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Handbook of N ature-Study 



tadpole develops, its mouth gets larger and wider and extends back 

 beneath the eyes, with a truly toadlike expansiveness. 



At first, the tadpole's eyes are even with the surface of the head and 

 can scarcely be seen, but later they become more prominent and bulge 

 like the eyes of the adult toad. 



The tail of the tadpole is long and flat, surrounded by a fin, thus 

 making an organ for swimming. It strikes the water, first this side and 

 then that, making most graceful curves, which seem to originate near the 



Toad's eggs. 

 Photo by Verne Morton. 



body and multiply toward the tip of the tail. This movement propels 

 the tadpole forward, or in any direction. The tail is very thin when seen 

 from above; and it is amusing to look at a tadpole from above, and then 

 at the side; it is like squaring a circle. 



There is a superstition that tadpoles eat their tails; and in a sense this 

 is true, because the material that is in the tail is absorbed into the growing 

 body; but the last thing a right-minded tadpole would do, would be to 

 bite off its own tail. However, if some other tadpole should bite off the 

 tail or a growing leg, these organs conveniently grow anew. 



When the tadpole is a month or two old, depending upon the species, 

 its hind legs begin to show; they first appear as mere buds which finally 

 push out completely. The feet are long and provided with five toes, of 

 which the fourth is the longest ; the toes are webbed so that they may be 

 used to help in swimming. Two weeks later the arms begin to appear, 

 the left one pushing out through the breathing-pore. The "hands" have 

 four fingers and are not webbed; they are used in the water for balancing; 

 while the hind legs are used for pushing, as the tail becomes smaller. 



