362 
ORDERS OF AMPHIBIANS— PROGS AND TOADS 
The eyes are placed high up, quite above the 
upper surface of the head, so that the creature 
can fioat with only its eyes and nostrils above 
water. 
The frog skeleton possesses several marked 
peculiarities, some of which must be noted, even 
though briefly. There are no ribs. The verte- 
brae are very few in number, but very wide in 
comparison with those of other vertebrates. The 
pelvis is of great size, and so long that it forms 
nearly one-half of the axis of the body. Instead 
of being attached at its sides, midway from top 
to bottom, the thigh bones (femora) are attached 
LEOPARD-FROG. 
Ra'na vi-res'cens. 
at the extreme lower end, — the portion called 
the is'chi-um. In comparison with other verte- 
brates, the hind limbs and feet are of enormous 
proportions; and when these members are flexed, 
and then suddenly straightened out, the frog 
flies forward through the air as if thrown by a 
powerful steel spring. Some frogs can leap eight 
feet. 
Although there are no ribs, there is a well-de- 
veloped breast-bone, or sternum, for the at- 
tachment of the fore-legs; and it is said that in 
the frog the sternum appears for the first time in 
the development of the vertebrates from the 
lower forms. 
The members of some groups of the frogs and 
toads have teeth in the upper jaw, on a bone 
called the vomer; others have teeth in both jaws, 
but the majority are toothless. 
The hibernation habits of these creatures 
sometimes produce unexpected and remarkable 
results. Occasionally the public is startled by 
the publication of a story of a living frog or 
toad being dug out of solid rock, many feet be- 
low the surface of the earth. I have never had 
an opportunity to investigate any of these al- 
leged occurrences, but a personal experience has 
at least furnished food for thought. 
In a hot and dry jungle in the interior of Cey- 
lon, I once made a search for elephant bones in 
the dry bed of what in wet weather was a shallow 
brook. The larger bones were found upon the 
surface, but so many of the smaller ones had 
become embedded in the sand that it was neces- 
sary to dig for them. The sand had become 
so hard and solid it was half-way toward sand- 
stone, and our spades and mattocks loosened it 
with difficulty. 
About eighteen inches below the surface, we 
came upon several small frogs, three species in 
all, closely and solidly entombed. Even the 
ignorant and stolid coolies were amazed and 
excited by the discovery. The sides of the 
animals were greatly distended by water, but 
from the first moment they were in full possession 
of their faculties. 
As we released these creatures from their tombs 
and placed them upon the grass, each one dis- 
gorged a quantity of water, and hopped away. 
Evidently they had filled themselves with water 
and burrowed into the sand during the previous 
monsoon, then six months past, in order to live 
until the next rainy season; and had the annual 
water-supply of that little stream been per- 
manently diverted, no one can say how many 
years these frogs would have continued to live 
in their solid tomb of sand. The natives said 
that excepting in their wells, there was no water 
anywhere for many miles around. 
THE FAMILY OF WATER-FROGS. 
Ranidae. 
The Common Frog 1 is the most popular and 
well-known species in North America. It is 
the first to be heard in spring, it gathers in the 
1 Ra’na cla-ma'ta. 
