Schlegel's Sp. 3. Lyrodon Jara. India. Arrangement: 4. geometrion. 5. Horstekil. Gold Coast, Cape of G.H. 6. unicolor. Guinea. 7. formosus. Brazil. 8. Clelia. South America. 9. subelictus. Bengal, Java. 10. rudelotus. Ambeia, &c. 11. Nyctidromus. Bengal. 12. audax. Paraguay. 13. petolarius. Guyana.

Gen. 5.—COLUMBES. Sp. 1. Columba Esculapii. Southern Europe. 2. constrictor. North America. 3. radiatus. Cochin China, &c. 4. subradiatus. Timor. 5. Blumenbachii. India. 6. korus. Java, &c. 7. corallina. Sumatra. 8. nebulosa. Java. 9. pantherinus. Brazil. 10. virgatus. Japan. 11. quadrivirgatus. Japan. 12. diadema. India. 13. minimus. Isle of France. 14. variabilis. South America. 15. plumbeus. South America. 16. poecilostoma. Surinam. 17. canni. Southern Africa. 18. Sayi. Missouri. 19. viridis. Southern Europe. 20. viridiflavus. Southern Europe. 21. Cliffordii. Northern Africa. 22. hippocrepis. Shores of Mediterranean. 23. florulentus. Egypt. 24. trabalis. Tartary. 25. guttatus. North America. 26. leopardinus. Southern Europe, &c. 27. conspicillatus. Japan.

Gen. 6.—HERPETODRYAS. Sp. 1. Herpetodryas carinatus. South America. 2. serra. Brazil. 3. virdescens. Surinam. 4. margaritiferus. New Orleans. 5. Boddaertii. Surinam. 6. astutus. America. 7. tricolor. Java. 8. Goudotii. Madagascar. 9. oxycephalus. Java, &c. 10. lineatus. South America. 11. Helena. Bengal. 12. rhodogaster. Madagascar. 13. geminatus. Java. 14. Pramnophis. New Orleans. 15. Dendrophis. Ceylon. 16. Dipasa. Celebes. 17. gmelini. North America. 18. cursor. America.

Gen. 7.—PRAMNOPHIS. Sp. 1. Pramnophis lacertina. Shores of Mediterranean. 2. moniliger. Africa. 3. pulverulentus. India, &c. 4. Seychellensis. Seychelles, &c. 5. Antillensis. West Indies. 6. Dahili. Dalmatia. 7. elegans. Western Africa. 8. Temminckii. Chili.

Fam. IV.—TREE SNAKES. Genus 1.—DENDROPHIS. Sp. 1. Dendrophis bicocurus. South America. 2. Catesbyi. Hayti. 3. aurata. Surinam. 4. pleta. Africa, Asia. 5. Dendrophis formosus. Sumatra, &c. 6. rhodopelion. Ambolina. 7. ornata. India, &c. 8. praeornata. Senegal. 9. amaragdina. Gold Coast. 10. colubrina. Cape of Good Hope.

Gen. 2.—DRYLOPHIS. A. of the Ancient World. Sp. 1. Drylophis naruta. India, &c. 2. Langsha. Madagascar. 3. prasina. India, &c.

B. of the New World. Sp. 4. Drylophis Catesbyi. Cayenne, &c. 5. argentea. Cayenne, &c. 6. aurata. America.

Gen. 3.—DIPSAE. Sp. 1. Dipasa dendrophila. Java, &c. 2. multimaculata. Bengal, &c. 3. trigonata. Bengal. 4. cynodon. Sumatra, &c. 5. Drapiezii. Sumatra, &c. 6. irregularis. Celebes, &c. 7. colubrina. Madagascar. 8. Egyptica. Africa. 9. nebulosa. Surinam. 10. Mikani. Brazil. 11. Weigeli. Brazil. 12. Catesbyi. Guyana. 13. pavonina. Guyana. 14. cephalia. Sumatra. 15. Dieperinkii. Surinam. 16. Boa. Java. 17. carinata. Java. 18. levis. Java. 19. leucocephala. Brazil. 20. macrorhina. Guyana. 21. Nattereri. Brazil. 22. punctatissima. South America. 23. Dalmardii. Madagascar. 24. annulata. South America, &c. 25. fallax. Dalmatia, &c.

Fam. V.—FRESH-WATER SERPENTS. Genus 1.—TROPIDONOTUS. Sp. 1. Tropidonotus natrix. Europe. 2. quinunculatus. India. 3. umbra. India. 4. rhodomelas. Java. 5. trianguligerus. Java. 6. chrysargyros. Celebes. 7. submucosus. Sumatra. 8. picturatus. New Guinea. 9. vibakari. Japan. 10. stolata. India, &c. 11. vitatus. Java. 12. schistosus. India, &c. 13. bipunctatus. Central America. 14. saurita. North America. 15. faciatus. North America. 16. viperinus. Southern Europe, &c. 17. scaber. Cape of Good Hope. 18. mortarius. Bengal.

Gen. 2.—HOMALOPHIS. Sp. 1. Homalopsis buccata. Java. 2. Schneideri. India, &c. 3. decussata. Java. 4. lenoebalia. Timor. 5. plumbea. Java. 6. Azo. India. 7. Sclateri. India. 8. cardinalis. America. 9. angulata. South America. 10. plicatilis. Brazil, New Orleans. 11. Marii. South America. FAM. VI.—BOAFORM SERPENTS.

Gen. 1.—Boa. Sp. 1. Boa constrictor South America. ... 2. murina South America. ... 3. cenchris South America. ... 4. canina South America. ... 5. hortulana Mauritius. ... 6. Dasumileri Mauritius. ... 7. carinata Moluccas. ... 8. conica Bengal. ... 9. melanura Cuba.

Gen. 2.—Python. Sp. 1. Python bivittatus Africa, Asia. ... 2. Schneideri Malacca, &c. ... 3. amethystinus Ambolos, &c. ... 4. Peronii Australia.

Gen. 3.—Acrochordus. Sp. 1. Acrochordus javanicus Java. ... 2. faciates India, &c.

DIVISION II.—VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

Family I.—COLUMBRIFORM VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

Genus 1.—Elaps. A. American Species. Sp. 1. Elaps corallinus Central America. ... 2. lamniscatus Guyana. ... 3. Surinamensis Guyana. B. African Species. ... 5. Hygetes Cape of Good Hope. C. Asiatic Species. ... 6. collaris Indian Islands. ... 7. trimaculatus India. ... 8. furcatus Java, &c. ... 9. bivirgatus Java, &c. D. Australian Species. ... 10. Mulleri New Guinea. ... 11. coronatus Australia. ... 12. Pseudophis Australia.

Gen. 2.—Dendraspis. Sp. 1. Dendraspis Jamesoni West Africa.

Gen. 3.—Bungarus. Sp. 1. Bungarus annularis India. ... 2. semifasciatus India.

Gen. 4.—Naja. Sp. 1. Naja tripudians India. ... 2. Haja Egypt and Africa. ... 3. Bungarus Java, &c. ... 4. bengaloides Java, &c. ... 5. porphyrica Australia. ... 6. hamachates Cape of Good Hope. ... 7. rhombata Cape, and Gold Coast. ... 8. lubricus Cape of Good Hope. ... 9. Elaps India. ... 10. curta Australia.

FAM. II.—SEA-SERPENTS.

Gen. 1.—Hydrophis. Sp. 1. Hydrophis schistosa Gulf of Bengal. ... 2. striata Indian Seas.

FAM. III.—VENOMOUS SERPENTS, PROPERLY SO CALLED.

Gen. 1.—Trigonocephalus. A. Head covered by Scales. Sp. 1. Trigonocephalus Jacaraca Brazil. ... 2. atrox Guyana. ... 3. lanceolatus Antilles. ... 4. bilineatus South America. ... 5. nigromaculatus Ceylon. ... 6. Wagleri Sumatra. ... 7. viridis Sumatra, Celebes. ... 8. puniceus Java. B. With Plates on the Head. ... 9. rhodostoma Java. ... 10. hypnale Ceylon, &c. ... 11. Haays Tartary. ... 12. Blombergi Japan. ... 13. cecarii North America.

Gen. 2.—Crotalus. Sp. 1. Crotalus horridus South America. ... 2. durissus North America. ... 3. mullerii North America. ... 4. mutus South America.

Gen. 3.—Vipera. Sp. 1. Vipera arietans Africa. ... 2. atropos Cape of Good Hope. ... 3. cornuta Cape of Good Hope. ... 4. Echis India. ... 5. carats Southern Africa. ... 6. elegans India. ... 7. berus North & Central Europe. ... 8. aspis Southern Europe. ... 9. ammodytes Greece, &c. ... 10. acanthophis Australia. ... 11. Nasicornis West Africa.

ORDER IV.—BATRACHIA. BATRACHIAN REPTILES.

We now proceed to the fourth order of the class Reptilia, the Batrachia, a name derived from Barpoxos, a frog, and expressive of a general resemblance which very distinctly marks the majority, although in truth many resemble lizards, and a few have more the appearance of eels or serpents. This tribe is one of the most singular in nature; for, besides the naked body and remarkable sanguineous circulation, they possess another peculiarity, which is regarded by many naturalists as sufficient to constitute them a distinct class rather than an order, viz., the change of form which they undergo in their progress from the young to the adult state.

In this concluding order are ranked all those reptiles which have neither the carapace of the Chelonia nor the scales of the other orders. Their bodies therefore are naked; their head is without any distinct neck or division; their toes are always distinct, and without claws; they have no external organs of reproduction, and usually undergo metamorphoses. This change of form constitutes the Batrachia the principal step in the transition between terrestrial and aquatic vertebrata or fishes, and is one of the most singular phenomena presented by animal life.

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1 A curious link, we perceive, has recently been discovered in South America, between the Batrachia and the Chelonia, which is nothing less than a frog furnished with a carapace and plastron. Batrachia, after the manner of fishes, from spawn-like ova, they possess for a time the essential characters of the finny race; and yet, on the lapse of a few brief weeks, their pisciform appearance vanishes, and leaving the water, they crawl or leap about upon the earth, or climbing the stems of forest trees, they dwell among the umbrous branches. In some the transition state, if we may say so, continues permanent, the gills existing simultaneously with feeble lungs, and a tail being combined with short external members. Of the structure of these curious animals more will be said hereafter.

The ovum or egg of these reptiles is a round mass of transparent nutritive jelly, in the centre of which appears a small black globule. By degrees this shapeless globule exhibits the appearance of a head and tail, and in this state it emerges from its prison, and moves about briskly in the water. It is provided with a long fleshy tail, and a small horny beak, and has no other visible member, except two feathery tufts on the sides of the neck, which float loosely, and without protection, in the surrounding fluid. These, however, are mere temporary organs; for they serve the purpose of respiration only until the proper gills are formed, and then shrink or disappear. The true gills or branchiae are contained within the body, three or four in number on each side, constructed on a plan similar to those of fishes; the water entering by the mouth, and escaping in some species by two openings, and in others by one only. Retaining their aquatic constitution, the tadpoles (as in this intermediate state they are often called) rapidly increase in size and activity for some weeks. In the mean time the legs, of which no trace was at first apparent, have commenced their growth. The hind ones are the first to make their appearance externally, although the anterior pair are as soon developed, and may be seen at an early period folded beneath their transparent covering. The animal at this period wears a very ambiguous appearance, partaking both of the form of the frog and lizard, and swimming as well by the inflection of the tail as by the irregular impulse of the feet. At this time the beak falls off, and the true jaws, which originally were hid under the skin, appear. The eyes, too, which had been seen only through a transparent spot in the tadpole's skin, appears complete and prominent. This interval is also employed in acquiring the faculty of respiring atmospheric air. The animal every now and then rises to the surface and takes a mouthful of air, which is received into the newly formed lungs, and then discharged. When the necessary internal changes are at length completed, the tail, which has now become a useless member, diminishes and disappears. The gills, too, have by this time shrunk, their function being superseded by the lungs, and the animal emerging from the water, begins a new mode of existence as a perfect reptile.

During its aquatic state the tadpole lives principally on vegetable food, but in its perfect form much more upon various insects; and there is a remarkable and corresponding change in its digestive organs, which assume the character of those of a carnivorous creature. Most of the Batrachia, we may also remark, are oviparous, whilst not a few of them are ovo-viviparous. It should, moreover, be observed, that most of the species of this group, during Batrachus, their aquatic condition, possess the extraordinary power of suffering the privation of a part, or the whole, of one or more of their members without vital injury, and of afterwards renewing them as if no loss had been endured; a property of which we have already made mention in our summary account of lizards, and to which we may again briefly return in our notice of the aquatic salamander.

We shall now take a nearer view of the vascular and respiratory systems of these animals. The circulation, in the tadpole state, is in every respect analogous to that of fishes: the blood is transmitted from a simple bilocular or two-lobed heart to the branchial arches, and, after aerating by the water, returns, and is circulated through the system. The transition from this condition to that which the vascular organs present in the perfect reptile state is very striking. Originally three or four branchial trunks pass off from each side of the heart, and terminate in the minute network of the gills; from this network the returning vessels take their origin, one from each of the gills, the first of which goes to the head, and the other two conjoining convey the blood to the rest of the system, as in fishes. But in addition to these vessels, there are some small undeveloped ones, which effect a communication between the vessels which go to the gills and those which return from them; as also another which, given off from the heart, unites with the aorta, to be distributed to the as yet rudimentary lungs. After the metamorphosis is begun, the branches which connect the arteries of the gills with the returning veins are greatly enlarged, so that a part of the blood flows continuously through them without proceeding to the gills at all, and the proper branchial vessels relatively diminish; and the last-named trunk, which was the smallest of all, becomes the largest, and an increased proportion of blood is sent to the lungs. By a continuance of these changes, the branchial vessels are finally obliterated, and the communicating branches, at first only secondary and irregular, now constitute part of the continuous and permanent system of circulation.

The respiration of the Batrachia, after they have arrived at their permanent mode of existence, is not less singular than their circulation; and this chiefly in two particulars,—as it regards the lungs, and the function of the skin. If we take a frog, for example, and watch its respiration, we cannot readily discover that it breathes at all; for it never opens its mouth to receive air, and there is no motion of the sides to indicate that it respire; and yet, on any sudden alarm, we see the animal blowing itself up, as if by some internal power, though its mouth all the while continues closed. We may perceive, however, that its throat is in frequent motion, as if the frog were economizing its mouthful of air, and transferring it backwards and forwards between its mouth and lungs; and if we direct our attention to the nostrils, we may observe in them a twisting motion at each movement of the jaws; for it is through the nostrils that the frog receives all the air which it breathes. The jaws are never open but for the purpose of eating; and the sides of the mouth form a sort of bellows, of which the nostrils

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1 This change or conversion from external to internal gills is not very satisfactorily described by physiological observers. "Dès le moment où les Batrachiens sortent de l'eau, ces branchies sont apparentes au dehors, elles représentent des espèces de franges ou de panaches colorés situés sur les parties latérales du cou, et attachés sur les bords des fentes qui correspond à la gorge; elles persistent sous cette forme, dans tous les Batrachiens qui conservent leur queue, tant que leurs poumons ne sont pas assez développés pour servir uniquement à la respiration. Dans les Grenouilles et autres grenouilles voisin sans queue, le premier état ne dure que pendant un temps très court. Bientôt l'animal prend une autre forme, celle d'un têtard à ventre énorme confondu avec la tête et avec une langue quise. Les branchies sont alors cachées, et contenues dans une cavité; l'eau arrive dans la bouche par les orifices des narines," &c. (Physiologie Générale, I. 182.)

2 It is curious to note that Lord Bacon had not practised his inductive philosophy so far as young frogs are concerned, for in his Syntaxis Sylvestris he makes mention of their being sometimes observed with tails, in such years as have been more than usually pestilent or unhealthy; and he then draws the conclusion that the appearance of such tailed reptiles, "argueth a great disposition to putrefaction in the soil and aire."

3 See Roget's Bridgewater Treatise, ii. 339. Batrachia are the inlets; and by their alternate contraction and relaxation, the air is swallowed and forced into the windpipe, so as to inflate the lungs. The tongue also contributes its share in carrying on this function. This organ is remarkable in its connection, being fixed very differently in these from what it is in most other animals. Its root is not situated deep down the throat, but is attached superficially at the fore-part of the lower jaw; it is remarkably long, and instead of inclining forward, is turned backwards, extending down the throat, and so acts as a valve, affecting the entrance and exit of air from the lungs. If the mouth of the frog be forcibly kept open, it is suffocated, because it is deprived of the power of swallowing the required air; and if the nostrils be closed, it in like manner can no longer breathe. Hence the frog and allied genera may be said rather to swallow air than to inhale it. Respiration, again, is not carried on, as in most animals, by the chest, but by the compression of the muscles of the abdomen; and if these are in any way injured or destroyed, the breathing ceases, and the individual speedily dies. Nor is the function of respiration in the Batrachia confined to the lungs; for the blood which circulates through the capillaries of the skin is likewise aerated by communication with the atmosphere. This kind of respiration, closely connected with the extraordinary perspiration for which these animals are celebrated, is of such importance to them, that if impeded by covering the skin with oil or other unctuous substance, death will take place almost as soon as if the lungs were removed; and, on the other hand, the animal may be supported by it alone, for a considerable time, if the temperature be not too high,—a physiological fact which, we apprehend, goes a great way to account for the extraordinary power possessed by many of these creatures (to which we shall afterwards allude), of enduring, without detriment, a long protracted burial, enclosed in wood or stone.

The reproductive act in these reptiles, somewhat intermediate between what occurs in terrestrial animals and fishes, is so remarkable that it must not be passed by. We shall borrow our illustration from what occurs in the frog, the genus by much the best known in the order. The embraces of the male occur only once a year, and in spring. As soon as the sun's influence is felt in their wintry resorts, the black spongy knob at the base of the thumb of the male augments in size, and his abdomen swells. On finding his mate, he mounts on her back, extends his arms round her chest, and so locks the fingers of his hands into each other, that, from the peculiar structure, they cannot be separated. The two animals are thus inseparably joined, and so live and swim together for fifteen or twenty days, or even for a month. If, under these circumstances, the thumbs be cut off, the junction is at an end; but if the animal be decapitated, the grasping apparatus still performs its mechanical office. During the period of this long embrace, the spawn, as in fish, escapes in long floating cords or chaplets, of a gelatinous fluid, crowded with the ova, which is bedewed with the milt of the male. When the spawning is completed, the male frog is able to dismount, the fingers speedily regaining their flexibility, and the thumbs their ordinary form. The reproductive power is very great, the ova amounting to from 600 to upwards of 1000. Swammerdam once reckoned 1100 from a single individual, and Montbeillard 1300.

It is remarked that these animals live to a great age, if fortunate enough to escape the attacks of their enemies; an instance will be given in the sequel, of an individual whose history was traced for forty years. Their foes, however, are very numerous. A number of quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fishes, live habitually at their expense. Batrachia, Serpents, pikes, vultures, and storks, destroy an immense number of them. Without the intervention of the last-named birds, Egypt, in particular, would swarm with frogs. In several countries, certain species are sought after by man; and they are considered by competent judges as an agreeable and wholesome food. The Batrachia have no weapons either of offence or defence. Taken as an order, they are certainly as harmless to man as any tribe of animals; and, as has been well remarked, though the forms of many of the species offend our notions of beauty, and their love-songs have gained them the character of "horrible musicians," there is certainly nothing to justify the aversion and disgust with which they are so usually regarded.

The Batrachia generally feed upon the larvae of aquatic insects, on worms, small mollusca, flies, &c., and always choose a prey which is living and in motion. Dead and motionless animals are rejected by them. To obtain their prey, they often remain fixed in one situation, with wonderful patience, watching till they believe it is within their reach, and then darting at it with great rapidity, they at the same time protrude their lengthened tongue, bedewed all over with a viscid fluid. If we watch a frog when an insect has approached sufficiently near it, we are surprised to observe the insect suddenly disappear without our being able to perceive what has become of it. This arises from the frog having darted its tongue upon its victim with such extreme quickness, and again withdrawn it with the adhering insect, that it is scarcely possible for the eye to follow it in motion. Thus from the nature of their food, so far from being prejudicial, they are very useful in gardens, by extensively destroying those small slugs, &c. which are so detrimental to plants of every kind.

**Family Ranidei: Frogs in General.**

All the members of the frog family (corresponding to the great genus Rana of Linnaeus), have in their perfect state four extremities and no tail. Their head is flat, their muzzle rounded, their mouth very large. In the greater number the tongue is not attached to the deeper part of the throat, but to the edge of the lower jaw, and thence proceeds backwards, and down the throat. Their front feet have only four toes, and their hind five, sometimes exhibiting the rudiments of a sixth.

We cannot better bespeak a favourable consideration for this despised group than in the words of an enthusiastic naturalist. "We shall have considerable difficulty," says the eloquent Lacépéde, "in assigning to frogs the place which they should occupy in the minds of our readers, such as it really is in nature; but it is not less true, that if toads had never existed, if we had not before our eye this horrid object of comparison, which caricatures by its resemblance, as it defiles by its approach, the frog would appear to us as agreeable from its conformation, as distinguished by its qualities, and interesting from the phenomena it exhibits at the different periods of its existence. We would behold it as a useful animal, from which we have nothing to fear, whose instinct is harmless, which unites an elegant form with supple and slender limbs, and is adorned with pleasing colours, rendered more vivid from the kind of natural varnish with which the animal is constitutionally provided. And who can regard with pain a being whose form is light, whose movements are nimble, whose attitudes are graceful? Let us not deprive ourselves of an additional source of pleasure;

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1 Although the patronymic termination in ide is not classically correct in cases where the primitive has a feminine termination, we nevertheless follow in this matter the suggestion of Mr Kirby, and the example of Mr Macleay, who regards it as preferable to any other yet devised, as well on account of uniformity, as euphonia gratia. See *Hora Entomologica*, p. 23. and, in our peregrinations through the smiling fields, let us not regret to see the banks of rivulets adorned by the colours of these harmless creatures, and animated by their light and lively gambols. Let us contemplate their little manoeuvres; observe them in the midst of silly lakes, the solitude of which they diminish without troubling the repose; see them exhibit, under sheets of water, the most agreeable tints, cleave the bosom of the tranquil stream, and vary its silvery surface with many a circling furrow.

In summer these Ranidae are usually found in humid places, in grassy meadows, and on the banks of streamlets, into which, when approached, they usually leap and dive. They swim admirably, by means of their webbed hind feet. Frequently at the close of warm rains they spread themselves through the country, and are so numerous as to be crowded and pressed against each other in places where they had never been observed before. To this appearance is owing the popular belief of rains of frogs, which undoubtedly is usually a mistake; but raised by a hurricane, and thereby transported to a great distance, such an occurrence is yet, we believe, quite within the range of possibility. As soon as the summer is over, and the weather begins to get cold, these reptiles lose their natural activity, and give over feeding. When the cold becomes more considerable, they protect themselves from its rigour by sinking into the mud in deep water, in the holes of fountains, and even in the earth. The quantities which sometimes thus collect in one place are so considerable, that they have been known to cover the soil to a foot in depth, and thousands may be taken in a few minutes. Hearne informs us, in his voyage to the Icy Sea of North America, that he many times found under the moss frozen frogs, whose legs might be broken without their exhibiting any sign of life, but which resumed their energy with returning warmth.

Genus Rana, Laurenti, Cuv. Frogs proper. This first genus of the Ranidae has the body slender, the hind feet very long, and more or less webbed; their skin is smooth; their upper jaw is furnished all round with a row of minute sharp teeth, and there is an interrupted transverse range in the middle of the palate. The males have on each side, beneath the ears, a fine membranaceous bag, which they expand with air when they croak. They leap and swim admirably. (See Plate VI., fig. 1.)

The skeleton of the frogs does not present any trace of ribs; and the breast-bone, very large, with collar-bones attached, is merely cartilaginous. The cranium is almost prism shaped, flattened above, and very broad behind, and is less round than in the toads. The vertebrae are ten in number. The muscles have a considerable resemblance in arrangement to those of man, and are very strong, very irritable, and very sensible to the action of galvanism. The muzzle in frogs is somewhat more acute than that of toads; and the nostrils are visible at the summit. Their orbits are large, and are directed upwards; the eye is large and brilliant, and surrounded by a bright golden circle. The lids are three in number, and all horizontal; the upper one is a mere projection of the skin; the lower is more mobile; and the third, which is quite transparent, moves from below upwards, and is most of all in action. We have already dwelt so fully on the habits of the whole group, that little requires to be added in this place. It is, however, a curious circumstance, that these animals, like many other inhabitants of the water, can become habituated to the very high temperatures of thermal springs. Thus Reaumur mentions that he had known one found alive in water about 111° Fahrenheit; and Spallanzani mentions an example of this kind where, in the baths of Pisa, they were exposed to a temperature of 138°.

The power of voice in frogs, commonly called croaking, is exercised by the different species in very different degrees; a remark which is also applicable to the genus Bufó in their more limited range of expression. It is more particularly during the time of rain, and in hot days, in the Batrachia evening and morning, that they indulge in their harmonious concert. The noise which they make becomes sometimes insupportable. It is principally the males which croak; their voice being stronger in consequence of the two sacs which they possess on the sides of the neck, and which swell out under the effort. As for the female, she has only a slight swelling in her throat, and produces but a feeble note. During the feudal regime in France, when all the castles were surrounded by water, it is said that it was the business of the serfs to attack the frogs, and prevent them from disturbing the morning repose of the lordly inmates.

It is rather remarkable that these creatures should be so much esteemed as delicious food in some countries, and so much despised and even abhorred in others. The ancients appear not to have discovered the nutritive virtues of frogs, nor their value in the science of gastronomy. In the sixteenth century, however, they were served up at the best tables on the continent. In Britain this kind of aliment is held in detestation, whilst in France and other European countries a very great consumption takes place. They are captured in various ways; either with lines, or small nets, or by means of a rake. Sometimes they are pursued at night, and with torches, the light of which attracts them. In Vienna, where they are rather favourites, they are fattened in froggeries constructed for the express purpose. Though one species of frog is called par excellence the edible, yet several others partake of this distinction. In Germany all parts of these animals are eaten, the skin and offals excepted. In France it is the hinder quarters alone which are used. They are dressed like fish, with white sauce, and in wine, or they are fried or even spitted. A foreign species of great size, to be afterwards mentioned (R. grunniens), which abounds in the West Indies, is often domesticated there for the use of the table. The flesh is white and delicate; it is fricasseed like fowl; and two frogs make a good dish. Nor is it frogs proper alone which are used in this way. The abhorred toads are habitually eaten by the negroes, both in Africa and America; and there seems to be little doubt that even in Paris the thighs of these animals are constantly sold for those of frogs.

We now proceed to a rapid sketch of the most remarkable species.

R. esculenta, Linn. The edible frog, green frog, or common frog of France. The colours of the green frog vary so much, that different individuals might almost be taken for a diversity of species. It is often of a beautiful green colour, spotted with black, with three yellow stripes on the back, and the belly yellowish. This description generally holds good in the environs of Paris. Those in the rivers and ditches of Lombardy have the back of a uniform green colour. Another variety, which has been observed in Holland, has the lips black, round black spots on its sides, and the belly entirely white; in Provence it has a reddish belly; and in the neighbourhood of Beauvais, sombre green, with transverse brownish spots upon the limbs, is found to be the prevailing hue. It varies in size from two to three inches, measured from the snout to the end of the body. It abounds in all dead and still waters, and is pre-eminent for its croaking powers. It is very common in France, Italy, and Germany; but is rare in Britain. It supplies, in the former countries, a very wholesome and agreeable food. It deposits its ova in small bundles, in the pools. This species seldom removes far from the margin of some quiet streamlet, into which it plunges on the least noise. It swims in the same manner as man, with its head above the surface. It may be often seen amusing itself among aquatic plants, darting after insects on the wing, mounting upon the umbraeous leaves, or squatted on the bank, with its snout projecting as if to court the rays of the sun, in which it delights, even during the most scorching days. It is indeed Batrachia most agile in this kind of weather, and leaps with the greatest liveliness. It feeds solely upon living objects, and will swallow no animal whose motions do not prove it to be in life. Its voracity is so extreme, that it may be captured with almost anything which is made to move, and will dart at a hook when baited with a rose or poppy leaf. With the warmth of autumn the gaiety of the green frog ceases; and as winter becomes severe, it entirely disappears, plunging deep into the mud to secure an asylum from the cold. Here they often crowd together, as if for the purpose of keeping each other warm.

*R. temporaria*, Linn.; *R. fusca terrestris*, Roes. The common frog of Britain. The red frog of the French. This species, the most common in Britain, and also abundant throughout Europe, has the same elegant and slender form as the preceding, and differs from it merely in its colour, which is often of a russet hue, like that of decayed leaves, varied in front with black spots between its brilliant eyes and upper lip. These spots sometimes assume the form of whiskers passing down the neck. It is of the same size as the preceding, and is met with from early spring-time till towards the close of autumn, leaping in woods and meadows, sheltering itself beneath hedges, and penetrating into cottage-gardens, where it ought to be protected, as waging deadly war with destructive snails and insects. It proves quite as good eating as the green frog, and in France is often placed upon the table. It is by no means so great a croaker as the preceding species; and those accustomed to the latter think it does not croak at all. It is most generally found upon land in the summer season; and while the green frog rarely abandons the immediate neighbourhood of still or gently flowing waters, this species is often found in brushwood, remote from the banks of streams. At the approach of winter it retires into fountains and ponds of pure water, usually, it is alleged, avoiding many places. Nor does it bury itself in mud like its congener; for numbers of these frogs may be taken during the winter by making holes in the ice. It lays its ova at a later season than the green frog, and the development of its tadpole is slower. Like the preceding, it presents many varieties of colour, which it would be tedious here to name.

Under the appellation of *R. cultripes*, Cuv., may be noted a frog which occurs in the south of France, speckled with black spots, its feet extensively webbed, and especially remarkable for having a vestige of a sixth toe, armed with a horny cutting nail. The spotted frog (*R. punctata*, Daudin) occurs in the neighbourhood of Paris, though not very common. It rarely exceeds an inch in length. Its gray colour is relieved by a number of green spots over the body, and a black spot behind the eye, and it is said to change its colour when alarmed. Its toes are only partially webbed. The folded frog (*R. plicata*, Daudin) is found in the most southern parts of France. It is of the same diminutive size as the last, of a brown colour above, and gray beneath; the fingers quite free, the toes semi-palmed. It is particularly distinguished by having two folds of the skin on each flank; and there are four large brown spots on the chest and arms. Our knowledge of the branching frog (*R. clamidans*, Bose) is due to the indefatigable Bose, who discovered it in the marshes near Charlestown, United States. It is about two inches long, of a dull ash colour, spotted with black, the upper lip green. Its vivacity is extreme, and it is by far the most lively of all known frogs, so that it is extremely difficult to catch it if it once makes its escape. It does not remove far from water, and when hunted, shoots into the stream with a sharp cry. Its continual croak is almost insupportable.

The bull-frog of the Americans, *R. pipiens*, Linn., is one of the largest species of the genus, being three or four inches broad, and six or eight long; and when measured with extended legs, its entire length is about eighteen inches. The hind limbs are long, stout, and deeply palmed. Batrachia. It is of a dull green colour, varied with black, and relieved by a coppery yellow circle which surrounds the tympanum, and marks the situation of the ear. It abounds in Carolina and Virginia, remaining at the entrance of its hole, near some fountain, into which it precipitates itself on the least alarm. Catesby affirms that it utters sounds very much resembling the bellowing of a bull, and with greater force when at the bottom of the water. During the summer evenings, and in dry weather, it makes indeed a most astounding noise. It is exceedingly partial to young ducks and goslings, which it swallows whole, and will proceed to a considerable distance from its home in search of prey. As the voracity of this species is proportioned to its bulk, it is rare to find more than a single pair in each marsh. This frog is very difficult to catch; it is only during the night, and when it removes a little from its haunt, that it is possible to procure an individual. When on level ground it makes leaps of from six to eight feet in length. Baron Cuvier justly remarks, that several species go under the general name of bull-frog in America.

The grunting frog, *R. grunniens*, Daudin, is of the same large dimensions as the preceding, and inhabits the Floridas and the West Indies, where it has been accurately observed by M. Moreau de Jonnès. It is vulgarly designated a toad, because it frequents shady and humid places, and not the vicinity of waters, as the other frogs. In its habits it is nocturnal, and its strength is so great that at a single spring it can clear a wall five feet high. It is very torpid during the dry season, but resumes its vivacity when the rains set in. It is this frog which is often domesticated in the West Indies for the use of the table, and becomes tolerably familiar; the flesh is white and delicate, and two frogs form a very good dish. The argus frog of Shaw, *R. ocellata*, Linn., is often mistaken for the preceding. It inhabits Pennsylvania and Carolina, and was first figured by Seba. It is one of the largest of the genus, equalling if not exceeding the bull-frog in size, and being stronger; it is of a pale reddish-brown colour, striped with chestnut; the feet are unwebbed, and each joint is furnished with a kind of tubercle. The laughing frog, *R. ridibunda*, Gmel., according to Pallas, is common about the Ural and the Caspian Sea. It is of great size, weighing half a pound. It always keeps in the water, and in the evening utters its croakings in a way that resembles a horse-laugh. The paradoxical frog, *R. paradoxica*, Linn., the jackie of the French, is remarkable for the great size of its tadpole state in proportion to the adult animal. The loss of its enormous tail, and of the envelopes of its body, induces a great diminution in bulk; its length in the tadpole state being seven or eight inches, while that of the body when transformed is only three. Thus many of the first observers were led to the conclusion that it was the frog which was metamorphosed into the tadpole, or, as they declared, into a fish. This species is green, spotted with brown, and is especially recognised by irregular stripes of a brown colour running along the limbs. The male has a gular sac, and the hind foot is provided with a supplemental toe. It inhabits Guiana. Our readers will bear in mind that in the preceding list we have not attempted more than to give a specimen of the distinctive characters and habits of some of the best-established species. Many more have been described and catalogued in systematic works.

Genus Ceratophrys, Boié, Cuvier. This genus is distinguished by the great size of the head, by the skin being rough, and engrained in whole or in part, and by a membranous or horn-like prominence on each eye-lid. (See Plate VI., fig. 2.) In certain species the tympanum is hid beneath the skin. The species are found in South America and Asia. The horned frog (*C. varius*, Boié, *Rana cornuta*, Seba) is certainly one of the most singular of Batrachia, the Batrachia, having an aspect exceedingly deformed. This arises not so much from the general shape of the animal, as from the extraordinary structure of the upper eyelids, which are so formed as to resemble a pair of strange sharp-pointed horns, while the width of the mouth exceeds that of its congener, and equals half the length of its body. Seba, in fact, describes it as having two sharp horns on its head, within which its eyes are situated; and Schneider more accurately, as a pair of accumulated callous processes, of a conical shape, placed upon the eyelids. The colour is grayish yellow, striped with brown. The body is rough, with pointed spines. The head is very large and thick, and the tongue proportionably so. Baron Cuvier assigns five species to this genus, from the works of Seba, Daudin, Spix, and Prince Maximilian. In Mr Gray's catalogue an additional one is furnished by Mr Wagler, the habitat of which is Asia.

Genus Dactylethra, Cuv. The south of Africa, according to Cuvier, produces a group of Batrachians which resemble the frogs in their teeth, their smooth skin, their pointed toes, those of the hind feet being deeply webbed, and the inner three having their extremity enveloped in a conical nail, which is black; their head is small, and their mouth not very large. The tongue, attached deep in the throat, is fleshy and large; their tympanum not apparent. These numerous distinctive characters have induced the baron to constitute a new genus under the above name, from δακτύλη, a thimble. The smooth toad, crapaud lisse of Daudin (Pipa bufonia of Merrem), belongs to it.

Genus Hyla, Laurenti; Calamita, Schn. The tree-frogs of the English—Rainettes of French authors. The Hylae were first separated from the frogs and toads by Laurenti, and his arrangement is now universally followed. They differ from the other genera in having all the extremities of their toes enlarged, and rounded into a kind of disk or cushion, usually covered with a viscid humour, which enables them to attach themselves firmly to foreign bodies, and to climb trees. (See Plate VI, fig. 3.) Trees, in fact, constitute their abode during the whole of summer, and there they hunt for food. They, however, produce their ova in water, and shelter themselves in the mud during winter. They have a gular pouch, and are good croakers.

The disks with which the toes of the tree-frogs are provided are simply fleshy, and in the form of lentils. Examined with the microscope, they appear like porous sponges, from which a glutinous fluid slowly exudes; they are usually somewhat concave, and are sometimes furnished with a distinct fold. By means of this apparatus the species can attach themselves to smooth surfaces; they can leap from branch to branch, and can traverse twigs when agitated by the wind. They may be regarded as among the most nimble of their kind. They are, however, more tranquil than many, and watch most patiently for prey. In the daytime, and especially when the sun's heat is great, they are said to shelter themselves among the thick foliage, putting themselves in motion on the approach of evening, and then sporting with delight. The croaking of these animals is similar to that of the proper frogs, but stronger, though not quite so sharp. It is most frequently heard in wet weather; but on a beautiful summer evening the traveller is sometimes surprised by a vast group of these hoarse musicians, assembled on the tops of the highest trees. They feed on the insect tribes. Late in the season they retire to the water, where they pass the winter in a kind of lethargy, and remain there till the spawning season has elapsed. Some Indian species deposit their eggs on the under side of leaves hanging over water; and General Hardwicke has observed them place their ova on a leaf which stood over a pail of water, so that the young dropt into the fluid beneath. There is not a single species of the tree-frog in the British isles; they occur, however, frequently in the more favoured climes of Europe, and superabound in warmer regions. The number of ascertained species is not inferior to that of the frogs proper. They are among the most interesting of the race, and many of them are very beautiful.

H. Arborea, Cuv.; R. Arborea, Lin. Common tree-frog. In beauty of colouring, as well as in elegance of form, and general agility of movement, the tree-frog exceeds every other European species. It is found in France, Germany, and Italy; but more towards the south than north. It avoids dry situations and mountainous forests, and delights in humid woods, in hedges bordering on marshes, and in parks and gardens ornamented with water. Its principal sojourn during the summer months is the upper parts of trees, searching for insects, which it catches with extreme alacrity, stealing softly upon them, as a cat towards a mouse, and seizing them with a sudden spring of frequently more than a yard in height. It often suspends itself by its feet, or by a single foot, or even by its abdomen and drawn-up toes from a twig, or the under portion of a leaf, thus continuing beneath the shade. It is among the smallest of European frogs. Its colour is green above, more or less bright; its belly whitish, and covered with numerous small tubercles; a dark violet-coloured streak runs along the flanks; and the limbs are reddish. The body is smooth above, and rather short and plump; the hind legs are very long and slender. The fore feet have four toes, the hind five, and all of them terminate in dilated flattish tips. The surface of the abdomen is very remarkable, being so granular, adhesive, and elastic, that it enables the animal to adhere almost to anything; even, it is said, to polished glass, at whatever inclination, or in whatever position it is placed. The spawn is deposited towards the end of April, and the perfect animal appears in August, when it ascends the neighbouring trees, and assists with its parents. Being very noisy on the approach of rain, this species is considered as an excellent barometer; and in the German Ephemerides there is an account of one which was kept in a state of domestication for seven years, and gave the greatest satisfaction from being peculiarly weather-wise.

The Zebra hyla, H. calamita, Gray, Calamita maxima, Schn., appears to be one of the largest of these slender-bodied frogs, a specimen described by Seba having attained the length of five inches. It is a native of Carolina and Virginia. It is of a rufous-brown colour, striped with chestnut bands; all its feet are webbed, and the toes orbicular. The Merian hyla, H. Meriana, Gray, Roma Meriana, Shaw, first depicted and described by Maria Merian, in her Surinam, merits a distinct notice. It is about three times the size of the common hyla; and on each side of the neck has a remarkable protuberance, resembling an obtusely conical inflated pouch; its hind feet are distinctly webbed. It is of a brownish-green colour above, and is variegated with patches of yellow. It is found sometimes on trees, and sometimes in water. Mad. Merian states that they have external ears, and that the balls on their toes facilitate their progress over the soft marshes which they frequent. The H. tibatriza, Laurenti, is an American species, and is said by Seba to croak in a melodious manner during very hot weather after the setting of the sun, while in the cold and rainy season it is silent, concealing itself at the bottom of the waters.

H. lateralis, Catesby, has been observed in Carolina, and also, it is said, in Surinam. It is usually found attached underneath the leaves of trees, concealing itself, and lying secure from birds and serpents, its most dangerous foes. They are sometimes found in vast heaps, the bushes and woods being completely covered with them; and their croaking may be heard at the distance of whole leagues. They make prodigious leaps, and hence in the United States are called the crickets of the savannahs, their cry Batrachia also resembling the noise made by that insect. *H. tinctoria*, Cuv. *R. tinctoria*, Lin., or *Dying Hyla*, has a singular property assigned it, apparently on good authority. It is said that by its means the American Indians partially change the plumage of their parrots from green to red. With this object in view, they pluck out the green feathers when the bird is young, and rub the wounded skin with the blood of the hya, after which the feathers spring up of a fine red or yellow colour. It inhabits Surinam and Guiana, frequenting the woods nearly the whole year, concealing itself in clefts of trees, and under the bark in cold nights, and resorting to water only for the purpose of reproduction. Cuvier has enumerated, as among the largest and most beautiful, the *H. bicolor* of Daudin and Spix; it is of a celestial blue colour above, and of a rosy tint below. He has catalogued several additional species; and Mr Gray's list is very extensive, including some species from New Holland.

**Genus Bufo.** The generic characters of this group, which includes the toads, are, a body thick, short, clumsy, and generally covered with warts and pimples with a glandular pad behind the ears, from all of which distils a milky fetid humour; there are usually no teeth; the hind feet are frequently short, and hence the species rather crawl than leap; and they are generally found at a considerable distance from water. By Linnæus they were incorporated in the same genus with the frogs, and so close is their resemblance, that that arrangement is still sometimes followed. Toads have in all times and places been regarded as disgusting animals, and sometimes even as objects of horror. They are usually believed to be venomous, and are consequently subjected to proscription and extermination. It will be found, however, on examination, as has been observed by a noted naturalist, that these animals are comparatively harmless, that the study of their organization involves much interest, and that their history presents a crowd of facts equally curious and important. A slight sketch of the structure and habits of these despised animals having already appeared in our general remarks on the order, we shall here allude only to a few distinguishing traits.

The European toads are stated to have only eight vertebrae, and some as few as seven. Though generally described as wanting teeth, yet some species have them on the gums, large and curved. The tongue is not forked, as in most of the frogs; nor do they possess the gular pouches, which give to the frogs their peculiarly resounding voices. The glandular cushion-like body behind the ears, sometimes stated as the most distinct mark of the genus, is considered by Schneider as nothing else than the parotid gland, well known in man as the seat of that disease called the mumps,—with what degree of accuracy we are not prepared to say. The toads, in general, are heavy sluggish animals in comparison with frogs, and sometimes even crawl with difficulty.

The cuticular excretion usually regarded as so offensive is possessed by frogs as well as toads; but is much more abundant in the latter. It is alleged that the toad can at will increase the secretion of this viscous humour, and cause it to distil like dew from all its pores. The most important use, as previously suggested, is probably connected with respiration; the one usually assigned is, that it defends the animal from the heat of the sun and the dryness of the air. This abundant perspiration must, of course, maintain the species at a low temperature; and Adanson states the fact to be so well known, that the negroes in traversing the burning sands of Senegal are in the habit of applying a live creature of this kind to the forehead for the purpose of cooling it. These reptiles have the power of emitting another secretion, which is regarded as a weapon of defence and offence. It is discharged from the lower gut, is shot forth in a small stream, and often occasions apprehensions from its supposed venomous nature. When toads are surprised and alarmed, instead of seeking safety in flight, they make a dead halt, swell out their body, making it hard and elastic, and distil this humour from its surface in augmented quantities. They also make efforts to bite, without, however, inflicting any injury. The direct application of the fluids proceeding from the common toad to the human skin is innocuous, and the idea that it confers a poisonous quality upon vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms, is entirely groundless.

The process of spawning in the toad is carried on much in the same way as in the frog. In the latter the ova appear imbedded in a glairy continuous mass, which has been compared to a cord or chaplet; in the toad two of these cords appear together, the united length of which would extend to about twenty feet. Ten or twelve days after deposition, the eggs acquire double their volume; the tadpoles issue forth about the twentieth day, and acquire their gills two or three days after.

Though the taste is not likely to become prevalent, there is no doubt that toads have been made familiar pets. Mr Pennant gives a curious account of one having lived in a kind of domestic state for the space of more than forty years, and of having been, in a great degree, reclaimed from its natural shyness and desire of concealment. On the approach of its master, and on the lighting of the candles at night, it left its retreat, and came to demand its regular evening meal. It grew to a very large size, and attracted many curious visitors. It was often brought to table, and fed upon various insects, which it seized with avidity, without being embarrassed by the presence of company. Its favourite retreat was beneath the steps of the house-door; and it had all the appearance of surviving many additional years, when it was attacked and destroyed by a raven.

But the most curious trait in the history of the toad, is its alleged power of being encased and buried for a long period of time without food or respiration, and of reviving again when reintroduced to light and air. Not that the toad is singular among the Batrachia for this faculty, for its congeners are likewise celebrated on account of it. Nor would it appear to be confined to this order, for similar stories are told of serpents, and even of fish, insects, &c. The attention of the French academy was directed to this subject about the year 1771, from its having been stated, that upon pulling down a wall of a mansion belonging to the Duke of Orleans, and which was forty years old, a toad which proved to be alive, was found in it, its hind feet being actually entrapped and imbedded in the mortar. Stimulated by the interest which this story excited, M. Herissant, in presence of the academy, enclosed three toads in as many boxes, surrounding them with a thick coating of plaster, and deposited them in an apartment of the academy. Here they were left untouched for eighteen months, when, on being examined, two of them were found alive, and the third dead. The former were re-enclosed, and on a second examination some months after, were found dead. The animals were completely impacted and imbedded, without leaving any space for surrounding air. Notwithstanding the apparently conclusive nature of these experiments, the possibility of such long endurance was still denied by many,—the more so, as the fact was as inexplicable as extraordinary. Dr Edwards, however, performed somewhat similar experiments in Paris in the year 1817, by shutting up toads effectively in plaster, when he found that they lived for a long period; and additional light was thrown upon the subject by that observer discovering, that when the plaster was made impervious to air, as by sinking the whole mass in water, the toads speedily perished. From this it follows, that owing to the porosity of the plaster, a portion of air still penetrates to the imprisoned toad, sufficient to maintain its vital functions in that low state in which we often see these reptiles during hibernation, or when completely frozen. The importance, under these circumstances, of the cuticular re- Batrachia, respiration already mentioned, is obvious. Analogous phenomena are observable in other classes of the animal kingdom. Thus, the reviving powers of the *Rödter rediatus*, though so astonishing, are now undisputed; and no doubts Franklin's anecdote of the apparently dead flies, which he took from a fresh-drawn bottle of Madeira, and revived in the sun. Many drowned insects, to all appearance dead, are made to renew their vital powers when sprinkled over with dry warm sand, or pounded plaster; and it appears that in like manner, a certain feeble life, capable under altered circumstances of quick and strong increase, lingers long in many reptiles.

The great majority of the instances of imprisoned toads and frogs is said to have occurred in growing trees, hard wood, coal, and in sandstones and other rocks not of a very dense or impenetrable consistence. The fact has been long and frequently alleged, and the difficulty of accounting for it forms the chief ground of the prevailing scepticism. The wonder produced is forcibly though quaintly expressed in a Latin inscription written in letters of gold, framed with a coat of arms, and hung over a mantle-piece of sandstone, formerly in Chillingham Castle. In this sandstone there was a deep excavation, believed for ages to have been the living tomb of one of these creatures. We give a translation of a part of this document.

Hither, Stagyrite! If you would see a phenomenon more wonderful than Euripus, Come hither; Let seas ebb and flow as they may, and let him be a lunatic Who despises the moon of her honors. Behold here a novel spectacle! Africa presents to thee, Nor the Nile with her fabulous sands; A fire and pure flame Existing, though shut out from vital air. From the dark recesses of the cut rock which you see, The hands of the obstetrical stone-cutter gave light To a living toad!

In illustration of this alleged phenomenon, we shall adduce but a single recent instance out of many. On the 25th of July 1832, four men made affidavit, "that they were astonished, on splitting a large block of millstone grit on Stanmore, more than a ton weight, by a living yellow frog springing out of a cavity in the centre of the said solid rock, where it had been as closely imbedded as a watch in its outer case, without any communication with the surface nearer than eight inches. This frog was conveyed to Brough, Westmoreland, and given to Mr Rumney, surgeon, in whose possession it now (Jan. 21, 1833) continues in a healthy living state."

We have already mentioned, that however disgusting may be their qualities in the apprehension of many, toads are eaten greedily by savage tribes, and not seldom, though unwittingly, by the more fastidious inhabitants of the gay and splendid capitals of Europe. We now proceed to allude more particularly to a few of the species.

The common toad (*B. vulgaris*—*Rana bufo*, Linn.) is of a russet or brownish-gray colour, sometimes olive, and even blackish. It is covered with numerous round tubercles on the back, and with smaller ones beneath. The hind feet are semi-palmed. It is found throughout Europe (most abundantly in its western parts), and is common in this country. It usually sojourns in obscure and sheltered places, and passes the winter in holes which it finds or makes for itself. It spawns in water in March and April; the ova are very small and numerous, suspended in two cords of transparent jelly. The tadpole is blackish, and remarkably small when it loses its tail and acquires its feet. The branchial aperture is on the left side. This toad is long lived, fifteen years being assigned as not unfrequent. Its cry has a distant resemblance to the barking of a dog, and during summer it croaks feebly.

Many toads possess a strong disgusting smell. Of this kind are the rush toad (*Rana bufo calamita*, Gmel.), of which the colour and size much resemble those of the common toad, the cushions behind its ears being somewhat less. Its hind feet are not at all webbed, and it has a pouch or sac under its throat. Its pace differs from that of most of the toad tribe, as it runs nearly after the manner of a mouse, with the body and limbs somewhat raised. It is chiefly a nocturnal animal. The ova are contained in two cords; and the evolution of the ova is so speedy, that the tadpoles liberate themselves in the space of five or six days. During spring it frequents places overgrown with reeds, and croaks loudly. When handled or irritated it pours forth its nauseous exudation, and squirts its other fluid to a distance of three or four feet, and thus diffuses an intolerable odour, resembling the smoke of gunpowder, but stronger, and so permanent, that if it fall upon furniture it cannot be got rid of for months. Analogous to, if not identical with the preceding, is *B. calamita* of Laurenti, the *matter-jack* of British Entomologists,—*mephitic toad* of Dr Shaw. In general appearance it resembles our common toad, but the eyes are more projecting, with the eyelids greatly elevated above the crown, and there is a line of bright yellow along the middle of the back. This reptile was first remarked as British by the late Sir Joseph Banks, in Lincolnshire, and has since been met with on many heaths near London, as well as in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. Except during the spawning season, it appears to affect dry and sandy districts. It is of much more active habits than the common toad, its pace being a kind of shuffling run." It never leaps.

The brown toad, *B. fuscus*, Laurenti, is also distinguished by an offensive discharge; but in addition to the gunpowder-smoke smell, and overpowering it, there is an extremely strong odour of garlick or onions, which produces the same effects upon the eyes as do these vegetables. The whole of the skin of this animal is nearly smooth, and the hind limbs are long and deeply webbed. It leaps well, and prefers the neighbourhood of water. Its ova are deposited in a single cord, which, however, is thicker than the double one of the common toad. The tadpole of this species arrives at a great size before it attains its complete form, so that, according to Roësel, it is considered by the country people as a kind of fish, and is eaten accordingly.

The variable or green toad, *B. variabilis*, Cuv., *Rana variabilis*, Gmel. and Pallas, *B. viridis* of Schneider and Shaw, is a third species, likewise characterized by a most disagreeable smell, resembling that of the rank and deadly nightshade, but more powerful, and soon contaminating any close apartment. This kind is a native of Germany, the south of France, and other parts of Europe. It derives its specific name from the tints of its colour undergoing striking changes as it sleeps or wakes, or is exposed to sun or shade. It is called the green toad from its spots being of that colour. Pallas's account of it is as follows: The general colour is pale or whitish, becoming in hot sunshine entirely gray; when asleep the spots only appear gray, and when torpid the general hue is flesh-coloured.

The obstetric toad, *B. obstetricus* of Laurenti, is a small grayish reptile which inhabits France, and affords an example of a very curious instinct. The process of spawning is not conducted by this species in the water, but on land, and there the male assists the female to get rid of her eggs, which amount to about sixty. These he attaches in small bundles to his thighs by means of an adhesive fluid, and for weeks carries them about with great care. When the young are ready to escape, he seeks some stagnant wa-

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1 Jenyns's *British Vertebrate Animals*, 293. Batrachia, ter, and there deposits them in safety, the tadpole soon issuing forth, and swimming immediately. The prickly toad, *B. spinosus* of Daudin, which derives its name from strong projections on its tubercles, seems also to possess a singular peculiarity. It is never met with on the surface of the soil, and is only procured by means of the plough. The country people are persuaded it never leaves its retreat voluntarily; and Daudin suspects that it deposits its ova in the earth, in humid places, near the subterranean sources of water.

Most of the toads of tropical climates are remarkable for their great size. Of this we give an instance in the marine toad, *Rana marina*, Gmel., a native of South America, the length of whose body extends to nearly a foot. It is also remarkable for its post-aural projections, which are an inch long, and oval shaped. The feet are not webbed; the toes are terminated with round knobs, and furnished with short claws resembling the human nails in miniature. There are many other recorded species of toads proper, on which, however, we cannot dwell; and we now proceed to several genera which have recently been separated from the group.

**Genus Bombinator.** This genus differs from the other toads only in having the tympanum, or soft covering of the ear, hid under the skin. *Rhinella* of Fitzinger (*Oxyrhynx* of Spix) is distinguished by a prolonged muzzle. (See Plate VI., fig. 4.) M. Gay has lately informed us (*Ann. des Sc. Nat. Avril* 1836, p. 224) that in Chili there is a genus allied to Rhinella, consisting of several agreeably-coloured species, which are always viviparous. In the same locality he made a similar remark regarding several species of snakes. To these two genera succeed the *Otiotho* of Cuvier, which has also an acute snout, and on each side of the head a projecting crest extending to the gland called parotid. In the genus *Breviceps* of Merrem (part of Fitzinger's genus *Engystoma*), neither the tympanum nor parotids are apparent; the body is oval, the head and mouth are remarkably small, and the feet scarcely at all webbed. (See Plate VI., fig. 5.) We shall here introduce a very few species belonging to these genera.

To the genus Bombinator belongs *B. bombinus* (*Rana bombina*, Gmel.), which is the smallest and most aquatic of the European toads. It is gray or brown above, blackish blue with orange spots beneath. The hind feet are completely webbed, and nearly as long as those of frogs, so that it leaps nearly as well as they do. It affects marshes. Of the genus Rhinella, Spix has depicted and described five species, most of which, according to Cuvier, it is difficult to distinguish from the proper toads. The *muted toad* of English writers, the *margaritifera* of Gmelin, is usually adduced as a type of the genus *Otiotho*. It is a native of Brazil, and about the size of the common toad; it is rufous brown above and whitish beneath, beset with numerous small tubercles of a bluish or pearly cast, whence the French name *croupon perlé*; but its principal characteristic is the subtriangular form of its head, the sides of which, beyond each eye, project into an angular protuberance. From the nose likewise an elevated white line runs along each side of the head, over the shoulder, to the sides; the fore feet are unwebbed, the hind are partly so. Genuine specimens of the genus Breviceps present animals not a little singular in their forms. Such are the short-headed and the indistinct toad of British authors, the *Rana breviceps* and *R. systema* of Schneider. They are oval-shaped like eggs, with scarcely any projecting head; and one of them has actually been called the headless toad (*Rana acephala*, Schm.). The short-headed toad is a very small animal, about half the size of the common toad; the head is completely blended and incorporated with the thorax, and the surface is rather wrinkled than tuberculous. It is a native of Africa. *R. systema* comes from the East Indies, and has a thick rounded body, with a head so lost in the general outline that the Batrachia mouth is scarcely apparent; the legs, too, are peculiarly short, and appear almost as if imbedded in the wrinkled skin of the sides.

We now advance to the genus *Pipa*, which is universally distinguished from the toads. Its generic characters are the following: The body is flattened horizontally; the head is broad and triangular; the tongue is so adherent that it appears to be wanting (it is often said to be so); the tympanum is hid beneath the skin; the small eyes are placed toward the margin of the lower jaw; the extremities of all the fingers are divided into four small points; and finally, the male has an enormously sized larynx, like a triangular osseous box, which encloses two moveable ossicles which occasionally close the branchiae. Of this genus, that well-known and most singular animal commonly called the Surinam toad (*Pipa Surinamensis*, Laurenti,—*Rana pipa* of Linnæus), may be taken as a type. It seems to have been introduced to the notice of naturalists at the close of the seventeenth century, and was first described by the celebrated Riysch. It is one of the most uncouth and hideous of nature's creatures, and is especially signalized for some of the most extraordinary phenomena regarding the growth of its young which are to be found throughout the range of the animal kingdom. The size of the Surinam toad considerably exceeds that of our common species. The mouth is very wide; the hands are tetradactylous; the fingers long and slender, and each divided at the tip into four distinct processes, all of which, when narrowly inspected with a glass, are found to be again subdivided in nearly a similar manner. The web of the hind feet reaches to the tips of the toes. The male is rather larger than the female, sometimes attaining the length of seven inches. The back is studded with granules, which are somewhat more numerous and larger on the female; the skin round the neck, in both sexes, forms a kind of loose wrinkled collar. The general colour of both is a dark blackish brown. This reptile has been long celebrated for the manner in which its young are perpetuated; and on this account it has become the object of much attention. It was for a time supposed that the ova issued from the deeper seated parts of the back, and were then enclosed in small cells on its surface till they were regularly hatched. Later observations in correcting this mistake have demonstrated a not less peculiar history. The precise truth was first made known by Dr. Fermín, who had an opportunity, during his residence at Sariran, to investigate the creature's structure in a more satisfactory manner than had previously been practicable. His account is, that the female Pipa spawns at the brink of some stagnant water, and that the male immediately collects and amasses the heap of ova, and after impregnation deposits them with great care on the back of the female, where they are received into cellules which at this period are open for their reception, but speedily close upon them. They are there retained to the time of their second birth, which happens in somewhat less than three months. During this period the cells gradually enlarge, till the young emerge from the back of the parent in a completely formed state. During the time of their concealment, however, they undergo the usual change which is effected upon their congeners, being first hatched from the ova in the form of a tadpole; and then, after gradually acquiring their perfect shape, losing their tail, and so forth, they are extruded from the cellules. This strange process has since been examined and verified by Camper, Spallanzani, Blumenbach, and other naturalists, and is now established as a phenomenon equally true as extraordinary. Fermín found the brood he observed amount to seventy-five, and the period of their extrusion as young Pipas occupied five days. When they had made their escape, the female, having rubbed the epidermis from her back on some hard substance, returned to land. species lives in the fresh waters of South America, and sometimes in obscure houses in Cayenne and Surinam, where it is called *tejo* and *curucu*. According to Seba and Madame Merian, the negroes of the colonies use its flesh as food.

Spix has figured another species, *P. cururu*, nearly resembling the above, which affects the bottoms of lakes in Brazil. That author assures us that the female does not receive and hatch its young in the alveola on her back. Another kind is preserved in the Paris museum,—a true Pipa according to Cuvier, from the Rio Negro. It is quite smooth, and has a narrower head than the common species. The baron names it *Pipa levis*.

**FAMILY SALAMANDRIDE. NEWTS OR SALAMANDERS.**

We have now reached a group of which the name has been celebrated from remote antiquity, and the history encompassed by fables in every age. "It was on the fortunate soil of ancient Greece, in the bosom of a wise and warlike nation, where imagination, favoured by a happy clime, exaggerated even the wonders of creative power, that the reputation of the salamander originated." It was among that fanciful people that an obscure and changeable reptile was as it were consecrated to posterity by a fantastic but immortal name.

But the times of superstitious fiction regarding the once famous salamander are now for ever passed and gone, and it is only to be regretted that they have not carried along with them the ignorant prejudice which still remains respecting a few harmless reptiles. "The daughter of fire," with her "frame of icy crystal," is now nearly forgotten; and for unchanging love and unflinching courage, other and more fitting emblems have been long invented. The ancient story of the salamander enduring fire and extinguishing flame is now recognised only as an idle tale; and scarcely less so its faculty of poisoning vegetables, and its other pernicious powers. These gross errors being swept away, more room is left to investigate whatever is instructive in the history of those once widely abused, but really interesting creatures.

As the salamanders resemble in many respects the foregoing genera of the order, many of the details which have previously been stated equally apply to them. This remark relates also to the extraordinary metamorphoses they undergo, but with some striking variations. We here find examples of a species of reproduction not uncommon among fish, and met with, as already mentioned, among certain lizards. We allude to that mode of birth known under the name of *ovo-viviparous*. The mode we have been hitherto contemplating resembles that of birds in being strictly *oviparous*. The ova or eggs are extruded from the parent, and under the influence of heat the young are in due time hatched. In the salamanders, however, another stage intervenes. When the ova have arrived at the state in which, in the other Batrachia, they are wont to be expelled, in these they are retained for some time after their development has begun. The eggs are, in fact, never laid, but are hatched in the interior of the parents; so that they bring forth living offspring, although originally contained in eggs. These eggs, by a natural process, are deposited in certain bags, which are called *ovicaults*. In the salamander there are five of these, each of which contains six, or eight, or more young, and there they are nourished by a peculiar fluid, and do not issue forth till they have undergone their metamorphoses, that is, have acquired their feet and other organs. They are deposited in or near marshes.

In our general remarks on the Batrachia, we traced, in a few words, the changes which take place in the respiratory system of this group. We saw that being first exercised in water, it was for a time precisely analogous to that of fishes; and that terminating on land, it perfectly corresponded with that of land animals. In the salamanders there is this peculiarity,—that while one section of them ere long become terrestrial in their structure and habits, another division continues aquatic for life. But so far as respiration is concerned, the same complete metamorphosis takes place in these latter as in the former; their gills vanish, regular lungs are completed, and yet the aquatic salamander, water-newt, or triton as it is sometimes called, continues a constant inhabitant of the water. The species are in fact habitual inmates of that element, and yet inhale the vital breath of heaven; and in this respect completely correspond to the cetaceous or whale tribes, with whose peculiarities, on a scale so greatly more gigantic, naturalists have been long acquainted. Like them they must regularly come to the surface, inflate their lungs, descend to their weedy homes, and after a time return again for air,—repeating this process as often as their exigencies may require. Peculiar characters distinguish the circulating system of the Cete, as compared with that of other Mammalia; and we have little doubt that parallel features occur among the tritons, although we are not aware that this point has been as yet investigated.

When speaking of toads, we took occasion to make a few remarks on the cuticular secretion, for which they, in common with other Batrachia, are remarkable. The salamanders have on this account been still more celebrated; and there seems no reason to doubt that the fable of their withstanding the effects of fire has originated from this peculiarity. The humour is in them found to possess more concentric virtue, having withal a more offensive odour, and a more acid taste. Count Lacépéde says, that if a drop of it come in contact with the tongue, it produces the sensation of burning; so that it really proves a defence against many animals which would otherwise devour them. It is more especially when they are irritated and alarmed, and particularly if exposed to fire, that they distil the secretion in quantities, and envelop themselves in a damp covering, which, for a brief period, might possibly prevent their being consumed. Hence, then, may have originated the ancient opinion, that these animals could live not only on land and in water, but also in fire; and from the slender germ of that same peculiarity has no doubt spread the monstrous statement of Pliny, that these creatures infested the herbage of a country to such a vast extent as even to cause the extinction of entire nations!

Another remarkable peculiarity of the salamanders, more especially of the aquatic kind, which has been successfully elucidated by Spallanzani, is common to them, and in some measure to the tadpole state of the other Batrachia. We allude to that surprising power whereby, when repeatedly deprived of even an important portion of their body, that portion is as frequently renewed. This property is not unknown among some of the lower orders of creation, but in none is it more striking than in these reptiles. Thus, in the triton, the whole limb may be removed, and by and by we find it completely restored, and furnished with perfect bones, muscles, nerves, &c. In other instances an eye has been extracted, and speedily a new and perfect one is found to have supplied its place. These renewals are more complete than such as take place among the true lizards, formerly alluded to.

The salamander group are distinguished by the following peculiarities. They have an elongated body, four feet, and

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1 Griffith's Animal Kingdom, ix. 464. Batrachia, a lengthened tail, which gives them a general resemblance to the lizards. Their head is flat, and the ear entirely hid in the flesh, without any apparent tympanum, there being only a small cartilage over the external aperture. Both jaws are furnished with numerous small teeth, and two similar rows occur upon the palate. The tongue resembles that of frogs, but there is no third eyelid. They have a skeleton with fourteen dorsal vertebrae, and remarkably small rudiments of ribs, but without any osseous sternum; the pelvis is simply suspended from the spine by ligaments. They have four fingers and five toes. As we have already stated, they respire like the preceding genera. The arms of the tadpole are developed before the legs, contrary to what happens in the animals already reviewed.

Salamanders are divided into the terrestrial and aquatic. We commence with the former.

Genus Salamandra, Laur. Terrestrial salamanders. (See Plate VI, fig. 6.) In their perfect state these reptiles have a round tail; they remain in water only during their tadpole state (which is brief), or while in the act of reproduction. Their ova are inclosed in ovipods.

These salamanders, though not unfrequent in Europe, and in warmer regions, seem never to have been observed in Britain. They take up their abode in damp ground, and amidst brushwood, in ditches and shady places, in subterranean caverns and among old ruins. They are feeble, timid, stupid creatures, which live on worms, snails, flies, and other insects, and apparently on rich mould. They appear almost entirely deaf and dumb, and show no dread either of man, or of other animals stronger than themselves. If thrown into water, they immediately attempt to escape from it. They are capable of enduring most serious mutilation without apparently suffering from it; if, however, they are plunged into vinegar or alcohol, or are sprinkled with salt or tobacco, they are killed in a moment. We may now enumerate a few of the species. The spotted salamander, S. maculosa, Laur., of the usual length of six or eight inches, sometimes more, is one of the largest, and most widely spread through Europe. It is of a shining black colour, with two bright yellow stripes on its flanks, and of a vivid blue colour beneath. It has conspicuous glands (parotids) behind its occiput, and along its sides are rows of tubercles, from whence, when alarmed, a milky humour flows, bitter to the taste, of a strong smell, and injurious to the life of very small animals. Its tail is of a roundish or cylindrical form, tapering to the extremity. It affects humid places, and retires into subterranean holes, under large stones and roots of trees. The brain of this reptile is said to be so small as not to equal the diameter of the spinal marrow, and its perceptive powers are proportionally dull. The black salamander, S. atria, Laur., is not above half the size of the foregoing; it is black, and devoid of spots above, and of a yellowish hue beneath. It is rare in France, but is found in the Alps, and is abundant in the mountainous regions of Southern Germany. (See Plate VI, fig. 6.) The funereal salamander (S. funereis) is six or eight feet long, of a deep-brown colour. It was observed by Bory St Vincent in the hottest and dampest parts of Andalusia. This species issued in dozens from their retreats at night, and speedily advanced towards destruction near the bivouac fires, by which they were attracted. Into these they would apparently have themselves advanced, had not the soldiers cast them amid the flames, where they remained for a few moments as if unhurt, thus far supporting their incombustible reputation. We need scarcely add, however, that they very speedily died roasted, as any other small animal would have done under a similar predicament.

Among the foreign salamanders a great number inhabit North America; and these are said to be destitute of the occipital glands. Palisot and Bosc have each described a new species. Thunberg has also discovered one in Japan, to which the natives ascribe medicinal virtues of the most valuable kind. The spectacled salamander, S. perspicillata of Savi, has only four toes on the hind feet. It is black above, and yellow spotted with black beneath, with a yellow line between the eyes. It is found in the Apennines.

Genus Triton, Laur. Aquatic salamanders. We now turn to the aquatic group, commonly called newts, which have a tail always compressed vertically, and pass a great portion of their lives in water. (See Plate VI, fig. 7.) These are the animals experimented on by Spallanzani, and so celebrated for their reproductive powers. Another faculty, scarcely less singular, is that which M. Dufay has recognised them as possessing,—we mean their power of remaining frozen for a length of time in ice without mortal injury. Their ova are fecundated by the milt being mixed with the ambient water, and penetrating with it into the oviducts. After a certain sojourn there, the young issue in long gelatinous cords, from which they do not effect their escape till several days after their extrusion. The branchiae continue for a longer or shorter period in different species. Few have been accurately observed in Europe, and doubts remain about their specific determination, because they change their colours with their age, and differ according both to sex and season. The crests and other ornaments of the males, also, are only fully developed during spring. If winter surprises them still wearing gills, these parts are then maintained throughout the colder season, and even continue to increase.

The following are species which have been accurately characterized. The marbled salamander, S. marmorata, Lat. (Triton Gesserii of Laurenti), has the skin chagrined, pale green above, spotted with large irregular brown blotches, and brown spotted with white beneath. A red line runs along the back, which in the male forms a kind of crest, marked with black spots. The crested triton, S. cristata, Lat., has the skin chagrined, brown above spotted with black, and orange beneath similarly spotted; the flanks are spotted with white. The crest of the male is high, acutely serrated, and embroidered with violet during the love season. This is our great water-newt (T. palustris, Flem. and Jen.), by no means uncommon in Britain during summer in ponds and ditches, and sometimes found in autumn out of water, in damp and shady situations. M. Bilbion, who lately read a paper on these tritons to the London Zoological Society, stated that he had found this and the preceding species indigenous to Britain; and that the distinguishing characteristic consists in this, that in the crested species the upper lip is so largely developed that it overlaps the under one posteriorly when the jaws are closed, a condition never present in the marmorata. The spotted triton, S. alpetris, Bechst., has a chagrined skin, and is slaty and brown coloured above, and orange or red beneath; whilst S. punctata, Lat. (T. punctatus, Bonap.), has a smooth skin, light brown above, pale reddish beneath, and spotted everywhere with black. The crest is festooned, and its toes somewhat enlarged, but not webbed. This is the common (or smaller) water-newt of Britain. It is subject to considerable variation, and is often found on land. A third British species is the striped eft, T. vitattus of Gray. Finally, T. palmata, Lat., is brown on the back, black and brown on the head, lighter on the flanks, and spotted with black. The male has three small crests on its back; the toes are dilated and webbed, and the tail terminates in a slender membranaceous fin. North America is rich in aquatic salamanders; but our knowledge of these, as of many European species, is too obscure to admit of their precise classification. Baron Cuvier has well remarked, that a good monograph of this interesting group, with accurate plates, is a great desideratum.

We have now to conclude the present article with a few brief notices of certain very remarkable genera, some of

Genus Menopoma, Harlan; Abramus, ejusd. We have here a form resembling that of the salamanders. The eyes are obvious, the feet well developed, and there is an orifice on each side of the neck. Besides the range of delicate teeth around the jaws, there is a parallel range upon the anterior portion of the palate. The only species known is the great salamander of North America (S. gigantea, Barton), called Hellbender in the United States. It measures from fifteen to eighteen inches in length, the colour of a blackish blue, and dwells in the rivers of the interior, and the great lakes. (See Plate VI. fig. 8.)

Genus Amphiuma, Garden. The species of this genus have also an orifice on each side of the neck; but the body is much lengthened, and the legs and feet but slightly developed. Their palatine teeth form two longitudinal rows. Amph. tridactylum, Cuv., is distinguished by three toes to all the feet. Another species, Amph. didactylum, (Amph. means, Garden and Harlan), has only two toes. The body is long and cylindrical, the head depressed and obtuse; the tail compressed, with a sharpened ridge above, but blunt below. The fore feet are formed like tentacula. The colour is blackish gray above, and pale beneath, without spot or stripe. The observed size varies from six inches to two feet. This species inhabits ponds in the vicinity of New Orleans, and is met with in other parts of the southern states. It is sometimes found deeply sunk in mud, lying concealed like an earthworm, even at the depth of several feet. It is greatly dreaded, though without any reason, by the negroes, who name it the serpent of Congo.

b. Branchiae apparent and persistant.

Genus Axolotus. The only known species of this genus, which we may name Ax. pisciformis (the specific title bestowed by Shaw), so entirely resembles the larva state of an aquatic salamander, that it is even yet regarded by some as an incompletely reptile. It was so regarded by Baron Cuvier in his contribution to Humboldt's Voyage; and even in his latest work he yielded rather to the opinion of others than his own conviction. "Ce n'est encore qu'avec doute que je place l'axolote parmi les genres à branchies permanentes, mais tant des témoins assurent qu'il ne les perd pas, qui je m'y vois obligé." The species in question measures from eight to ten inches in length, and is of a gray colour, spotted with black. It has four toes to the anterior feet, and five to the hinder, and there are three long tufted branchiae on each side. (See Plate VII. fig. 1.) It inhabits the lake on which the town of Mexico stands, and is naturally subjected at times to a low temperature. The specimens brought home by Mr Bullock were from an elevation of 8000 feet. That collector informed us that at certain seasons they stock the markets, and are eaten in great quantities by the peasants. Sir Everard Home has published an account of their anatomical structure. He is decidedly of opinion that they are not larvae, but completed Batrachia, reptiles.

Genus Menobranchus, Harlan; Necturus, Rafinesque. Here there are only four toes to each foot. (See Plate VII. fig. 2.) There is a single range of teeth on the intermaxillaries, and another, parallel, but more extended, on the maxillaries. The best-known species is M. lateralis (Triton lateralis, Say), a large reptile which sometimes attains the length of two or three feet, and inhabits the great lakes of North America.

Genus Proteus, Laurenti. Distinguished by having three toes to the anterior feet, and only two to the hinder. The only known species is P. anguinus (Siren anguina, Schneid.), an animal resembling an eel with legs, of a pale rose or flesh colour, and measuring from ten to twelve inches in length, with a diameter seldom exceeding half an inch. The muzzle is depressed and elongated; both jaws are furnished with teeth, and the tongue is free in front, but not very moveable. The eye is excessively small, and covered over by a kind of tegument. The ears are also covered over more substantially, as among the salamanders. Besides the internal lungs, there are three feathered gills or branchiae on each side of the posterior portion of the head. The skeleton resembles that of the salamanders, except that there are many more vertebrae, and fewer rudiments of ribs. The osteology of the head, however, is entirely different, and approximates that of the siren. The heart, composed of a single ventricle and auricle, is placed between the fore legs, and the lungs have the form of simple slender tubes, terminated by a vesicular dilatation. This truly remarkable reptile is found occasionally in a noted and romantic lake called Zirknitz (the Lugea Palus of the ancients), about six German miles from Labac, in the duchy of Carniola. From this lake, as extraordinary as its slimy inhabitant, the waters retire during the summer season by numerous subterranean outlets, leaving the ground fit for pasture and the cultivation of millet. In the month of October they return again with great force, springing out of the subterranean passages from a vast depth, till the lake is amply filled. It is situated in a hollow or valley, surrounded by rocky and wooded hills, in which are great caverns, and is supplied by rivulets running into it from the adjoining mountain regions. According to M. Schreibers, to whom we owe the first correct account of the proteus, its proper locality is Lake Sittich, one of several which communicate with that already named. Its more characteristic abode is probably among the subterranean canals which are known to connect together those peculiar lakes of Carniola. All its characters, in fact, present the aspect of a subterranean animal. It has a pale, bleached, ghost-like aspect, and its small, opake, skin-covered eyes bear but small resemblance to the brilliant visual organs of other reptiles.

We come, finally, to the genus Siren, Linn., in which the posterior legs are entirely wanting, and the anterior pair furnished with four toes. We have it in our power to state several particulars in the history and structure of a species of this genus from personal observation—a mode of acquiring knowledge which, however desirable, has by no means been granted us in regard to the majority of the groups discussed in this exposition of the reptile race. We never, like Colonel Bory St Vincent, tossed a salamander into the fire,—we never, like Mr Waterton, rode on the back of an alligator,—we never waded waist deep, with Mr Audubon, among hundreds of these huge reptiles,—we never sailed, like Wordsworth's Highland boy, in a turtle's

Batrachia shell—and our practical experience, even of green fat, is far from extensive—but we have watched a siren from the far west; and as the history of the species in question cannot fail to throw light on the nature and attributes of others to which it is related, and as it is in itself a very extraordinary and interesting reptile, we shall make no apology for the length of the following observations.

The Gardesian siren (Siren lacertina, Linn.), so named in remembrance of Dr Garden, by whom it seems to have been first observed, in its general form and aspect bears a great resemblance to an eel, but is at once to be distinguished from a fish by its anterior arms. The fine specimen long preserved alive by Dr Patrick Neill of Edinburgh was originally transmitted by Dr Farmer of Charleston, South Carolina, to Dr Munro. It measured one foot five inches in length, and about four inches in circumference. (See Plato VII., fig. 3.) Its colour was deep blackish-brown, rather paler beneath, where it was partially tinged with a bluish hue, and marked all over with numerous small, irregular, pale, ashy-brown spots, not very perceptible except on a rather close inspection. The muzzle was blunt, depressed, sub-rounded or slightly square, and considerably narrower than the hinder portion of the head. The nostrils, which are inconspicuous, are placed near the anterior angle of the upper jaw. The head is broad and flat. The eyes are dim, of an obscure blue, and there is no very obvious distinction of colour between the iris and pupil, both appearing as if seen through a semi-transparent membrane. The gills consist of three fleshy peduncles, which increase in size from the first to the last. They are beautifully branched from beneath and along their lateral and terminal edges, and these little branches are divided and subdivided into still more minute ramifications. This elegant fringe-work forms the true gills, the central and fleshy stalks serving merely as their support. Beneath, and rather in advance of these bodies, are three vertical clefts, through which the water is ejected backwards from the interior of the mouth upon the gills, though with a much more languid and less perceptible action than in fishes. These clefts or branchial perforations are sustained and kept in separation by four arches, which Garden, Ellis, and Camper appear to have mistaken for gills, although both Linnaeus and John Hunter took a more accurate view of the matter.

The general surface of this siren is very smooth and shining; and if there are any scales, as some have said, they are not apparent to the naked eye. Towards the tail its form becomes thin and compressed, and that part is margined for several inches both above and below, as well as around its terminal point, by a narrow membrane or fin, which no doubt greatly aids its movements through the water.

The earliest notice of this singular reptile appears to have been communicated by Dr Garden to Linnaeus through the medium of Mr Ellis in the year 1765. He described the simultaneous existence of lungs and gills, and concluded that it was a perfect animal, chiefly because there did not exist in Carolina any species of salamander, or other aquatic creature, of equal size, of which it could be regarded as the larva. It was in consequence of the information received regarding this species that Linnaeus, though with hesitation, founded his order of Amphibia macentes, of which the most peculiar character consisted in there being "branchiae et pulmones simul." The great Swedish naturalist appears to have been particularly interested by the peculiarities of the siren; for in his reply to Mr Ellis, acknowledging receipt of Dr Garden's "very rare two-footed animal with gills and lungs," he observes that nothing had ever exercised his thoughts so much, nor was there anything he so greatly desired to know, as the real nature of so extraordinary a creature.

Although Ellis and Hunter wisely regarded the siren as a perfect animal, the propriety of this opinion was by no means universally admitted. Pallas, not perceiving that such metamorphoses as he supposed were rendered impossible by the absence of any germ of the hinder extremities, even in the skeleton, still insisted that the siren was nothing more than the larva of a four-footed salamander. A similar opinion was maintained by Hermann, Lacépéde, and Schneider. About twenty years after the original discovery of the animal, Camper (in 1783) examined a specimen in the British Museum, the condition of which was so bad that he was unable to detect the lungs; whereupon he took up and promulgated an entirely new view, according to which, without reference to the existence of feet, he declared that the siren was a fish. Gmelin, of course, immediately clasped it with the eels, and it thus became the Murana siren of his edition of the Systema Naturae! Whatever may be thought of Dr Garden's skill as an anatomist, Camper's conclusion was certainly somewhat precipitate, in the face of so great an authority as that of John Hunter.

In the year 1800, Baron Cuvier received a young siren from M. de Beauvois. The great French anatomist, whose splendid labours have thrown such a flood of light on so many obscure subjects of zoological science, was not likely to lose the opportunity of settling this still disputed point. In his first observations, and in an after and more ample memoir, he has, we think, successfully shown that both the proteus and siren are perfect, that is, completed animals, belonging to different genera of Batrachian reptiles, but quite distinct from either lizards or salamanders in any of their progressive stages. Yet the opposite opinion (so tenacious is error) does not continue without adherents. In an elaborate essay by two Italian authors, Sig. Configliasi and Rusconi, in which the siren is incidentally mentioned, these naturalists infer from analogy, that as the canal of the nostrils is not so perforated as to open into the interior of the mouth, so it must be incapable of respiring atmospheric air, and would speedily die if removed from its liquid element.

Now, the value of the living siren observed by Dr Neill for six or seven successive seasons, consisted in this—that it demonstrated de facto, what had been previously a matter of mere logical inference on the part of the anatomist. During the long period of its confinement no change whatever took place, either in its general aspect, or in the form or structure of the feet and gills. Had it been a larva, it would assuredly have lost these last-named organs during the time of observation. But the most curious result regarding this specimen was obtained accidentally, and happily illustrates the very point on which it was most desirable to obtain information. It is thus related by Dr Neill: "Although I certainly would not have made the experiment of the fragility of the siren, by throwing it on the ground, and although I would have hesitated to keep the animal out of the water for several hours, while I knew that respectable naturalists doubted if it would live more than a few minutes out of that element, yet it so happened that the creature on one occasion made of its own accord an experiment (if it may be so called) illustrative of both points. The water-box itself (in which the siren dwelt) was ten inches deep; it was placed on a plant trellis or shelf, close by the lower end of the sloping roof-sash of the greenhouse, and thus stood nearly three feet from the ground. At that pe-

The box happened to leak; and the gardener therefore filled it up with water between seven and eight o'clock in the evening, at which time the siren was seen safely lodged in the box. The door of the greenhouse was locked as usual over night, and before it was opened in the morning, the siren, to the great surprise of the gardener, was found lying on a footpath which passes round the exterior of the greenhouse. I was speedily apprized of the circumstance, and on examining the spot, we could most distinctly trace, by a shining glaze, derived from its skin, the passage of the animal through an edging of heath (Erica herbacea), and across a narrow flower-border, to a hole which he had scooped out under the brick-wall of the greenhouse, in escaping from within. The foundation of this wall, it may be remarked, had intentionally been made shallow, or near to the surface, for the purpose of permitting the roots of some shrubs, planted in the conservatory style within, to penetrate to the exterior border. We possess no data for fixing with certainty the number of hours during which the animal had been out of the water. The box, as already mentioned, being leaky, was filled near to the brim between seven and eight in the evening; it seems likely that this filling up had disturbed the animal, and that it had been enabled partly to crawl and partly to glide over the margin, while the water yet stood high, or early in the night; for the water had subsided five or six inches before morning. The escape of so much water had formed, of the soil below, a kind of sludge, probably somewhat analogous in character to the 'stiff clay' of its native swamps, in which it is said sometimes to burrow; and this must have greatly facilitated the first underground operations of the siren. Still, however, as the excavation made was not less than eight inches in depth, and nearly three feet in length, for the ascending aperture on the outside sloped at an angle of about 30°, it seems reasonable to conclude that the siren must have been several hours hard at work in forming so extensive a tunnel for itself. In further proof of its exertions, it may be observed, that a considerable part of the dark-coloured epidermis, or covering of minute indistinct scales, was worn off its snout, and the skin of the upper part of the back was in different places ruffled. The morning was very cold, and the mercury in a register-thermometer kept in the greenhouse had been as low as 33° Fahrenheit at one period of the preceding night. The animal was observed about seven a.m., lying doubled, or with the body bent round, but not coiled, on the footpath. He was exceedingly benumbed, being just able to show signs of life when lifted by the gardener. Considering the evidence of long-continued active exertions during the night, it seems reasonable to ascribe his almost torpid state when found, to the freezing cold which he had encountered when he had made his way fairly to the outside. When first restored to the watery element, the animal breathed hard, rushing to the surface, and opening his mouth with a wide gape to inhale air. He soon after sunk down, and let several strings of air-bubbles escape. The branchiae were doubtless to a certain degree dried, and thus obstructed; and it evidently took some time before they could freely perform their accustomed office. When, however, I again examined him several hours afterwards, he seemed perfectly contented to remain wholly under water; and on being touched, appeared as lively and as well as ever. The decorticated portions of the back and snout showed us the colour of the true skin below, which was of a pale leaden hue.

During the first year and a half of the siren's captivity at Canonmills, his box (filled with moss and water) was placed in a greenhouse, which merely excluded the severity of winter. He was very sluggish all this time, exhibited few signs of appetite, and from October to May entirely declined food. In the spring of 1827 he was placed in a hot-house intended for the culture of tropical plants, where the temperature was generally about 65°. He there became much more lively, and soon began his song, which, unlike the delusive voice of the ancient sirens, differed little from the croaking of a frog. He then devoured small earthworms with some avidity, and continued the practice without any lengthened intermission till his death in October 1831, after a captivity of nearly six years and a half, during which long period no structural change took place, nor was the slightest tendency to any such change discernible. The death of this reptile was occasioned, we doubt not, as Dr Neill supposes, by the drying up of the fimbriae of the branchial apparatus, consequent on its having again escaped from its watery reservoir.

We observed that the siren breathed air rather through the mouth than the nose, and expelled it in the same manner when put into the water, from which it may be inferred, that the nasal organ is in a rudimentary state (in the present it is said not to exist at all), so far at least as concerns the act of respiration. The eyes of the siren are dim and motionless; and we did not perceive that an increase of light caused any appearance of contraction or other change. Yet the sight must be tolerably acute, as in pressing a fly downwards under water with the point of a hair pencil, on the side of the vessel in which the reptile lay, it made a catch at the insect almost the moment it touched the surface, and immediately snapped it in two.

Besides the species to which the preceding history and observations apply, two others are known to naturalists as inhabitants of the southern states of North America,—viz., the Siren striata of Le Conte, and the Siren intermedia of that author.

(J.W.)

[N.B.—We are requested by the author of the article PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY to state here, that he had been led to assert, on what he considers the best authority, that there were no serpents in Eoroco (art. 405); but he has since learned from the Rev. Mr Horaburg, resident in that island, that serpents are there abundant.—Ed.]

INDEX.

| Page | Page | Page | |------|------|------| | Acanthophis | 71 | Amphibianidae | 48 | Blind-worms | 40 | | Acostias | 41 | Amphiuma | 41 | Boas | 61 | | Accrochordus | 63 | Anouille | 41 | Boit | 59 | | Agama | 31 | Anguilla | 41 | Bombinator | 81 | | Apomus | 31 | Anura | 34 | Breviceps | 81 | | Apomusins | 31 | Apis | 71 | Bufo | 79 | | Algyra | 30 | Axolotla | 84 | Bangarus | 64 | | Alligator | 25 | Basiliscus | 34 | Burrowing Serpents | 55 | | Amboyana | 32 | Basiliscus | 34 | Chelonia | 16 | | Amelva | 28 | Batrachia | 73 | Cacilia | 40 | | Amphibians | 40 | Bipes | 39 | Calamaria | 53 | | Calotes | 62 | Coluber | 56 | Calodermform Serpents | 63 | | Cerastes | 71 | Cordylus | 31 | Ceratophry | 77 | | Chalcides | 39 | Crocodiles | 22 | Chamaeleonidae | 37 | | Chelonia | 16 | Crocodilus | 23 | Chelonia | 16 | | Chelonia (genus) | 18 | Dactylithra | 78 | Chelydra | 21 | | Chelydra | 21 | Dendraspis | 64 | Chirotes | 32 | | Dendrophis | 37 |

1 Jameson's Journal, January—April, 1828. 2 See New York Med. and Phys. Jour. for June 1824; and Dr Neill's additional notice in Edin. New Phil. Jour. xlii. 296 (1832). 3 Illus. Zool., vol. i., art. Siren. 4 See Ann. of Lyceum of New York, vol. i.; and Harlan's Amer. Herpet., p. 6.