BUFONIDAE 



171 



has no vocal sacs, and, besides being smaller than the female, 

 is distinguished by slight nuptial excrescences in the shape 

 of little horny brushes on the inside of the inner palmar 

 tubercle and the three inner fingers. The full size of this toad 

 varies extremely. Taking the standard of everyday experience 

 in England and Central Europe, one would call any female 

 beyond 3^ inches in length, and any male of more than 2|- inches, 

 unusually large. But occasionally they grow to a much larger 

 size, especially in the mountains of Southern Europe, provided 

 there is a rich vegetation of meadows and deciduous trees so 

 as to insure a variety of plentiful food. Although Fatio ^ 

 mentions a toad 153 mm. = 6 inches long, and Boulenger suc- 

 ceeded in getting a toad from Paris which measured 132 mm., 

 i.e. almost 5^ inches, one of my specimens from the Serra Gerez 

 seems to hold the record with a total length from snout to vent of 

 135 mm. or more than 5^ inches. Jersey is also famous for its large 

 toads, possibly on account of the many large greenhouses. These 

 large specimens do not constitute a special race. The monsters 

 among them are without exception females, often but not always 

 sterile, as I have often found large masses of eggs in them. Pood is 

 the chief cause. At least I have observed that the more voracious 

 of some Spanish and Portuguese specimens, which were already 

 85- inches long, and therefore entitled to respect, continued to 

 grow rather rapidly, adding about half an inch within a year. 

 Again, if the growth of a promising toad is arrested foi' 

 a season — not necessarily by starvation, but by uncongenial 

 smToundings, sameness, and unvaried nature of food — they 

 consolidate so to say, or settle down, and no amount of future 

 good feeding will turn them into exceptionally big specimens. 

 There are no data to tell how old such monsters really are. At 

 least ten years are required by the Southerners to reach four 

 inches. The usual length of life attained by a toad is likewise 

 unknown. Boulenger kept one in a box provided with a sod, 

 a pan of water and plenty of varied food, but twelve years of 

 close captivity did not make any appreciable difference in its 

 appearance. A number of large Spanish and Portuguese speci- 

 mens in my greenhouse were at first very shy, and tried every 

 possible means of escape or sullen hiding, but gradually they 

 condescended to take food when lifted on to the slate-covered, 



' Faune Vertelr. Suisse, iii. 1872, p. 587. 



