Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] [Milford-on-Sea.
RÖNTGEN RAY PHOTOGRAPH OF COMMON FROG.
The relatively small amount of bone which enters into the structure of the skull is well shown in this photograph.
In addition to the familiar British species the much-esteemed Edible Frog of the Continent has become acclimatised in England. A dark-coloured race of this frog, supposed to have been introduced by the monks centuries since on account of its esculent properties, is plentiful in the fens of Cambridgeshire, while a greener race of the same species was imported to and established in Norfolk somewhere about the year 1840. The edible frog may be distinguished from the common species by the more complete webbing of its hind feet, the absence of the dark so-called temporal spot that extends from the eye to the shoulder, and the presence in the males of a globular sac on each side of the head, which confers upon them louder croaking powers than are possessed by the common species.
The loudest-voiced as well as almost the largest member of this group is the Bull-frog of Canada and the United States. The length of the body in this species may be as much as from 7 to 7½ inches, exclusive of the legs; and its croakings, or more correctly bellowings, are so loud that it may be heard for a distance of several miles. These croakings are most pronounced during the early spring or breeding-season. In the Southern United States, however, they are maintained more or less persistently throughout the year. While the British frog contents itself with a diet of slugs, worms, beetles, and other insects, the bull-frog aspires to larger quarry, and has an especial penchant for young ducklings. As a compensation the flesh of the bull-frog is said to be very delicately flavoured, and the species is so much esteemed in some localities as to be kept in captivity and fattened for the table. It has been recorded that the bull-frog makes leaps of from 8 to 10 feet in length and 5 feet in height.
In point of size the bull-frog is somewhat eclipsed by a species discovered in the Solomon Islands, and known as Guppy's Frog. This huge frog has a body no less than 9 inches in length. It has not been recorded whether its vocal powers are proportionately loud. Another large species allied to the Bull-frogs is found in South and East Africa, whose flesh is attested to by Dr. Livingstone as being excellent eating and resembling chicken when cooked. This frog, known to the natives as the Matlamitlo, is supposed by them to fall from the clouds, on account of its sudden appearance in even the driest parts of the desert immediately after a thunder-storm. The species, however, is in the habit of making holes at the roots of bushes, into which it retires during the months of drought, rushing out into the hollows filled by the thunder-showers while the rain is still actually falling. Even during the long drought these frogs continue their croakings from their retreats at night, and are very misleading to travellers, who customarily associate their presence with the immediate neighbourhood of water.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green.
ORNAMENTED HORNED TOAD.
The bite of this toad is highly venomous.