THE FROGS AND TOADS. 89 



are deposited in lumps in marshy waters. The green 



frog {Rana esculenta) 

 and the common frog 

 (jR. temporaria) are fa- 

 miliar examples^ while 

 Cyst. pachipus(Jig. 22.) 

 is remarkable for its thick 

 feet. The genus Cera- 

 tophris, or horned-frogs^ 

 ^^^^- '"" designates a very pecu- 

 liar group, found only 

 in tropical America ; whose appearance is rendered still 

 more grotesque, if not hideous, by each eyelid having an 

 elevated prominence like a horn ; the head is dispropor- 

 tionably large, and the skin is frequently granulated. 

 Africa also possesses a peculiar race of frogs, which, 

 from having some of the toes enveloped at their tips by 

 a conical horny claw or cap, have been aptly termed 

 Dactylethrce, or thimble-frogs. The Hylce, or tree frogs, 

 are not only a very singular group, but, from the elegance 

 of their colouring, joined to a diminutive size, may be 

 really termed beautiful. Although they lay their eggs 

 in the water, and even hybernate in the mud during 

 winter, they habitually live among trees, which they 

 are enabled to climb with facility by the peculiar con- 

 struction of their toes. We have a very pretty example 

 of these little animals in the European tree frog {Hyla 

 arhoreoi) ; but those of tropical America are much more 

 numerous, and are ornamented with the most pleasing 

 mixture of colours. 



(96.) The Toads {Bufoidce), although a perfectly 

 harmless and inoflPensive race, are certainly uninviting, 

 not to say disgusting animals, to mankind in general ; 

 having neither the beauty of snakes, the elegant move- 

 ments of lizards, or the sprightliness of frogs. Their 

 body, of a dull cadaverous hue, is covered with granular 

 warts, and even their movements are so slow and awkward, 

 that they almost appear to be attended with painful eflFort. 



