360 
ORDERS OF AMPHIBIANS— INTRODUCTION 
legs, and live upon land at will. Of the 1,040 
species of amphibians, only forty are without legs. 
An am-phib' i-ous animal is not necessarily an 
amphibian. The hippopotamus, the seal, sea-lion, 
otter and crocodile are indeed very much at home 
in water, but they are far above the Class Am- 
phibia. They are by no means creatures of two 
lives, and they do not pass through a larval stage 
before attaining perfect form. 
Like the reptiles, the amphibians are confined 
to the torrid and temperate zones, but a surpris- 
ing number of species permanently inhabit some 
very cold and inhospitable portions of the tem- 
perate zone. With but very few exceptions, the 
amphibians are quite useless to man. The legs 
of certain large species of frogs are prized by 
epicures, but with this exception, civilized man 
regards amphibians generally as inedible. Scien- 
tifically, the Class is highly interesting, chiefly by 
reason of the striking changes which so many of 
its members undergo. As a subject for the class- 
room and laboratory, frogs and toads are of well- 
nigh universal availability. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, too many courses in elementary zoology do 
not forge beyond the frog. 
As usual in seeking an acquaintance with Nat- 
ure, a very simple diagram places this Class of 
animals on a clear and comprehensible basis. 
A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE CLASS AMPHIBIA. 
ORDERS. 
FAMILIES. 
I Water-Frogs, 
ORDER I 
ECAUDATA: 1 
The Tailless / Tree-Frogs, 
Amphibians; \ 
Frogs and ] Toads, 
Toads. f 
f Burrowing ) 
\ Toads, j 
RA'NI-DAE, . 
HY'LI-DAE, . 
BU-FON'I-DAE, 
PEL-O-BAT'I- 
DAE, . . . 
TYPICAL SPECIES. 
t Common 
} Frog, 
Iiull-Frog, 
Wood-Frog, 
Tree-Frog, 
Rana clamata. 
Rana catesbiana 
Rana sylvatica. 
Hyla versicolor. 
i American 
I Toad, 
j Spade-Foot 
( Toad, 
Bufo lentiginosus. 
Scaphiopus holbrooki. 
ORDER 
URODELA : 
Tailed Am- 
phibians. 
Salamanders, j 
SAL-A-M AN' DRI- 
DAE 
Axolotl, 
Spotted Sala- 
mander, 
Newt, 
A m bly stoma mavortium 
Ambly stoma punctatum. 
Triton vii'idescens. 
Ampiiiumas, 
j AM-PHI-U’MI- 
j DAE, . . 
Hellbender, 
Congo 
“ Snake,” 
Cryptobranchus ( Mcnopoma ) 
alleghaniensis. 
Amphiuma means. 
Mud-Puppies, 
( Meno branch- ) 
pro-te'i-dae, . ■ us or Mud- N ecturus maculatus. 
( Puppy, ) 
\ Sirens, 
si-ren'I-dae, . Mud-“ Eel,” Siren lacertina. 
ORDER / 
APODA : \ 
Legless and \ Caecilians, COE-Cl-Ll’l-DAE, . 
worm-like j 
Amphibians. \ 
j Typtilonectes compressi- 
\ cauda. 
