. Half hours with fishes, reptiles, and birds . ment in the Qgg; theybreathe by the aid of certain folds of the skin which areformed in each side of the belly. There is much in thislittle creature to call to mind the birds. When the hatch-ing time approaches, the young are seen to be providedwith an egg breaker, after the fashion of young chickens,a little nob or cutter on the end of the nose, which thefrog pushes againstthe shell to break it. Even more remark-able is a frog whichdeposits its eggs be-neath stones. Theyoung pass throughthe tadpole stagewithin the egg, havean enormous tail forsw
. Half hours with fishes, reptiles, and birds . ment in the Qgg; theybreathe by the aid of certain folds of the skin which areformed in each side of the belly. There is much in thislittle creature to call to mind the birds. When the hatch-ing time approaches, the young are seen to be providedwith an egg breaker, after the fashion of young chickens,a little nob or cutter on the end of the nose, which thefrog pushes againstthe shell to break it. Even more remark-able is a frog whichdeposits its eggs be-neath stones. Theyoung pass throughthe tadpole stagewithin the egg, havean enormous tail forswimming, but nowater to swim in; hence the observer might imaginethat Nature was at fault. But by no means. The bigtail of the imprisoned tadpole is supplied with bloodvessels to an extraordinary degree and is the breathingorgan. There are equally curious exceptions among otherforms. Thus the siren (Fig. 51) is a long, slender, snake-like creature with permanent outside gills, fore feet, butno hind legs. One form is three feet in length, a most. Fig. 51. —The Siren. 86 THE SALAMANDERS disagreeable creature. Another, the Proteus (Fig. 52), hasexterior gills and two pairs of legs. The salamanders were supposed by the old writers tobe able to pass through fire without injury. This fictionoriginated in the fact that salamanders are covered witha slimy secretion which would enable them to resist burn-ing longer than a bird or other animal. The greatJapanese salamander is the largest of the tribe, a bulkycreature over three feet in length. The most interesting
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1906
