BATRACHIANS. 



BATRACHIANS. 



309 



The general characters of the batrachians have been 

 considered in the chapter on the frog. 



They are classified as (1) anura, those having no tails, 

 like the frogs and toads ; (2) urodela, those having tails, 

 such as the newt and salamander; (3) caecilia, which 

 have no limbs. 



We need not repeat what has been said of frogs, but 

 may add that some toads are the most repulsive in 

 aspect of the batrachians. Their skin secretes an acrid 

 liquid, which exudes when the creature is irritated. 

 Tales are often told of toads discovered in rocks or 

 trunks of trees, where they must have remained many 

 years imprisoned ; exact experiments have shown that 

 batrachians of this kind may live rather more than a 

 year in an envelope permeable by air, such as plaster, 

 or porous calcareous formations, but that when inclosed 

 in an impermeable envelope, like metal or clay, they 

 perish in about a month. 



FIG. 264. 



GREAT WATER NEWT ( Triton cristatus). 



The newts, or tritons, and salamanders, retain through- 

 out life the tail which is present in the tadpole stage of 

 the frog. The salamanders are terrestrial, being found 

 in moist places ; the newts are aquatic, being able to 

 crawl only slowly on land. All are usually small, inof- 

 fensive creatures, but the giant salamander of Japan 



