RETREAT 371 



hard pressed, are able to baffle their foes in a somewhat singular 

 manner, comparable to some extent to the supposed way in which 

 squirrels may escape pursuers with no more serious loss than a 

 mouthful of fur from the bushy tail. Here, however, there is 

 no doubt about the facts. A Lizard's tail very readily breaks 

 off, owing to the existence of a weak place in the backbone, 

 specially evolved, we must imagine, to facilitate such an arrange- 

 ment. While the enemy is negotiating the piece of tail the animal 

 itself commonly manages to make its escape. Such a sacrifice 

 is not so great as might at first sight appear, for a new tail soon 

 grows from the stump. In our native snake -like lizard, the 

 Blindworm [Angzns fragilis), which has earned its specific name 

 from the possession of such a brittle tail, a further point was 

 noted by the late J. G. Wood. According to him, the detached 

 tail executes lively movements for some time, a performance 

 which would be likely to divert attention during the escape of 

 its owner. In some of the Australian Geckos the detachable 

 tail is broadened out at the end into a coloured flap, which is 

 supposed to fix the attention of an enemy on a part which can 

 readily be surrendered without fatal result. 



The cylindrical smooth body of a Snake or Snake-like Lizard 

 is well suited for slipping through a dense undergrowth of 

 vegetation, and is a great advantage in retreat. 



Arnphibia in Retreat. — One case only of special interest 

 will be mentioned. Hudson (in The ATaturalist in La Plata) 

 describes a " Wrestler Frog ", possessing extremely muscular 

 fore-limbs, and which, when followed up, makes a feint attack 

 upon its enemy before retreating. Part of his account may well 

 be quoted here: — "The frog is a most timid, inoffensive creature, 

 saving itself, when pursued, by a series of saltatory feats un- 

 paralleled amongst vertebrates. Consequently, when I find a 

 frog, I have no hesitation in placing my hands upon it, and the 

 cold sensation it gives one is the worst result I fear. It came 

 to pass, however, that I once encountered a frog that was not 

 like other frogs, for it possessed an instinct and weapons of 

 defence which greatly astonished me. I was out snipe-shooting 

 one day when, peering into an old disused burrow, I perceived 

 a burly-looking frog sitting within it. It was larger and stouter- 

 looking than our common Rana, though like it in colour, and I 

 at once dropped on to my knees and set about its capture. 



