BATRACHIA. 



329 



of Costa Rica. In the genua Otaspis a greater extent of ossification is seen than 

 in any other. It adds to the characters of Peltaphryne a complete enclosure of the 

 tympanic membrane posteriorly, a character not found in any other Batrachian. 

 The 0. empusa (page cit. Bufonidae, Fig. 7) is Cuban. 



The family of Dendeophetniscidje includes a few species from the Andes of 

 South America. 



The family of the Discoglossid^ belongs to Europe, with one species in New 

 Zealand. The latter is the Liopelma hochstetteri, and is the only batrachian known 

 to inhabit that island. The family is an interesting one, not only on account of its 

 peculiar structure, but because it includes some remarkable fossil representatives. 

 These belong mostly to the genus PaloBohatrachus, and many specimens of three or 

 four species occur in the miocene lignite beds of Rhenish Prussia. Discoglossus has 

 one very variable species from southern Europe. In Bombinator the organs of 

 hearing are defective. The single species, H. igneus, is the Feuerkrote of the Germans, 

 and is very common in 

 some regions of Europe 

 and temperate Asia. The 

 colors of its upper surface 

 are obscure, but the belly 

 is varied with bright crim- 

 son. It is aquatic, and 

 utters a singular smooth 

 and high-pitched cry. 

 There are two species of 

 Alytes, one of them from 

 Spain, the other {A. 6b- 

 stetricans) from middle 

 Europe. The latter is the 

 Geburtshelferkrote of the 

 Germans, and is distin- 

 guished by the way in 

 which the male carries 

 the eggs. As in the Am- 

 erican salamander, Desmognathiis fuscus, they are laid in a long albuminous string. 

 This the male places on his back, winding it about the bases of his legs for security. 

 The albumen dries, forming a thread, which remains until the eggs are hatched. The 

 Alytes ohstetricans is common in dry places near Berlin. Bones of an extinct Alytes 

 occur in the miocene coal of Prussia. It has been observed that the males of the 

 species of this family grasp the female, during copulation, round the waist, instead of 

 round the axillae, as in otlier Anura. The tadpoles also differ from those of all other 

 families in having the branchial opening on the middle line below, instead of on the 

 left side. 



The family of the Cystignathidje is confined to the Australian and South American 

 or Neotropical faunsB, and is one of the most extensive of the order. One hundred 

 and sixty species have been described, which display a great variety of structure, 

 falling into twenty-six genera. Its range includes forms adapted for burrowing in 

 the earth, or for living on its surface, for climbing the faces of rocks and trunks of 

 trees, and for swimming in water. Many of the genera have incompletely ossified 



Fig. 196. — Alytes obstetricans, obstetrical toad. 



