FROGS AND TOADS 
123 
This curious method of respiration renders 
it an easy matter to suffocate one of these 
animals, for all that is necessary to do is 
to keep its mouth open and thus prevent it 
from inflating its lungs, the result being of a 
similar nature to what would happen if a hole 
were pierced in the leather sides of a pair of 
bellows, thereby rendering them incapable of 
pumping air. 
With the exception of the African hairy- 
frog, fro-m the sides and thighs of which arises 
a thick and hair-like fringe, the skin of all 
frogs and toads is naked. In some species 
the tongue is absent, but usually that member 
is of considerable size and capable of being 
protruded from the mouth for a considerable 
distance owing to the fact that the root is 
fixed at the front of the mouth with the tip 
directed towards the throat. When the 
animal shoots out its tongue the lower surface 
is then turned upwards and the extremity 
thrown forward. 
One of the most remarkable of the tongue¬ 
less batrachians is the Surinam toad, a curious 
creature with a flattened, triangular-shaped 
head and small star-like growths arising from 
the tips of the front toes. A large flap or 
filament of skin also projects from either side 
at the junction of the jaws, while smaller 
