252 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. 
two pairs of legs ; all, however, at some time or other in their 
life, respire by means of gills, and this is never the case with 
any true Lizard. It must be confessed, however, that a near 
approach to the Lizards is made by the Land-salamanders, the 
young of which have sometimes lost their gills before birth. | 
ORDER III. ANOURA or THERIOMORPHA (Gr. ¢her, a beast ; 
and morphe, shape).—This order is the highest of the Amphibia, 
and comprises the Frogs and Toads. It issometimes known by 
the name of Batrachia (Gr. batrachos, a frog), or Anoura (Gr. a, 
without ; ora, a tail), the latter name being derived from the 
fact that the adults are “ tailless.” 
Fig. 136.—Skeleton of the common Frog (Rana temporaria). d Dorsal vertebre, 
with long transverse processes, 
The tailless Amphibia or Theriomorpha are characterised by 
the fact that whilst the larva possesses a tail, and is furnished 
with gills, the adult has no tail, and breathes wholly by lungs. 
Both pairs of limbs are always developed in the full-grown 
animal, and the hind-limbs are usually considerably longer than 
the fore-limbs, and generally have the toes webbed, whilst those 
of the fore-limbs are free. The skin is soft, and there are rarely 
any traces of any integumentary skeleton, The spinal column 
