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THE TWO-STRIPED FROG . 
A very odd-looking species is the Blue Frog. It is the sole representative of a family, 
remarkable for kaving webbed toes, flattened processes of the vertebrae, and glands at the 
back of the head. 
The Bine Frog, as it is called from its hue, inhabits Australia, and is not uncommon at 
Port Essington, whence several specimens have been brought to Europe. The head of 
this species is broader than long, the muzzle short and rounded, and the gape very large. 
The secreting glands at the back of the head are large, and extend in a curve over the ear as 
far as the shoulder. They are pierced with a large number of pores, and by their shape and 
dimensions give to the creature a very singular aspect. The discs of the fore-feet are extremely 
large, and the toes of the hind-feet are about three-quarters webbed. The color of the Blue 
Frog is light, uniform blue above, and below silvery- white. Its length is about three inches 
and a half. 
The large and handsome Bioolored Tree-Frog is the only species at present known as 
belonging to the family. 
In this creature the toes are not webbed, but in other respects the form resembles that of 
the preceding family, except, perhaps, that the processes of the vertebrae are wider in pro- 
portion to their volume. The Bicolored Tree-Frog inhabits South America, Brazil, and Guiana, 
and seems to be tolerably common. Possibly its bright and boldly contrasting colors render 
it more conspicuous than its green and olive relatives. The popular name of this creature is 
very appropriate, as the whole of the upper parts are intense azure, and the under parts pure 
white, or white tinged with rose. The thighs and sides are spotted with the same hue as the 
abdomen. 
Passing over the small section of Frogs ( MicrTiylina :) distinguishable by their toothed 
jaws and imperfect ears, and represented by a single species, we come to the third section of 
these animals (Hylaplesura), known by their toothless jaws and perfectly developed ears. 
Of this section, the Two-striped Frog affords a good example. 
This species is a native of Southern Africa, and is chiefly found in the eastern and north- 
eastern parts of the colony of Cape Town. It lives almost entirely upon or in trees, and may 
be seen either in the cavities of a decaying trunk, or clinging to the bark in close proximity 
to one of these holes. 
In Dr. A. Smith’s ‘ ‘ Illustrations of the Zoology of Southern Africa,” there is so curious 
and important an account of the imprisonment of this species in the bole of a tree, that it 
must be given in his own words : — 
•“ On the banks of the Limpopo River, close to the tropic of Capricorn, a massive tree was 
cut down to obtain wood to repair a wagon. The workman, while sawing the trunk longi- 
tudinally, nearly along its centre, remarked on reaching a certain point — ‘ It is hollow, and 
will not answer the purpose for which it is wanted.’ 
“He persevered, however, and when a division into equal halves was effected, it was 
discovered that the saw in its course had crossed a large hole, in which were five specimens of 
the species just described, each about an inch in length. Every exertion was made to discover 
a means of communication between the external air and the cavity, but without success. 
Every point of the latter was probed with the utmost care, and water was left in each half for 
a considerable time, without any passing into the wood. The inner surface of the cavity 
was black, as if charred, and so was likewise the adjoining wood for half an inch from the 
cavity. 
“The tree, at the part where the latter existed, was nineteen inches in diameter, the 
length of the trunk was eighteen feet ; the age, which was observed at the time, I regret to 
say, does not appear to have been noted. When the Batrachia above mentioned were dis- 
covered, they appeared inanimate, but the influence of a warm sun, to which they were sub- 
jected, soon imparted to them a moderate degree of vigor. In a few hours from the time they 
were liberated, they were tolerably active, find able to move from place to place, apparently 
with great ease. ’ ’ 
