Bull-fkog. EEPTILES. Toads. 91 
species, received from Cambridgeshire, into a pond 
near hia own residence, and that they soon migrated to 
another pond, and there made themselves perfectly at 
home. 
THE BULI-PKOG {Rana mugiens, ov pipiens) — fig. 25 
— a North American species, is of a large size, reaching 
even to the length of twenty-one inches, the body alone 
measuring seven lengthwise, four or five across, and 
weighing about two pounds. The head of this species 
is very large, broader than long. It has a very large 
mouth, great prominent eyes, and the vocal sacs are 
internal. The body is thick and massy, smooth above, 
and in front it is of a green colour ; dusky, with only 
a greenish tinge behind, and marked with irregular 
blotches of dark -brown. On the sides and belly it is 
of a yellowish tint, fading almost to a dusky-white. 
Bull-frogs are found in almost every marsh and pond 
of North America, and in general are solitary in their 
habits, only collecting together in the breeding season, 
at which time hundreds maybe seen in one small pond, 
and then, says Mr. Holbrook, “ the croak uttered by 
the males is so loud as to resemble the distant roaring 
of a bull, and can be heard on still evenings at the dis- 
tance of half a mile. During the day they are generally 
quiet, and only begin their noise at the approach of 
twilight or in dark cloudy weather.” 
There are some species of frogs in South America 
which are distinguished from all others by having the 
edge of the upper eyelid more or less produced into a 
point, so as to form a long horn. Azara tells us that 
in Paraguay the residents do not distinguish frogs from 
toads, but call all the animals of this order by the 
general name of toad. At Chaco, he says, “ there are 
some toads which weigh several pounds, and there are 
others very large, which are seen leaping in all the low 
grounds when there is moisture. They are neither 
very ugly nor very sw'ollen, and one would say that 
they had ears straight like horns.” 
These frogs constitute the genus Ceratophiiys, of 
■which four species have been described. 
THE HOENED FEOG {Ceratophrys cornuta), which 
is found in Cayenne and Brazil, is the best known. It 
is a large species, equal in size to the bull-frog of North 
America. The bead is very depressed in form, and 
very broad behind, and the mouth is enormously large. 
The skin is covered nearly all over with tubercles, and 
is of a cinereous yellow colour, striped with lines of 
obscure grayish-brown. “ It is difficult to find an 
animal,” says Shaw, “ of a more singular appearance 
than the present, not so much from the general shape 
of the animal as from the extraordinary structure of 
the upper eyelids, which are so formed as to resemble 
a pair of short sharp-pointed horns ; while the width 
of the mouth is such as to exceed that of any other 
species, and even to equal half the length of the body 
itself.” The Prince of Wied informs us that it lives in 
the large, obscure, and moist woods, and particularly 
in the marshes of Brazil, although it is also met with 
in cultivated and even dry places. It leaps well, and 
towards evening may be heard uttering a monotonous 
croaking. Its food consists of small mice, birds, and 
small frogs, molluscs, and other diminutive animals. 
All our readers are familiar with the plague of frogs 
brought as a punishment upon Pharaoh for refusing 
liberty to the Hebrews. Though this was a mii'aculous 
visitation, ordered by God for a special purpose, it was 
not contrary to nature. The plague consisted in its 
unexampled intensity and magnitude, indicated by the 
fact that the immense heaps of the carcasses of these 
animals ultimately corrupted the land ; “ and still more,” 
as Dr. Kitto observes, “ by the fact that their numbers 
were such as to force them when alive to forego their 
natural habits, and, instead of confining themselves to 
the waters and moist soils, to spread over the country, 
intruding even into the most frequented and driest 
places^ — the most private chambers, the beds, nor even 
the ovens being exempt from the visitation.” The 
frog was one of the sacred animals of the Egyptians ; 
and in this instance the object of their superstition 
became the instrument of their punishment. Frogs are 
still very abundant in the Nile, — 
THE DOTTED FEOG {Rana — Pelodyte.s — punctata), 
which is of an ash-colour, dotted above with dark spots, 
being the common species of the country. It is said 
to change colour when alarmed, and is also found in 
Europe. 
Bufonina, or Toads. 
The Toads are distinguished from the Panina or Frogs 
by their having no teeth in the jaw, and by their hav- 
ing a well-developed ear. In general the tongue is not 
notched at the tip, but is entire, and longer than in the 
frogs. Many of them have a smooth skin, but the 
true toads, species of the genus B%ifo, have it covered 
more or less all over with warty tubercles. The head 
varies very much in size and form, being sometimes 
very small, at others very large ; and the shape of the 
body is equally various. In all of them the processes 
of the sacral vertebrae are dilated, and the greater num- 
ber possess those glands known by the name of paro- 
tids. The extremities vary much in length, but in 
many of the species the hinder ones are much shorter 
than in the frogs. The fingers are four in number, 
all free, and the toes are five, more or less webbed ; 
while on the plantar surface, in the greater number, 
there is a tubercle, sometimes greatly developed, 
which from its position resembles a sixth toe. The 
males have either one only or two vocal sacs, which 
are in all of them internal. In the toads as in the 
frogs we find a number of small glands scattered 
over the skin, which secrete a viscid fluid. It is said 
these animals have the power of increasing at will this 
secretion, and cause it to run out like a dew at all 
points. This humour was at one time considered to 
be poisonous, and though this notion is now rejected 
by naturalists, and the liquid proved to be innocuous, 
it is yet perhaps possessed of some use as a means of 
defence. It is somewhat fetid and of an acrid quality, 
is neither acid nor alkaline, but when evaporated yields 
a transparent residue, which acts on the tongue like 
extract of aconite. The use, according to Dr. Davy, 
may be to defend the reptile against the attacks of 
carnivorous animals, and may serve, also, he thinks, as 
an auxiliary to the function of the lungs. This poi- 
sonous reputation of toads, however, is still a common 
