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THE "PLATHANDEE" (XENOPUS LAEVIS). 
By T. F. Deeyek, B.A., Ph.D. 
(Eeceived April 4, 1913.) 
The present article is an attempt to describe the Plathander, or 
Horned Toad, with special reference to those points in which it differs 
from the frog (Bana temporaria). I have not had access to any literature 
except to Gadow (Cambridge Natural History), but consider the publication 
of my observations are warranted by the fact that Xenopus is mostly used 
as a laboratory type in South Africa on account of the difficulty of obtain- 
ing frogs. If there is any literature on the anatomy of Xenopus, apart 
from Gadow, it is not readily accessible here. 
Systematic Position. — The genus Xenopus is confined to Africa, and is 
represented by three species, of which only one {X. laevis) occurs in the 
Union (Gadow) ; the above species is characterized by the absence of a 
metatarsal spur and by the smallness of the tentacles. X. muelleri occurs 
in Zanzibar and Benguela, while X. calcm^atus is found in Tropical 
West Africa. 
Habits. — The Plathander lives in water which never or seldom dries 
up ; it frequents the muddy bottoms of such pools, and can stay under 
water for prolonged periods without coming up to breathe. It is an 
omnivorous feeder, but it is strange that Daphnids can always (and 
Apus sp., Estheria-like Crustacea, water-boatmen, and Cyclops 
occasionally) be found in dams swarming with Plathanders, whereas 
I have not yet found mosquito larvae with Plathanders. In captivity 
they seize these larvae greedily. In individuals which I kept for 
a few months in clear water, I found, on dissection, that the 
stomachs were fairly full of small algae. At Bloemfontein I found the 
females filled with, apparently, matured eggs already in August, but eggs 
were not laid until after the breaking of the drought at the end of 
December. The tadpoles were found both in the large dams and in the 
Bloem Spruit, and were apparently more numerous in the latter. This 
may, however, be due to the fact that here they are more easily netted 
than in the full dams. At Gudtshoorn I found tadpoles finishing their 
metamorphosis early in December. The method of feeding is peculiar. 
The small fore-limbs are each provided with four stiff digits (unclawed) ; 
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