Figs. a b 1, d. I—4. and e. 1. The little creature 
is at first legless, and has a tail and external 
gills, but as the lungs develop, the legs sprout, and 
the tail and gills disappear. These changes are ac- 
companied by a change from vegetable to animal 
food, and require a considerable time (about 100 days 
in the edible frog) and the animals do not attain 
their full growth for several years. 
In the typical Frogs (Ranzd@) the skin is gener- 
ally smooth, seldom warty. The upper jaw and 
generally the palate also are provided with teeth, 
but the lower jaw is seldom toothed. The tongue 
is either wholly fixed, or only attached in front to 
the lower jaw. The hind legs are much larger than 
the fore legs, and are adapted for leaping. 
Fig. d. The Edible Frog (Rana esculenta) is 
thus called because its hind legs are eaten in spring 
in France, where they are considered a delicacy. 
It is of a beautiful green colour on the back, with 
black and yellow stripes, and the belly is white. 

Bombadier 
It hibernates in the mud, emerging in March, . and 
spawning in June. Its favourite resorts are the 
grassy banks of ditches and ponds, into which it 
leaps with a great bound when alarmed. In the 
spawning season the frogs spend most of their time 
in the water, and the male croaks incessantly in the 
evening. In England this species is very local. 
Fig. e. The Green Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) 
is much smaller than the edible frog. The upper 
surface of the body is green, and the belly white. 
In the male the green colour is bordered with black 
on the sides, and the throat is brownish. But the 
tree frogs are most remarkable for the pads at the 
ends of the toes, which are used as suckers in climb- 
ing trees and shrubs. These frogs also hibernate in 
the mud. and spawn in May or June in stagnant 
water. They are not found in England, though 
common on the Continent. 

vr = 
Se 
(Bombinator 

In the Bombinatorida the hind legs are long, 
with the toes webbed, the skin is warty and the 
tongue completely fixed. 
The Bombardier (Bombinator teneus) is found 
in marshes on the Continent. Its colour is greyish- 
brown above, and orange, spotted with black, below. 
In the Toads (Lufonid@) the hind legs are 
rather long, the skin is warty, the parotid glands are 
large, and the teeth are absent. 
Fig. a. The Common Toad (Bufo vulearis) 
is uniform grey, or spotted with darker, above, and 
is dirty white beneath, with or without spots. It is 
a nocturnal animal, and lives in damp places in sum- 
mer and autumn. It only visits the water in the 
spring, when it deposits its spawn in two strings. It 
is a useful animal in gardens and should be encour- 
It is perfectly harmless. 
Fig. b. The Natterjack Toad (Bufo calamita) is 
fond of cellars and other dark damp places. 
brown above, and paler below. 
aged. 
It is olive 
The warts on the 









igneus). 
back are reddish brown, and there is a yellow streak 
along the back, which often takes the form of a cross. 
It is smaller than the common toad, its legs are 
shorter and stouter, and the hind toes are not webbed. 
In the <Aglossed@ or Tongueless Toads, the 
head is flattened and triangular, the body broad, 
the front feet provided with four free toes and the 
hind feet with five webbed toes. The tongue is 
wholly wanting, and the jaws are either toothless, or 
provided with small teeth in the upper jaw only. 
Fig. c. The Surinam Toad (ipa americana) 
is much larger than our European toads, measuring 
nearly a foot in length. It inhabits the swamps of 
South America. The skin is grey spotted with white, 
and the back is perforated by small pits in the fe- 
male, in which the eggs are placed after being laid, 
and where they are hatched, and the tadpoles reared 
to maturity. 
Order ll. Urodela. (Newts and Salamanders.) 
The long body ends ina tail of variable length. 
There are four legs (rarely two) and the hind legs 
are scarcely longer than the others. Most species 
are aquatic, and use their laterally compressed tail 
as a paddle. The Salamanders, however, live on land, 
and have a cylindrical tail. They have teeth in both 
jaws, and sometimes on the palate too, which they 
use to seize their prey, for they are carnivorous 
animals. They all undergo a metamorphosis, and the | 
external gills which they require during the aquatic 
stage of their life are replaced by lungs when they 
are fully developed. 
In the Salamanders and Newts, the gills are 
wanting in the full-grown animal, and the eyes are 
provided with well-developed lids. 
The Salamanders (Sa/amandrid@) frequent damp 
places, and feed on worms and snails. They are 
viviparous, the young ‘undergoing their development 
