448 THE RHINOPHRYNE. 
lined with skin like that of the back. The pouch does not attain its full 
development until the creature is of mature age, and the male does not 
possess it at all. When filled with eggs, the pouch is much dilated, and 
extends over the whole back nearly as far as the back of the head. The 
opening is not easily seen without careful examination, being very narrow, 
and hidden in folds of the skin. 
THE RHINOPHRYNE is remarkable as being the only known example 
among the Frogs where the tongue has its free end pointing forward, instead 
of being directed towards the throat. 
This curious species inhabits Mexico, and can easily be recognized by the 
peculiar form of its head, which is rounded, merged into the body, and has 
the muzzle abruptly truncated, so as to form a.small circular disc in front. 
The gape is extremely small, and the head would, if separated, be hardly 
recognizable as having belonged to a Frog. The legs are very short and 
thick, and the-feet are half-webbed. Each hind-foot is furnished with a flat, 
RHINOPHRYNE.—(Rhinophrynus dorsalis.) 
oval, horny spur formed by the development of one of the bones. There are 
no teeth in the jaws, and the ear is imperfect. The colour of the Rhino- 
phryne is slate-grey, with yellow spots on the sides and a row of similar 
spots along the back. Sometimes these latter spots unite so as to form a 
jagged line down the back. 
WE now arrive at the Crawling Batrachians, technically called Amphibia 
Gradientia. All these creatures have a much-elongated body, a tail which 
is never thrown off as in the frogs and toads, and. limbs nearly equal in 
development, but never very powerful. Like the preceding sub-order, the 
young are hatched from eggs, pass through the preliminary or tadpole state, 
and, except in very few instances, the gills are lost when the animal attains 
its perfect form. Both jaws are furnished with teeth, and the palate is 
toothed in some species. The skin is without scales, and either smooth or 
covered with wart-like excrescences. There is no true breast-bone, but some 
species have ribs. 
THE celebrated SALAMANDER, the subject of so many strange fables, is a 
species found in many parts of the continent of Europe. 
This creature was formerly thought to be able to withstand the action of 
