302 



OEDEBS OF AMPHIBIAN S—FEOGS AND TOADS 



The eyes are placed high up, quite above the 

 upper surface of the head, so that the creature 

 can float with only its eyes and nostrils above 

 water. 



The frog skeleton possesses several marked 

 peculiarities, some of which must be noted, even 

 though briefly. There are no ribs. The verte- 

 brae are very few in number, but very wide in 

 comparison with those of other vertebrates. The 

 pelvis is of great size, and so long that it forms 

 nearly one-half of the axis of the body. Instead 

 of being attached at its sides, midway from top 

 to bottom, the thigh bones (femora) are attached 



LEOPARD-PROG. 



Ra'na vi-res'cens. 



at the extreme lower end, — the portion called 

 the is'chi-um. In comparison with other verte- 

 brates, the hind limbs and feet are of enormous 

 proportions ; and when these members are flexed, 

 and then suddenly straightened out, the frog 

 flies forward through the air as if thrown by a 

 powerful steel spring. Some frogs can leap eight 

 feet. 



Although there are no ribs, there is a well-de- 

 veloped breast-bone, or sternum, for the at- 

 tachment of the fore-legs; and it is said that in 

 the frog the sternum appears for the first time in 

 the development of the vertebrates from the 

 lower forms. 



The members of some groups cf the frogs and 



toads have teeth in the upper jaw, on a bone 

 called the vomer; others have teeth in both jaws, 

 but the majority are toothless. 



The hibernation habits of these creatures 

 sometimes produce unexpected and remarkable 

 results. Occasionally the public is startled by 

 the publication of a story of a living frog or 

 toad being dug out of solid rock, many feet be- 

 low the surface of the earth. I have never had 

 an opportunity to investigate any of these al- 

 leged occurrences, but a personal experience has 

 at least furnished food for thought. 



In a hot and dry jungle in the interior of Cey- 

 lon, I once made a search for elephant bones in 

 the dry bed of what in wet weather was a shallow 

 brook. The larger bones were found upon the 

 surface, but so many of the smaller ones had 

 become embedded in the sand that it was neces- 

 sary to dig for them. The sand had become 

 so hard and solid it was half-way toward sand- 

 stone, and our spades and mattocks loosened it 

 with difficulty. 



About eighteen inches below the surface, we 

 came upon several small frogs, three species in 

 all, closely and solidly entombed. Even the 

 ignorant and stolid coolies were amazed and 

 excited by the discovery. The sides of the 

 animals were greatly distended b) r water, but 

 from the first moment they were in full possession 

 of their faculties. 



As we released these creatures from their tombs 

 and placed them upon the grass, each one dis- 

 gorged a quantity of water, and hopped away. 

 Evidently they had filled themselves with water 

 and burrowed into the sand during the previous 

 monsoon, then six months past, in order to live 

 until the next rainy season; and had the annual 

 water-supply of that little stream been per- 

 manently diverted, no one can say how many 

 years these frogs would have continued to live 

 in their solid tomb of sand. The natives said 

 that excepting in their wells, there was no water 

 anywhere for many miles around. 



THE FAMILY OF WATER-FROGS. 



Ranidae. 



The Common Frog 1 is the most popular and 

 well-known species in North America. It is 

 the first to be heard in spring, it gathers in the 

 1 Ra'na da-ma' ta. 



