264 
AMPHIBIANS, 
As regards their general distribution, Amphibians closely resemble fresli-water 
tisli, and differ widely from lizards. Indeed, from an Amphibian point of view, 
the globe may be divided into two great regions, namely, a northern one 
characterised by the abundance of newts and salamanders, and the absence of 
caecilians; and a southern one distinguished by the want of the former and the 
presence of the latter group. 
h b t In their mode of life, it is probable that very few Amphibians 
are diurnal; most of the terrestrial forms making their appearance 
abroad with the first shades of evening, and retiring to their hiding-places at 
dawn. In wet or cloudy weather frogs and toads—especially in South America— 
frequently appear in great numbers during the day; and both these groups are 
moor-frogs (iiat. size). 
in the habit of making night hideous with their croakings. Although in all cases 
the adults are carnivorous, the larvae subsist more or less exclusively on vegetable 
substances; some confining themselves to that kind of diet, while others also 
consume animalcules and other minute creatures. 
Characteristics of The frogs and toads are distinguished from their allies by the 
Frog-s and Toads, presence of four limbs and the absence of a tail in the adult state; 
the latter feature giving origin to the name Ecaudata, by which the order to 
which they belong is scientifically designated. They all have short and frequently 
thick bodies, in which the backbone comprises, at most, only eight vertebrae in 
advance of the sacrum; those behind the latter beiim fused into a lonor rod-like 
bone, as shown in the figure of the skeleton on p. 261. In the fore-limb, as shown 
in the same figure, the bones of the fore-arm (radius and ulna) are completely fused 
together; and the same is the case with regard to the tibia and fibula in the hind- 
