184 POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 



METAMORPHOSIS OF THE LEOPARD FROG. 



mal possesses external gills, red and sponge-like in appear- 

 ance, and its tail has a fin-like edge above and below, like 

 the tail of an eel. 



So long as this larval creature remains in water, its ex- 

 ternal gills remain and do duty, and the larval stage con- 

 tinues indefinitely. Remove it from water, or let its home 

 pool dry up, and, presto ! its gills dry up, its tail loses its 

 fin-like edges, and the creature goes about on land, breath- 

 ing air instead of water, with lungs instead of gills. 



The "Water-Dog" or "Hellbender," (Cryptobrcmchus 

 allegheniensis), is a salamander-like amphibian, from 18 to 22 

 inches long when adult, found more frequently in Penn- 

 sylvania than elsewhere. They are said to be very tena- 

 cious of life, and voracious in their food habits, feeding on 

 worms, minnows and crayfish, and often taking the hook of 

 the fisherman in quest of that most repulsive of all Amer- 

 ican fishes, the cat-fish. Between cat-fish and water-dog 

 there would seem to be small choice. Mr. William Frear 

 offers this testimony in regard to the tenacity of life of this 

 creature : 



"One specimen, about 18 inches in length, which had lain 

 on the ground exposed to a summer sun for 48 hours, was 

 brought to the museum, and left lying a day longer before 

 it was placed in alcohol. The day following, desiring to 



