66 GUIDE TO REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS. 



sidm are characterised by the presence of ribs and of teeth in the 

 upper jaw, while the Bufonidm have neither ribs nor teeth, and the 

 Pelobatidm are distinguished by the absence of ribs coupled with 

 the presence of teeth in the upper jaw. 



Of the Discoglossidce common European examples are the Fire- 

 bellied Toad (Bombinator igneus, 538) and the Mid-wife Toad (Alytes 

 obstetricans, 537)- The former is a poisonous species, protected by its 

 bright "warning" colours. The males of the latter species carry 

 the spawn coiled round their limbs, as shown by a specimen in the 



The Horned Toad (Ceratophrys comuta), Brazil; reduced. (No. 5H.) 



case. The Claw-heeled Toad (Pelobates fuscus, 540) is a familiar 

 continental representative of the Pelobatidm. Of the Bufonidm there 

 are two British species, the Common Toad (515) and the Natterjack 

 (513) ; the largest species being the Brazilian Water-Toad. The 

 ffylidw, or Tree-Frogs, are brilliantly coloured arboreal forms. Some 

 of these, like the Pouched Frog (Nototrerna marsupiatum, 533, 

 fig. 65), carry their eggs in a pouch in the loins, and others adhering 

 to the skin of the back. The Cgstignathidce, which may be regarded 

 as the South American representatives of the Frogs, include the 



