1910.] 



IX TOADS OF THE GENUS BUFO. 



381 



II. The Abdominal Fat- Bodies o/Bufo viridis. 



The fat-bodies which I am about to describe are very well 

 developed in the common European Bufo viridis, fresh material 

 of which I had the opportunity of examining ; it will, therefore, 

 be well to preface my remarks with an account of their structure 

 in this form. On reflecting the skin from the ventral surface of 

 a specimen of B. viridis, one cannot fail to notice a pair of gland- 

 like, fatty structures at the junction of the hind limbs with the 

 trunk. 



These corpora adiposa, which are present in both sexes and vary 

 considerably both in size and colour in different individuals, are 

 quite constant in position; each extends for a considerable distance 

 along the face of the septum inguinale which separates the 

 abdominal and femoral lymph-sacs. 



Text-fiV. 38. 



B.V. 



Bufo viridis, ^ . 



Transverse section of part of the subcutaneous fat-body, showing' the 

 fat-cells and the connective-tissue capsule. (Obj. \.) 



F.C. Fat-cell. C.C. Connective-tissue capsule. B.V. Blood-vessel. 



When fully developed (as in the female specimen figured, text- 

 fig. 37) the fat-bodies are of a blight orange-yellow colour and of 

 considerable thickness. They may extend some distance along the 

 side of the abdomen, their transverse diameter being thus the 

 greatest, attaining a length of nearly 15 mm. In the opposite 

 direction, the width is greatest near the middle line of the body, 

 the body thinning out gradually on the side wall of the 

 abdomen. 



The outer free margin of the fat body is tabulated, the inner 

 side being attached along its whole length to a conspicuous blood- 



