TOADS. 277 



the eight genera is the pupil of the eye vertical. Two of the genera approximate 

 in character to the preceding family. The toads have an almost cosmopolitan 

 distribution, and while the more typical forms are characterised by their terrestrial 

 habits, rough skin, and creeping gait, so unlike that of the frogs, others are burrow- 

 ing, and others, again {Nectes), thoroughly aquatic. Moreover, the disc-footed toads 

 {Nectophryne) of Western Africa and the Oriental region, in which the toes terminate 

 in disc-like pads, appear to be arboreal ; while the one Mexican representative of 

 another genus (Rhinophrynus) is distinguished by its ant-eating habits. 



The common toad (Bufo vulgaris) is the typical representative 

 of a large genus, with some eighty-five species, ranging over the 

 whole world, with the exception of Madagascar, Australia, New Guinea, and the 

 islands of the Pacific. As a genus, the true toads are distinguished by the entire 

 tongue, the horizontal pupil of the eye, the freedom of the toes of the fore-foot, and 

 the partial webbing of those of the hind-limbs, as well as by the breast-bone being 

 either cartilaginous or with only a partially ossified style. The degree of webbing 

 of the hind-toes varies ; and while the tips of the toes are generally simple, they 

 are sometimes expanded into small discs. The head may or may not have bony 

 ridges. The common toad belongs to a group characterised by the absence of these 

 ridges, and by the hind-toes being at least half- webbed ; while it is specially distin- 

 guished by the absence of a fold on the ankle, and by the tubercles beneath the 

 joints of the hind-toes being mostly double. On the upper-parts are more or less 

 prominent warts, which, although frequently spiny, are not distinctly porous ; and 

 the glands behind the eyes are remarkably prominent, and of an elongated elliptical 

 form. In colour, the upper-parts are brownish, with darker spots or marblings ; 

 while the lower surface is whitish, more or less thickly spotted with black. A black 

 line runs on the outer side of the gland behind the eye ; this line, in specimens from 

 China and Japan, extending along the upper side of the flanks. The distributional 

 area of the species includes Europe, Asia (exclusive of India and adjacent regions), 

 and North- Western Africa. Few animals have suffered more from popular supersti- 

 tion than the common toad, which, although practically harmless, has been almost 

 universally shunned and detested. It is, however, true that the secretion from its 

 .skin is acrid and irritating, as may be seen by the foaming lips of dogs which 

 attempt to meddle with these amphibians. Sluggish and terrestrial in its habits, 

 the toad needs not the long and fully- webbed hind-limbs of its active cousin, the 

 frog ; its usual pace being a kind of crawl, although, when disturbed, it can execute 

 an imperfect leap. When alarmed, or threatened with danger, a toad immediately 

 stops and puffs out its body to its utmost capacity, at the same time causing the 

 acrid secretion to exude from the pores of its skin, and likewise discharging a pure 

 limpid fluid from a special reservoir. Of its general habits, Bell writes that the toad 

 " becomes torpid during the winter, and chooses for its retreat some retired and 

 sheltered hole, a hollow tree, or a space amongst large stones, or some such place, 

 and there remains until the return of spring calls it again into a state of life and 

 activity. Its food consists of insects and worms of almost every kind. It refuses 

 food which is not living, and, indeed, will only take it at the moment when it is in 

 motion. When about to feed, the toad remains motionless, with its eyes turned 

 directly upon the object, and the head a little inclined towards it, and in this attitude 



