CHAPTEE III 



I 

 teeth, beaks, food, feeding habits, fasting, im- 

 prisonment, drinking, and water reservoirs 

 in amphibians 



Teeth 



With the amphibians of to-day teeth seem to be 

 of less importance than in any other class of back- 

 boned creatures. Even fishes have developed them 

 much more terribly. But there were once fierce 

 amphibians which had great teeth ; and because 

 these, when cut across their length, showed m.ark- 

 ings made by the folds, which resembled labyrinths, 

 these old monsters are called Labyrinthodonts (Fig. 

 9). The horned toad of Brazil, still has these in- 

 folded teeth, with grooves on the sides. In reptiles 

 having such grooved teeth there is always found a 

 poison ready to flow down them, and so it is said that 

 this wrinkled-toothed toad bites viciously, pursues its 

 enemies, and has poisonous teeth. 



While the amphibians may have teeth elsewhere 

 than on the jaws, none have them on the tongue, 

 as do many fishes. The labyrinthodonts had great 

 tusks in the throat, but in many modern forms teeth 

 may be absent from either or both jaws. In the 

 United States common toads have no teeth on the 

 14 



