ROOM IX.] NATURAL HISTORY. 25 
cimen of the Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus , Linn.) 
the Egyptian Antelope (A. dorcas , Linn.) and its fawn, 
the Persian Bull and Cow, ( Bos Taurus , Linn. var. in - 
dicus,) and the Broad-hoofed Antelope, (A. nasomaculata , 
Blainv.). Above these Cases, and fixed against the wall, 
is the tanned skin of a large species of Boa, killed at Minas 
Geraes, in South America. The skins of these enorbious 
serpents, when prepared in this manner, are used by the 
natives for making boots, &c. Over the Case No. 1, is 
the nest of a species of Wasp, from India. 
The upright Cases contain Mammalia, Amphibia, and 
Invertebrated animals, in spirits. In Cases No. 1 and 2, 
are the various species of Frogs ( Rana ), some of a large 
size. Amongst them is the Jacky (Ra?iaparadoxa,) the 
tadpole, or larva of which, is larger than the perfect animal, 
losing, at its metamorphosis, its enormous tail and external 
skin, whence the older naturalists imagined the order of 
nature to be reversed in this animal, and that the frog be¬ 
came a tadpole, or as they called it, a fish,—an error long 
since exploded. The Tree Frogs ( Hyla ), have the ends 
of their toes dilated into a roundish disk, by which thev 
climb. The Horned Frogs have the eyebrows extended 
into horns. 
In Case 3 are Toads ( Bufo ), some of them exceedingly 
large. The Bombinatores, or Earless Toads, differ from 
the others, merely by having the tympanum concealed 
under the skin. Some, as the Rhinellae, have their nose 
produced to a point ; and one ( Pipa ) is remarkable for 
its flattened shape, and for the manner in which the female 
carries her young in cavities, or little cells, on her back. 
The Salamanders {Salamandra), and Efts {Triton), follow 
the Toads: amongst them are the European species for¬ 
merly absurdly supposed to be insensible to the action of 
fire; also several American species, as the Amphiuma , 
which is thought never to have any gills, though it pro¬ 
bably loses them at a very early age. At the end of these 
are placed the Sirens, which retain their gills during 
the whole of their life, and are therefore capable of living 
equally well on land or in water; amongst these are 
the Axolotl of the Mexicans, which in all respects resembles 
the larva of the Common Eft; the Menobranchus from 
America, and the Proteus from the caverns of Carniola, 
c 
