v rORK iTATE MUSEUM 



BATRACHIA 



Batrachians, or amphibians, are vertebrates with soft skins, which 

 possess gills, either daring their earlier or larval stag ouly or 

 throughout life, and which nsnallj breathe by lungs in the adult 



The living representatives of the group are divided into three 

 orders: I) Proteida, which retain their i^ills throughout life, and of 

 which our only representative is the mud puppy, Nectnrus; 2) 

 Urodela, long-tailed forme which lose their gills in the adult sti g< 

 and include the >alaniander> and newt.-; 1 and 3) (Annrai Salientia, 



tailless forms, without gills in the adnlt and with hind legs adapted 

 t'«»r leaping, and including the frogs and toads. 



The adult hatraehian> arc found mostly in moist places, their soft 

 skins generally unfitting them for the hot, dry places which many 



of the reptiles are so fond of. Thus the greater number of forms 

 are found in or near water (frogs and some salamanders) or under 

 stones and logs in woods (most salamanders). A few, such as the 

 tree frogs are arboreal; others, including some of the salamanders 

 and the wood frog, are found on the ground in dry woods; while 

 the common toad is found everywhere on land. 



In the spring, however, almost all forms seek the water to hived. 

 Their eggs are the round black bodies contained in the transparent 

 jellylike masses which are so frequently found in ponds. These 

 give rise to the well known limbless tadpoles, or polliwogs, which 

 possess gills and are thus fitted for a subaquatic, h'shlike existence. 

 After a shorter or longer period, the limbs appear and In; 

 develop, while the gills disappear (in most cases), so that the animal 

 mes an air-breathing, instead of water-breathing form. 



The batrachians are all perfectly harmless forms and, with very 

 exceptions, never even attempt self-defense. For their protec- 

 tion from enemies they rely on their coloration and on their places 

 of concealment 



Their food consists almost entirely of insects, so that they have a 

 distinct economic value. 



There i- no common American term for these forms, though the word lizard 



casionally < mployed. This i- a misnomer, as the lizards air reptiles, which, 



while th< ible tli<- batrachians in form, have a scaly skin and never have 



pUs. 



