194 



THE INFANCY OF ANIMALS 



body now becomes gaily tinctured, the upper surface 

 glossy green, the under iridescent rose and silver ! 



A nearly related Brazilian species, Ihering's frog (P. 

 Iheringi), makes similar provision for its young. But they 

 lack the gorgeous colour displayed by their relatives, and 



further, the walls of the egg 

 soon burst, releasing the tad- 

 poles, which lie wriggling 

 within the fluid contents set 

 free in part by. the bursting, 

 and in part by the liquefac- 

 tion of thousands of addled 

 eggs. Soon the end of the 

 funnel formed by the edges 

 of the leaf gives way, and 

 the tadpoles drop out into 

 the pool below. Savages 

 leaf-frog, P sauvagii, of 

 which a nest is shown 

 here, builds a similar nur- 

 sery. 



In all the cases so far 

 examined, the spawn, even 

 when elaborate care is dis- 

 played for its welfare, is 

 eventually abandoned. 

 But there are many species 

 which seem to leave nothing 

 to chance, one or other of the parents guarding their 

 offspring with the most jealous care. In a Papuan 

 frog, for instance, the eggs, about seventeen in number, 

 are held together by threads, and the whole are then 

 pressed together to form a bunch, over which the male sits 



NEST OF PHYIXOMEDUSA 

 SAUVAGII. 



