The common frog . f the frog-order, being found throughout the northtemperate regions of both the Old and New is found over nearly the whole of Europe; inAfrica north of the Sahara, and in Egypt; in NorthernAsia, including Japan and Chusan, and it is alsospread over North America. It is not found in thenorthern half of Scandinavia, nor in Iceland. Except in winter, the common Frog is generally inEngland so familiar an object, that any description ofit might seem superfluous. The purpose in view,however, renders it needful at least to recall certainexternal structural characters both
The common frog . f the frog-order, being found throughout the northtemperate regions of both the Old and New is found over nearly the whole of Europe; inAfrica north of the Sahara, and in Egypt; in NorthernAsia, including Japan and Chusan, and it is alsospread over North America. It is not found in thenorthern half of Scandinavia, nor in Iceland. Except in winter, the common Frog is generally inEngland so familiar an object, that any description ofit might seem superfluous. The purpose in view,however, renders it needful at least to recall certainexternal structural characters both of the adult andthe immature condition. 12 THE COMMON FROG. [chap. The head and body of the Frog together form anelongated oval mass, somewhat pointed at each end,of which mass the head constitutes rather more thanone-third. This mass is more or less flattened bothabove and below, except at the commencement ofthe hinder third of the back, where there is a more orless marked prominence, which indicates the junction. Fig. I.—The Common Frog, Raiia ien/poraria. of the haunch bones with the spine. In front of thisthe only marked projections are those of the eye-balls. The short arms project outward on each side justbehind the head, and each ends in a small hand withfour fino-ers, the second of w^iich is the shortest, andthe third the longrest. When the arm is turned back- ir.] THE COMMON FROG. 13 wards this third finger barely attains (if it can do soat all) the hinder end of the body. The hind limbs proceed from quite the hinder endof the body, there being no vestige of a tail. Thethigh is very muscular, and the leg has a good calfThe foot is exceedingly long and, what is very re-markable, is so jointed that the toes can be sharplybent upwards on its thick and undivided part. Thelatter thus seems to form a third segment of the hindlimb following the thigh and the leg, the limb havingthus four segments instead of three as in ourselves,and in almost all beasts, birds, and reptiles
Size: 1663px × 1503px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1874
