Pseudophryne appears to be another link with the Cystignathidae by its resemblance to the Australian genus Crinia, from which it differs by the absence of teeth and by the absence of an omosternum. The sacral diapophyses are but moderately dilated. The males have a flat oval gland on the hinder side of the thighs, and they are provided with a subgular vocal sac. The 3 or 4 species of this genus which live in Australia, both East and West, are not unlike Bombinator in their general shape, short limbs and coloration. The skin of P. australis and P. bibroni is covered with small smooth warts and is blackish brown, while the under parts are blackish with large yellow patches. Total length little more than one inch. Concerning the breeding habits, see p. [223].
Nectophryne.–The sacral diapophyses are strongly dilated. N. afra, without a tympanum, but with fully-webbed digits and several broad, cushion-like or lamellar pads on the fingers and toes, inhabits the Cameroons, N. tuberculosa of Malabar, and N. guentheri and N. hosei of Borneo, have a visible tympanum and the fingers are webbed at the base only. These slender and long-legged species are most probably arboreal, as indicated by the broadened, but truncated, tips of their fingers and toes. N. hosei is about 4 inches long, N. misera is a little creature of only ¾ inch in length. Nectes, hitherto known by one species, N. subasper of Java, is a swimmer and exceeds 6 inches in length. The tympanum is very distinct; the small nostrils look upwards. The toes are long and webbed to the tips; the hind-limbs are very long. The sacral diapophyses are strongly dilated. The skin of the upper parts is very rugose, covered with round warts, and dark brown; the under parts are granular and uniformly light brown.
Bufo.–The great number of species, more than 100, renders a strict definition of this genus difficult. The tongue is pear-shaped, thicker in front, entire, not cut out, but free behind, so that it can be projected. The fingers are free, the toes more or less webbed although never completely so. The terminal phalanges are obtuse and sometimes carry tiny discs. The omosternum is absent or merely vestigial. The metasternum is a rather large cartilaginous plate with a waist, which is sometimes incompletely calcified. The sacral diapophyses are moderately dilated. The tympanum is distinct or hidden. The skin of the upper parts is always rich in specific poison-glands, a concentration of which forms in many species very conspicuous, thickened parotoid glands. The surface of the skin may be smooth, moist and slimy, or rough and warty, sometimes covered with tiny, sharp, horny spikes and quite dry.
The genus is cosmopolitan, with the exception of the whole Australian region and Madagascar, from which we may perhaps conclude that its original centre was not in Notogaea, in spite of the diversity of species in the Neotropical region, which now contains about half of all the species known. Next to Central America the Indian region is richest in species of Bufo.
B. vulgaris.–The Common Toad of the Palaearctic region. The skin of the upper parts is much wrinkled and beset with numerous round warts or poison-glands, the openings of which can be seen with the naked eye, especially on the large parotoid complexes. The outermost layer of the epiderm, in fact all that portion which is periodically shed, is elevated into numerous little cornified spines. The extent of their development varies much; southern specimens, especially those from Portugal, being perhaps the roughest. Others appear quite smooth to the touch, and this is the case with many English specimens. The skin of the under parts is more granular and devoid of specific glands. The general colour of the upper parts is olive grey to dark brown, more or less mottled; the under parts are whitish, often with a brown, yellow or reddish tinge.
The coloration of this species varies considerably and is moreover very changeable. These changes depend chiefly upon the surroundings and the locality, in which certain styles of coloration seem to be the fashion, not necessarily to the absolute exclusion of others. Some specimens are of a rich brown colour, with or without dark brown spots and patches, and these are sometimes confluent, forming irregular, longitudinal bands. The ground-colour of other individuals is olive grey, with or without darker patches, and these paler tones prevail in toads which live on light-coloured soil, for instance on chalk. I recently found one between two dark-coloured slates, and this creature was so black that it gave the impression of having soiled itself with coal-dust. One and the same specimen will appear paler or darker according to its mood and the leading tones of its immediate surroundings, but it cannot change its dominant ground-colour. A third colour-variety occurs more frequently in the mountainous districts of Southern Europe. I have obtained the most handsome specimens in the Serra Gerez, in North Portugal. Their ground-colour is pale brownish-yellow, with many large and small, rich brown patches, or if the latter colour predominates, these patches and spots are separated from each other by creamy seams, with the occasional effect of dark brown, yellow-ringed eyes. Eastern Asiatic specimens often have a fine yellow vertebral line and the under parts are inclined to be marked with dark spots.
The iris is red or coppery, mottled with black. The male has no vocal sacs, and, besides being smaller than the female, is distinguished by slight nuptial excrescences in the shape of little horny brushes on the inside of the inner palmar tubercle and the three inner fingers. The full size of this toad varies extremely. Taking the standard of everyday experience in England and Central Europe, one would call any female beyond 3½ inches in length, and any male of more than 2½ inches, unusually large. But occasionally they grow to a much larger size, especially in the mountains of Southern Europe, provided there is a rich vegetation of meadows and deciduous trees so as to insure a variety of plentiful food. Although Fatio[[79]] mentions a toad 153 mm. = 6 inches long, and Boulenger succeeded in getting a toad from Paris which measured 132 mm., i.e. almost 5¼ inches, one of my specimens from the Serra Gerez seems to hold the record with a total length from snout to vent of 135 mm. or more than 5¼ inches. Jersey is also famous for its large toads, possibly on account of the many large greenhouses. These large specimens do not constitute a special race. The monsters among them are without exception females, often but not always sterile, as I have often found large masses of eggs in them. Food is the chief cause. At least I have observed that the more voracious of some Spanish and Portuguese specimens, which were already 3½ inches long, and therefore entitled to respect, continued to grow rather rapidly, adding about half an inch within a year. Again, if the growth of a promising toad is arrested for a season–not necessarily by starvation, but by uncongenial surroundings, sameness, and unvaried nature of food–they consolidate so to say, or settle down, and no amount of future good feeding will turn them into exceptionally big specimens. There are no data to tell how old such monsters really are. At least ten years are required by the Southerners to reach four inches. The usual length of life attained by a toad is likewise unknown. Boulenger kept one in a box provided with a sod, a pan of water and plenty of varied food, but twelve years of close captivity did not make any appreciable difference in its appearance.
Fig. 35.–Bufo vulgaris. Portuguese specimen. × ⅔.
A number of large Spanish and Portuguese specimens in my greenhouse were at first very shy, and tried every possible means of escape or sullen hiding, but gradually they condescended to take food when lifted on to the slate-covered stage upon which their food was spread. After a few weeks they had learned this so thoroughly that, towards the usual hour of feeding, they climbed most laboriously on to the slates, lying in wait between the flower-pots, and coming forward when we entered the house. The rest of the day and night they spent on the ground, under stones or plants, each in its individual lair. The biggest of all, and several others, became so tame that they took food whilst sitting on the hand, and then they looked up for more. The food must be alive and show movement. Mealworms, snails, beetles and other small creatures are first carefully inspected with bent-down head, and are sometimes followed for a few inches; then comes an audible snap, a flash of the rosy tongue and the prey has disappeared. Large earthworms are nipped up with the jaws and laboriously poked in with the hands, the fingers being so placed as to clean the worm of adherent soil and other impurities. Very large worms are shaken, twisted, pressed against the ground and gulped down with convulsive movements, but not unfrequently the tip-end remains for some minutes sticking out of the tightly shut mouth. Several are taken at one sitting, until the toad is gorged. One of the biggest took full-grown mice, which were not "fascinated by the fiery eyes" but were stalked into a corner and then pounced upon immediately when they moved. The shells of snails can for half a day be felt through the body; they then dissolve or are disgorged. The dung, which is passed in large, long masses, is often full of fine earthy matter, the contents of the earthworm's intestines, and sometimes it contains the chitinous remains of certain beetles which are supposed to be excessively rare. I know of no instance of slugs being eaten.