May 2, I03.j 
Our Batraahians and Reptiles,^!. 
Among the many wonderful works of Dame Nature 
which are familiar to her true lovers, perhaps none in- 
spire our antipathy more and excite our curiosity less 
than the two classes of animals known to zoologists as 
batrachians and reptiles. On the part of those who have 
not made a scientific study of natural history, little or no 
distinction is made between these groups, and snakes, 
turtles, salamanders, lizards, toads, frogs, alligators and 
various other forms are all regarded as reptiles. Nor 
does this confusion seem strange when we consider hov/ 
closely the members of the two groups resemble one an- 
other in outward form and habits. Indeed, it is only 
within comparatively recent times that zoologists have 
come to recognize the enormous difference between them 
and have universally agreed to regard the salamanders, 
toads and frogs as fundamentally different from the alli- 
gators, lizards, snr -s and turtles. To the first group 
they have given the name Batrachia or Amphibia 
(Batrachia from ''' Greek word meaning a frog, .^^mj- 
phibia from two GretK words signifying both and life in 
reference to their amphibious habits), and to the second 
the name Reptilia. 
It is the aim of the author in this paper to present, in 
the simplest manner possible, the differences between 
batrachians and reptiles, and to give some idea of the 
kinds of animals embraced in each. In a number of later 
articles the classification will be followed further and an 
account will be given of certain typical species to illus- 
trate the life histories and habits of these extremely in- 
teresting but much neglected forms. In the case of everj' 
species of either batrachian or reptile much is to be 
learned, and only those whose excursions into nature's 
haunts bring them into actual contact with these animals 
can tell the scientist that which is so important for him 
tc know, and it is hoped that the readers of Forest and 
Stream will be stimulated to contribute to this ever- 
growing stock of knowledge. 
The batrachians differ from the reptiles in several im- 
portant respects. The -^kin of the former is usually 
smooth and moist, sometimes raised into warts, as in the 
common toad, but never covered with overlapping scales 
or regular plates. Scales or plates, such as are seen on 
snakes, lizards and turtles, are almost universal among 
the reptiles, the only notable exception among American 
species being in the case of the soft-shelled turtles. The 
soft skin of the batrachians is usually provided with 
glands, which supply an abundance of mucus, giving 
ithese animals a slimy covering, but in the reptiles such 
gJands are not developed, and, except when wet with 
water, their skin is smooth, firm, and dry. The common 
expression, "a silimy reptile," is, therefore, without 
zoological foundation. 
The life history of the members of the two groups is 
also very different. The batrachians almost always lay 
their eggs in the water, and the young spend the early 
davs of their existence as tadpoles. At this period 
breathing is carried on by means of gills and in appear- 
ance. and habits they are decidedly fish-like ; legs are en- 
tirely absent or represented by the merest rudiments, and 
they swim about by means of their broad oar-like tails. 
After a time, usually a few days or weeks, their anatomy 
undergoes certain changes by which they come to resem- 
ble more closely the air breathing animals : legs are de- 
veloped, the gills become much reduced in importance, 
and respiration is carried on in part, if not wholly, by 
means of lungs, except in the case of some of our com- 
mon salamanders, which, after losing their gills, fail to 
develop lungs and apparently must extract their supply 
of oxygen from air which they take into their stomachs 
or by absorbing it through their skin. A few batrachians 
retain their gills life-long, breathing both by means of 
these and their lungs. 
Batrachians, therefore, begin their lives as water- 
breathing animals and must pass through a metamor- 
phosis before they are able to live on land. 
Reptiles, on the contrary, are born alive or hatch from 
eggs which have been laid on land, and in either case do 
not pass through a metamorphosis, since at the moment 
of their coming into existence they have the general form 
of the adults. Gills are never developed, and from the 
beginning their respiration is carried on by means of 
lungs, as in the birds and mammals, l;ut is much less 
active. 
Beside these differences, which are for the most part 
.external and apparent to anyone, there are a number of 
internal differences which show conclusively that 
(batrachians and reptiles are not only very distinct, but 
rthat the relationship of living forms, at least, is very re- 
mote. The reptiles, by almost every point in their struc- 
ture, show a close relationship to the birds, while the 
batrachians are more closely related to the fishes, and to 
a certain extent seem to establish a transitional link be- 
tween that group and the reptiles. 
Bodi groups are very old, having appeared upon the 
earth in the latter part of the palaeozoic epoch, or, more 
strictly speaking, during the carboniferous period. Dur- 
ing this time and the following two or three geological 
periods they flourished greatly, increasing both in num- 
ber of species and individuals, and soon came to occupy 
the most important station among the animals of those 
ancient times. An examination of rock beds in various 
parts of the world has brought to light a large quantity 
of the remains of batrachians which in some cases were 
very much like our common salamanders in size and 
shape. Others were long, slender and snake-like, and 
still others, known as the Labyrynthodonts, were more 
like mammals in form, attained a length of six 
feet, and were protected by a thick armor of 
large bony plates or shields. In company with 
these and in other rock beds have been found 
many remains of reptiles which differ exceedingly 
from those species which are in existence to-day. Some 
of them were as perfectly fitted for a life in the water 
as are our whales or seals; others stalked about on land, 
while still others had wings much like a bat's, and flew 
about in the air. Most of them were of moderate size, 
but some were enormous and far exceeded any of our 
living reptiles. Of the forms adapted for a life in the 
^vatef, the Ichth^osauHans, some redched a length of 
forty leet. The Dinosaurs, which, while fitted for a life 
on land, wete to a Certain extent amphibious in habits, 
in some cases reached a length of over eighty feet and a 
bulk as great as that of a whale. Many of them were 
armed with great spines and bucklers of bony plate and 
must have been the most terrible animals of aU time. 
The Pterodactyls, or flying reptiles, were in most cases 
small, a foot or so in length, but sorhe had a Stretch of 
wing of twenty-five feet, and can therefore hold the palm 
as the largest flying animals that have ever lived. Our 
modern birds have undoubtedly developed from some of 
these flying reptiles by exchanging a coat of scales for a 
coat of feathers, and becoming even raorfe perfectly 
adapted for a life in the air. 
Our modern reptiles and batrachians came into exist- 
ence rather early in the history of their groups, but have 
had _ their qualities so overshadowed by their more 
glorious relatives and by more perfect classes of animals 
which later appeared that they have come to occupy a 
station of comparative insignificance. 
Of living batrachians, it is estimated that there are 
about 1,200 species, and, of this number, probably 120 
inhabit North America exclusive of Mexico. These 120 
species are divided into two great groups or "orders" — 
the Caudata containing the salamanders, and the 
Salientia containing frogs and toads, and we may pass 
at once to the consideration of these: 
1. Salamanders, order Caudata, including all such 
.batrachians as retain a tail throughout life. Limbs may 
be altogether absent but are usually developed, and the 
hinder pair is never much larger or stronger than the 
front pair. Here belong the "mud-eels" or sirens, and the 
"congo snakes'' of the Southern States, long, slender, 
cel-like batrachians with diminutive legs; the large "mud- 
puppies" and "water-dogs" of more northern waters, 
short, stout and with well developed legs; also the forms 
commonly known as salamanders and newts, which are 
intermediate .in character and more variable in appear- 
ance. In fact, all American batrachians which are unlike 
frogs in form may be regarded as Caudata. 
2. Frogs and toads, order Salientia, including such 
batrachians as are destitute of a tail in adult life. Two 
pairs of limbs are always developed and of these the 
hinder pair is much larger and stronger than the front 
pair. No one can mistake a frog or toad for anything 
else if a moment's attention is given. 
Both orders occur in all parts of the world embraced in 
the tropical and temperate zones wherever fresh water 
is obtainable. So far as the writer is aware no species of 
either frog or salamander inhabits the sea or even strong- 
ly brackish water, and the common conceit of the artists 
in associating these animals with others which are 
typically marine is a mistake. In the great fountain in 
front of the new Congressional Library at Washington, 
Neptune is represented with his horses in a sea inhabited 
by sea-serpents, sea-turtles and frogs! 
The reptiles of the world, although far less conspicuous 
than in former days, are still well in evidence when it 
comes to making up the roll of animals. It is estimated 
that there are some 5,000 species in existence, and that 
of these, nearly 400 inhabit North America. Leaving ex- 
tinct reptiles out of consideration we find that zoologists 
divide all the living species into four orders. Of these, 
one,_ the Rhynchocephalia, is represented by only one 
species, a large lizard-like animal which lives about New 
Zealand, and need not be further mentioned. The re- 
maining three orders which are represented in North 
America are : 
1. Order Crocodilia, including the crocodiles and alli- 
gators. 
2. Order Squamata, including snakes and lizards. 
3. Order Chelonia, including the turtles. 
The order Crocodilia includes probably the largest liv- 
ing reptiles, and is confined to the tropical and semi- 
tropical _ regions of the earth. By crocodiles it is repre- 
sented in both North and South America, in Asia and 
in Africa. Alligators occur only in North America and 
in eastern Asia. Another closely related animal known 
as the gavial occurs in southern Asia, and still another 
called the cayman lives only in Central and South Amer- 
ica. All these forms are aquatic in their habits, have the 
teeth firmly implanted in sockets in the jaws, and the 
body is protected by a thick, heavy skin which along the 
back bears thick bonj' shields. The eyes have a vertical 
pupil and are protected both by lids and a thin membrane 
(nictitating membrane), which" can be drawn across the 
eyeball from front to back. In the structure of the soft 
parts of their anatomy they present the highest type 
among living reptiles. 
The order Squamata, in which most modern zoologists 
combine both lizards and snakes, is characterized by the 
possession of a covering composed of rather small over- 
lapping scales instead of the large, plate-like scales of the 
Crocodilia, or the bony, box-like shell of the turtles. 
Lizards usually are proAdded with limbs by means of 
which they are able to move by walking or running, but 
there are some lizards which do not have a vestige of 
such appendages and move and act altogether like snakes. 
One may usually recognize the lizards, however, by the 
fact that they have eyelids, or if this character is want- 
ing, by the fact that legs are present, or that the bones 
of the skull are firmly knitted together. This last char- 
acter is most evident in the lower jaw, which in lizards 
has the two sides immovably joined in front at the "chin,"' 
but which in snakes are joined only by ligament, and can 
be moved independently of each other. In all our Ameri- 
can lizards the tongue is not at all or only slightly 
notched in front, and does not present the slender, thread- 
like divisions as plainly in evidence in the snakes. 
The snakes are to be regarded as very degenerate rela- 
tives of the lizards. They have entirely lost their legs, 
and eyelids are altogether wanting. The bones of the 
head, particularly those about the jaws, are to a great 
extent attached to one another only by ligaments, so that 
a much greater range of motion is possible than in any 
other reptile. The deeply forked tongue has been men- 
tioned above; 
Snakes and lizards are distributed very generally over 
the tropical and temperate zones of the entire world, be- 
ing absent only from isolated islands which they have 
not yet been able to reach. The story of St. Patrick's 
famous campaign against the snakes of Ireland is well 
known, but it must be taken with a very liberal "grain of 
salt,^' fot there k everjr tfeasoft to believe that Tteland 
lacked these animals from the beginning. The lafgest 
lizards reach a length of over six feet; the smallest 1% 
not more than two inches long. The largest snake must 
be carefully disentangled from the largest snake story, 
for, although there are numerous reports from all parts 
of the tropics of snakes from fifty to eighty feet long. 
a, the lower jaw of a snake; b, the lower jaw of a lizard. Both 
as seen from above. In a are shown the quadrate bones, by 
means of which the snake's jaw is able to move back and forth. 
the largest one which has been actually measured was 
less than thirty feet in length. A third of this length — 
or at most a half — would cover any species found within 
the United States. 
The last order of reptiles-^the Chelonia, or turtles — 
is too well Icnown to require a definition or detailed 
description. Their form alone is characteristic. They are 
common inhabitants of forests, swamps, streams, lakes, 
and seas in all the warmer parts of the earth, and 
although they represent an order which has passed its 
prime, they still exist in numerous species. The largest 
ones are the great sea turtles, known as leather-backs, 
which attain a length of nearly seven feet and a weight 
of over half a ton. Among the land-inhabiting forms 
some of the species from the Galapagos Islands reach a 
length of about four feet. Among American species the 
alligator-snapper of the Southern swamps and streams is 
the largest, attaining a length of five feet, while, the 
common "skill-pot" (Kinosternon pennsylvanicum), is 
the smallest, being usually less than five inches long. 
With this introduction, we are now ready to look more 
carefully into the characteristics of some of our common 
species, description of which will be given in the follow- 
ing papers. W. P. Hay. 
Real and Sham Natural History* 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
That John Burroughs sees fit to disbelieve statements 
which other men have made in regard to nature is a 
matter of some moment to a good many men and 
women who enjoy reading abottt woods life and the 
life of the fields. To those who are just beginning to 
observe in themselves inclinations to tiirn toward na- 
ture as a study and recreation, it must come as some- 
thing of a blow against the inclination to have so noted 
a man come forward to say that animals are moved 
by instinct alone, and know by instinct how to do 
everything of the wonders they do perform in tlie^ way 
of_ home-building and eluding enemies. There are 
minds that prefer mathematics, but history is far more 
interesting. With those who have already begun to 
observe birds or animals, the statement that true rea- 
son is not possessed by any of the "little brothers of 
the air," will quicken the perception, but to those not 
yet started, it must prove ardor-dampening. 
Probably the last man in the. nation to desire to 
check the growth of natural history observation would 
be Mr. Burroughs. His own fame rests on the fact 
that he has seen more in the fields than other men 
previous to or of his day. Other men, with his books 
in hand, can now go into the meadows and along the 
streams among the alder bushes and with quickened 
eyes see what Mr. Burroughs says to look for, and 
see other things unseen by their teacher, their eyes 
being clearer for the cobwebs brushed away by their 
precurser and trail blazer. 
In "Signs and Seasons" Mr. Burroughs says: "One 
secret of success, in observing nature is capacity to 
take a hint; a hair may show where a lion is hid." 
Still-hunters of deer know that this is true. In having 
a direct object in view, hunters necessarily learn more 
about their craft than mere dabblers, who wander 
afield and pick up forty facts about forty birds, flowers 
and insects, no two of them related. The hunter's 
knowledge is something more than a collection of 
trinkets. It is a means to an end, and embraces, the 
"capacity to take a hint." 
If one goes into the observation of nature with no 
object in view, it is ninety-nine chances to a hundred 
that he will drop out of the practice. His mind simply 
won't take the food offered— he must turn to collecting 
postage stamps, or uncut editions, But instinct will 
turn a man to nature— so with Mr. Burroughs. His 
mind needed facts about the field life— it would digest 
that sort of material along with the rest that it assimi- 
lated, so he became, of necessity, a great naturalist. 
And he observed many curious things, for his mind 
was built that way. Among others: "The jays, per- 
haps, had a tougher time during the winter than the 
crows, because they do not eat fish or flesh, but de- 
pend mainly upon nuts." ("Signs and Seasons," page 
50.) 
Now I never saw a blue jay eat a nut in my life, 
but only this winter I killed more than six that were- 
eating a dead cat I had hung^ up on a sapling three 
rods from the lumber camp, where I was a watchman 
for two months. We call blue jays, butcher birds 
(shrikes), ruffed grouse, and other birds that eat meat 
and rob traps, "meat hawks." This is only to show 
that the instinct of my mind was to see blye jays eat 
meat, and that Mr. Burroughs was different,, as might 
be expected. 
Now here is a statement from page 56 of the same 
