TOADS. 
277 
the eight genera is the pupil of the eye vertical. Two of the genera approximate 
in character to the preceding family. The toads have an almost cosmopolitan 
distribution, and while the more typical forms are characterised by their terrestrial 
habits, rough skin, and creeping gait, so unlike that of the frogs, others are burrow¬ 
ing, and others, again (Nectes), thoroughly aquatic. Moreover, the disc-footed toads 
(Nectophryne) of Western Africa and the Oriental region, in which the toes terminate 
in disc-like pads, appear to be arboreal; while the one Mexican representative of 
another genus ( Rhinophrynus ) is distinguished by its ant-eating habits. 
True To ds The common toad (.Bafo vulgaris ) is the typical representative 
of a large genus, with some eighty-five species, ranging over the 
whole world, with the exception of Madagascar, Australia, New Guinea, and the 
islands of the Pacific. As a genus, the true toads are distinguished by the entire 
tongue, the horizontal pupil of the eye, the freedom of the toes of the fore-foot, and 
the partial webbing of those of the hind-limbs, as well as by the breast-bone being 
either cartilaginous or with only a partially ossified style. The degree of webbing 
of the hind-toes varies; and while the tips of the toes are generally simple, they 
are sometimes expanded into small discs. The head may or may not have bony 
ridges. The common toad belongs to a group characterised by the absence of these 
ridges, and by the hind-toes being at least half-webbed; while it is specially distin¬ 
guished by the absence of a fold on the ankle, and by the tubercles beneath the 
joints of the hind-toes being mostly double. On the upper-parts are more or less 
prominent warts, which, although frequently spiny, are not distinctly porous; and 
the glands behind the eyes are remarkably prominent, and of an elongated elliptical 
form. In colour, the upper-parts are brownish, with darker spots or marblings; 
while the lower surface is whitish, more or less thickly spotted with black. A black 
line runs on the outer side of the gland behind the eye; this line, in specimens from 
China and Japan, extending along the upper side of the flanks. The distributional 
area of the species includes Europe, Asia (exclusive of India and adjacent regions), 
and North-Western Africa. Few animals have suffered more from popular supersti¬ 
tion than the common toad, which, although practically harmless, has been almost 
universally shunned and detested. It is, however, true that the secretion from its 
skin is acrid and irritating, as may be seen by the foaming lips of dogs which 
attempt to meddle with these amphibians. Sluggish and terrestrial in its habits, 
the toad needs not the long and fully-webbed hind-limbs of its active cousin, the 
frog; its usual pace being a kind of crawl, although, when disturbed, it can execute 
an imperfect leap. When alarmed, or threatened with danger, a toad immediately 
stops and puffs out its body to its utmost capacity, at the same time causing the 
acrid secretion to exude from the pores of its skin, and likewise discharging a pure 
limpid fluid from a special reservoir. Of its general habits, Bell writes that the toad 
“becomes torpid during the winter, and chooses for its retreat some retired and 
sheltered hole, a hollow tree, or a space amongst large stones, or some such place, 
and there remains until the return of spring calls it again into a state of life and 
activity. Its food consists of insects and worms of almost every kind. It refuses 
food which is not living, and, indeed, will only take it at the moment when it is in 
motion. When about to feed, the toad remains motionless, with its eyes turned 
directly upon the object, and the head a little inclined towards it, and in this attitude 
