temperate and tropical countries. 



HYLA. The Tree Frogs differ in nothing from the True Frogs, already- 

 described, but in the adaptation of their feet (see Generic Characters) for 

 climbing trees, or adhering to the surfaces of bodies. In summer they 

 climb trees in pursuit of insects, but in all other respects, their habits are 

 the same as the True Frogs. 



BUFO Toad. The animals forming this genus are bad leapers, their 

 hind feet not being elongated, like those of the Frog. They are ill-looking 

 little animals, being thick of body, squat, and covered with tubercles, and 

 they emit a fetid milky secretion from a swelling perforated with pores, 

 situated behind each eye. 



PLite 7 contains representations of two of the species the Common 

 Toad (B. Vulgaris) and the Yellow-bellied Toad (B. Bombina). The 

 Common Toad is a useful assistant to the gardener, by the ravages which it 

 makes among the beetles, caterpillars, earwigs, and slugs. The secretion 

 alluded to above is of an acrid nature, and is used as a means of defence 

 against the attacks of animals, who may venture to seize it in their mouths. 

 It is not true that the reptile spits poison ; nor is it embellished in the head 

 with a jewel, but it has instead two brilliant eyes. Dr. Buckland's opinion 



p 2 



