The Zoologist— June, 1869. 1715 



believe there is no other distinction between the Prince of Canino's 

 species. I adopt Dumeril and Bibion's name in deference to their 

 high authority, but am not satisfied which of the names, " viridis" or 

 " Calamita," has the claim of priority. 



The Natterjack has no teeth, either palatal or maxillary : the tongue 

 is rounded at the tip : the eyes are prominent and brilliant: the skia 

 is dry and covered with depressed warts, which are coarse and irregular 

 on the back, finer and more uniform on the belly : the male has a 

 vocal bladder on each side of the neck, invisible except in the act of 

 croaking, but there is a protuberance behind the eye that possibly 

 has some connection with this vocal apparatus; the legs are short; 

 the fore feet, each of which has four toes, are turned inwards; the 

 third toe is longer than the rest, the others are nearly equal in length ; 

 the hind legs are longer than the fore legs, but ai"e not formed for 

 leaping; they have five toes, of which the fourth is decidedly the 

 longest, and the third next ; the first and second are nearly equal ; 

 the toes are connected, at the base only, by a membrane. The colour 

 is either olive-brown approaching to green, or ochreous-brown, the 

 warts and a somewhat triangular patch behind the eye being brick- 

 red ; the belly is whitish or yellowish, and is generally spotted with 

 dull black : the under side of the hind thighs is also pale, and indis- 

 tinctly barred with black. The contrast between the colour of the 

 back and belly is very marked, and the paler colour of the belly often 

 ascends the sides, but without much regularity. 



The food of the Natterjack consists entirely of living creatures : but 

 little care is displayed in the selection of these — woodlice, bees, 

 beetles, flies, moths, caterpillars, slugs and worms, seem equally 

 acceptable : the only required condition I have observed is that the 

 food must be living. I have repeatedly but vainly tried to tempt the 

 Natterjack in confinement with a plump and smooth caterpillar as 

 green as grass, previously killed with hot water; but all to no purpose; 

 yet he would always most willingly take a buzzing fly from between 

 ray finger and thumb. The mode of feeding on a small object is by 

 touching it with the tongue, to which it seems to adhere and to be 

 drawn into the mouth immediately, but a worm is seized by the middle- 

 and in spite of every eff'ort to escape is eventually swallowed. 



The Natterjack breeds late in the spring, or indeed when spring is 

 almost turning into summer; I have repeatedly found them in the 

 water depositing their spawn as late as the 15th of May : the eggs are 



