A. Tadpoles transported from one place to another.--_Dendrebates,
Phyllobates, Sooglossus_.
B. Eggs protected by the parents who coil themselves round or "sit"
on them.--_Mantophryne, Desmognathus, Autodax, Plethodon,
Cryptobranchus, Amphiuma, Ichthyophis, Hypogeophis, Siphonops_.
C. Eggs carried by the parents.
(a) Round the legs, by the male.--_Alytes_.
(b) On the back, by the female.
(1) Exposed.--_Hyla goeldii, H. evansii, Ceratohyla_.
(2) In cell-like pouches.--_Pipa_.
(3) In a common pouch.--_Nototrema, Amphignathodon_.
(c) On the belly.
(1) Exposed, by the female.--_Rhacophorus reticulatus_.
(2) In a pouch (the produced vocal sac), by the
male.--_Rhinoderma_.
(d) In the mouth, by the female.--_Hylambates brevirostris_.
_Geographical Distribution._--If a division of the world according to
its batrachian faunae were to be attempted, it would differ very
considerably from that which would answer for the principal groups of
reptiles, the lizards especially. We should have four great
realms:--(1) Europe and Northern and Temperate Asia, Africa north of
the Sahara (palaearctic region) and North and Central America
(nearctic region); (2) Africa and South-Eastern Asia (Ethiopian and
Indian region); (3) South America (neotropical region); and (4)
Australia (Australian region). The first would be characterized by the
Caudata, which are almost confined to it (although a few species
penetrate into the Indian and neotropical regions), the
_Discoglossidae_, mostly Europaeo-Asiatic, but one genus in
California, and the numerous _Pelobatidae_; the second by the presence
of Apoda, the prevalence of firmisternal Ecaudata and the absence of
_Hylidae_; the third by the presence of Apoda, the prevalence of
arciferous Ecaudata and the scarcity of _Ranidae_, the fourth by the
prevalence of arciferous Ecaudata and the absence of _Ranidae_, as
well as by the absence of either Caudata or Apoda. Madagascar might
almost stand as a fifth division of the world, characterized by the
total absence of Caudata, Apoda, and arciferous Ecaudata. But the
close relation of its very rich frog-fauna to that of the Ethiopian
and Indian regions speaks against attaching too great importance to
these negative features. It may be noted here that no two parts of the
world differ so considerably in their Ecaudata as do Madagascar and
Australia, the former having only Firmisternia, the latter only
Arcifera. Although there is much similarity between the Apoda of
Africa and of South America, one genus being even common to both parts
of the world, the frogs are extremely different, apart from the
numerous representatives of the widely distributed genus _Bufo_. It
may be said that, on the whole, the distribution of the batrachians
agrees to some extent with that of fresh-water fishes, except for the
much less marked affinity between South America and Africa, although
even among the former we have the striking example of the distribution
of the very natural group of the aglossal batrachians, represented by
_Pipa_ in South America and by _Xenopus_ and _Hymenochirus_ in Africa.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--(1) On the use of the names _Batrachia_ and _Amphibia_,
cf. E.D. Cope, _Geol. Mag._ (3) ii., 1885, p. 575; G. Baur, _Science_
(2), vi., 1897, pp. 170, 372; B.G. Wilder, t.c. p. 295; T Gill, t.c.
p. 446; O.P. Hay, t.c. p. 773; T. Gill, _Science_ (2), xx., 1900, p.
730; L. Steineger, op. cit. xx., 1904, p. 924. (2) E. Fraas, "Die
Labyrinthodonten der schwabischen Trias," _Palaeontogr._ xxxvi., 1889,
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clxxxiii. (B), 1892, p. 311. (6) _Cambridge Natural History_, viii.
(1901). (7) "Die Urvierfussler (Eotetrapoda) des sachsischen
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1887, p. 185; E.D. Cope, "On the Phylogeny of the Vertebrata," _Proc.
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1883, 8vo), p. 251; E.D. Cope, "The Batrachia of the Permian Period of
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p. 1; L.v. Ammon, _Die permischen Amphibien der Rheinpfalz_ (Munich,
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Fraas, _Die schwabischen Trias-Saurier nach dem Material der k.
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4to); O. Jaekel, "Die Organization von _Archegosaurus_," _Zeitschr.
deutsch. geol. Ges_. xlviii., 1896, p. 505; F. Broili, "Ein Beitrag
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p. 61. (11) "Amphibian Footprints from the Devonian," _Amer. Journ.
Sci_. ii., 1896, p. 374. (12) "Decouverte du plus ancien amphibien
connu ... dans le famennien superieur de Modave," _Bull. soc. beige
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xxix., 1895, p. 998. (14) C. Gegenbaur, _Untersuchungen zur
vergleichenden Anatomie der Wirbelsaule bei Amphibien und Reptilien_
(Leipzig, 1862, 4to); H. Gadow, "On the Evolution of the Vertebral
Column of Amphibia and Amniota," _Phil. Trans_. clxxxvii. (B), 1896,
p. 1. (15) R. Wiedersheim, _Die Anatomie der Gymnophionen_ (Jena,
1879, 4to); W. Peters, "Uber die Einteilung der Caecilien," _Mon.
Berl. Ac_., 1879, p. 924; G.A. Boulenger, _Catalogue of Batrachia
Gradientia s. Caudata and Batrachia Apoda in the Collection of the
British Museum_ (London, 1882, 8vo), and "A Synopsis of the Genera and
Species of Apodal Batrachians," _P. Z. S_., 1895, p. 401. (16) "On the
Structure and Affinities of the _Amphiumidae_" _Proc. Amer. Philos.
Soc._ xxiii., 1886, p. 442. (17) _Ergebnisse naturwissenschaftlicher
Forschungen auf Ceylon_, ii. (Wiesbaden, 1887-1890, 4to), (18) "The
Chondrocranium of the Ichthyopsida," _Stud. Biol. Lab. Tufts Coll_.
No. 5, 1898, p. 147. (19) G.A. Boulenger, _Catalogue, &c._, 1882. (20)
H.H. Wilder, "Lungenlose Salamandriden," _Anat. Anz_. ix., 1894, p.
216; L. Camerano, "Ricerche anatomofisiologiche intorno ai
Salamandridi normalmente apneumoni," _Atti Acc. Torin_. xxix., 1894,
p. 705, and xxxi., 1896, p. 512; H.H. Wilder, "Lungless Salamanders,"
_Anat. Anz_. xii., 1896, p. 182; E. Loennberg, "Notes on Tailed
Batrachians without Lungs," _Zool. Anz_. xix., 1896, p. 33. (21) "Note
sur le batracien de Bernissart," _Bull. mus. belg_. iii., 1884, p. 85.
(22) G.A. Boulenger, _Catalogue of Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata in
the Collection of the British Museum_ (London, 1882, 8vo). (23) "On
the Development of the Vertebral Column in _Pipa_ and _Xenopus_,"
_Anat. Anz_. xiii., 1898, p. 359. (24) G.A. Boulenger, "On
_Hymenochirus_, a New Type of Aglossal Batrachians," _Ann. and Mag. N.
H._ (7), iv., 1899, p. 122. (25) L.M. Vidal, _Mem. Ac. Barcelona_ (3),
iv., 1902, No. 18, pl. iv. (26) W. Wolterstorff, "Uber fossile
Frosche, insbesondere Palaeobatrachus," _Jahresb. Nat. Ver. Magdeb_.,
1885 and 1886. (27) W. Peters, "Uber die Entwickelung eines
Batrachiers. _Hylodes martinicensis_, ohne Metamorphose," _Mon. Berl.
Ac_., 1876, p. 709; A. Kappler, "Die Tierwelt im hollandischen
Guiana," _Das Ausland_, 1885, p. 358; G.A. Boulenger, "Reptiles and
Batrachians of the Solomon Islands," _Trans. Zool. Soc_. xii., 1886,
p. 51; H. v. Ihering, "On the Oviposition of _Phyllomedusa
iheringii_," _Ann. and Mag. N.H._ (5), xvii., 1886, p. 461; H.H.
Smith, "On Oviposition and Nursing in the Batrachian genus
_Dendrobates_," _Amer. Nat_. xxi., 1887, p. 307; G.B. Howes, "Notes on
the Gular Brood-pouch of _Rhinoderma darwini_," _P.Z.S_., 1888, p.
231; W.J. Holland, "Arboreal Tadpoles," _Amer. Nat_. xxiii., 1889, p.
383; E.A. Goeldi, "Contribution to the Knowledge of the Breeding
Habits of some Tree-frogs of the Serra dos Orgaos, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil," _P.Z.S_., 1895. p. 89; G.A. Boulenger, "On the Nursing Habits
of two South American Frogs," _P.Z.S_., 1895, p. 209; A. Brauer, "Ein
neuer Fall von Brutpflege bei Froschen," _Zool. Jahrb. Syst_. xi.,
1898, p. 89; S. Ikeda, "Notes on the Breeding Habit and Development of
_Rhacophorus schlegelii_," _Annot. Zool. Japan_, i., 1898, p. 113; G.
Brandes, "Larven zweier Nototrema-Arten," _Verh. deutsch. zool. Ges_.,
1899, p. 288; L. v. Mehely, "Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Engystomatiden
von Neu-Guinea," _Termes. Fuzetek, Budapest_, xxiv., 1901, p. 216;
G.A. Boulenger, "_Ceratohyla bubalus_ carrying eggs on its back,"
_P.Z.S_., 1903, ii. p. 115; _Idem_. "Description of a new Tree-frog of
the genus _Hyla_, from British Guiana, carrying eggs on the back,"
_op. cit_., 1904, ii. p. 106; H.S. Ferguson, "Travancore Batrachians,"
_J. Bombay N.H. Soc_. xv., 1904, p. 499. (28) _Geol. Mag_. iv., ii.,
1895, p. 83. (29) "Das Hyobranchial-Skelett der Anura," _Morph. Arb_.
iii., 1894, p. 399. (30) "On the Structure and Development of the
Hyobranchial Skeleton of the Parsley Frog," _P.Z.S_., 1897, p. 577.
(31) W.G. Ridewood, "On the Hyobrachial Skeleton and Larynx of
_Hymenochirus_," _J. Linn. Soc_. xxviii., 1899, p. 454. (32) _Morphol.
Jahrb_. xxiii., 1895, p. 1. (33) G.B. Howes and A.M. Davies, _P.Z.S_.,
1888, p. 495. (34) G.A. Boulenger, "The Poisonous Secretion of
Batrachians," _Nat. Science_, i., 1892, p. 185; F. Gidon, _Venins
multiples et toxicite humorale chez les batraciens_ (Paris, 1897,
8vo). (35) _Arch. Ges. Physiol_. li., 1892, p. 455. (36) G.A.
Boulenger, _P.Z.S_., 1900, p. 433, and 1901, ii. p. 709; H. Gadow,
_Anat. Anz_. xviii., 1900, p. 588. (37) G.A. Boulenger, "On the
Presence of Pterygoid Teeth in a Tailless Batrachian, with remarks on
the Localization of Teeth on the Palate," _P.Z.S_., 1890, p. 664. (38)
_Morphol. Jahrb_. xiii., 1887, p. 119. (39) _P.Z.S_., 1888, p. 122.
(40) G.A. Boulenger, _Tailless Batrachians of Europe_ (1897), p. 75.
(41) G. Tornier, "Pseudophryne vivipara, ein lebendig gebarender
Frosch," _Sitzb. Ak. Ber_. xxxix., 1905, p. 855. (42) "Unusual Modes
of Breeding and Development among _Anura_," _Amer. Nat_. xxxiv., 1900,
p. 405. (43) "Brutpflege der schwanzlosen Batrachier," _Abh. Nat.
Ges_. Halle, xxii., 1901, p. 395. (G. A. B.)
BATRACHOMYOMACHIA (Gr. [Greek: Batrachos], "frog," [Greek: mus],
"mouse," and [Greek: machae], "battle"), the "Battle of Frogs and Mice,"
a comic epic or parody on the _Iliad_, definitely attributed to Homer by
the Romans, but according to Plutarch (_De Herodoti Malignitate_, 43)
the work of Pigres of Halicarnassus, the brother (or son) of Artemisia,
queen of Caria and ally of Xerxes. Some modern scholars, however, assign
it to an anonymous poet of the time of Alexander the Great.
Edition by A. Ludwich (1896).
BATTA, an Anglo-Indian military term, probably derived from the Canarese
_bhatta_ (rice in the husk), meaning a special allowance made to
officers, soldiers, or other public servants in the field.
BATTAGLIA, a town of Venetia, Italy, in the province of Padua, 11 m.
S.S.W. by rail from Padua. Pop. (1901) 4456. It lies at the edge of the
volcanic Euganean Hills, and is noted for its warm saline springs and
natural vapour grotto. A fine palace was erected in the Palladian style
in the 17th century by Marchese Benedetto Selvatico-Estense, then owner
of the springs.
BATTAKHIN, African "Arabs" of Semitic stock. They occupy the banks of
the Blue Nile near Khartum, and it was against them that General Gordon
fought most of his battles near the town. Their sheikh, El Obeid, routed
Gordon's troops on the 4th of September 1884, a defeat which led to the
close investment of Khartum. In the 18th century James Bruce described
them as "a thieving, pilfering lot."
BATTALION, a unit of military organization consisting of four or more
companies of infantry. The term is used in nearly every army, and is
derived through Fr. from It. _battaglione_, Med. Lat. _battalia_ (see
BATTLE). "Battalion" in the 16th and 17th centuries implied a unit of
infantry forming part of the line of battle, but at first meant an
unusually large _battalia_ or a single large body of men formed of
several _battalias_. In the British regular service the infantry
battalion is commanded by a lieut.-colonel, who is assisted by an
adjutant, and consists at war strength of about 1000 bayonets in eight
companies. Engineers, train, certain kinds of artillery, and more rarely
cavalry are also organized in battalions in some countries.
BATTAMBANG, or BATTAMBONG (locally _Phralabong_), the chief town of the
north-western division of Cambodia, formerly capital of Monton Kmer,
i.e. "The Cambodian Division," one of the eastern provinces of Siam, now
included in the French protectorate of Cambodia. It is situated in 103
deg. 6' E., 13 deg. 6' N., in the midst of a fertile plain and on the
river Sang Ke, which flows eastwards and falls into the Tonle or Tale
Sap, the great lake of Cambodia. The town is a collection of bamboo
houses of no importance, but there is a walled enceinte of some
historical interest. Trade is small and is carried on by Chinese
settlers, chiefly overland with Bangkok, but to a small extent also by
water with Saigon. The population is about 5000, two-thirds Cambodian
and the remainder Chinese and Siamese. The language is Cambodian.
Battambang was taken by the Siamese when they overran the kingdom of
Cambodia towards the end of the 18th century, and was recognized by the
French as belonging to Siam when the frontier of Cambodia was adjusted
by treaty in 1867-1872. In another treaty in 1893, Siam bound herself to
maintain no armed forces there other than police, but this arrangement
was annulled by the treaty of 1904, by which Battambang was definitely
admitted to lie within the French sphere of influence. Under a further
treaty in March 1907 (see SIAM), the district of Battambang was finally
ceded to the French.
BATTANNI, or BHITANI, a small tribe on the Waziri border of the
North-West Frontier Province of India. The Battannis hold the hills on
the borders of Tank and Bannu in the Dera Ismail Khan district, from the
Gabar mountain on the north to the Gomal valley on the south. They are
only 3000 fighting men strong, and are generally regarded as the jackals
of the Waziris. Their chief importance arises from the fact that no
raids can be carried into British districts by the Mahsud Waziris
without passing through Battanni territory. A small British expedition
against the Battannis was led by Lt.-Col. Rynd in 1880. Under the
excitement caused by the preaching of a fanatical mullah the Mahsud
Waziris had attacked the town of Gomal. The Battannis failed to supply
information as to their movements, and gave them a passage through
their lands. The British troops accordingly stormed the Hinis Tangi
defile in face of opposition, and burned the village of Jandola.
BATTAS (Dutch _Battaks_), the inhabitants of the formerly independent
Batta country, in the central highlands of Sumatra, now for the most
part subjugated to the Dutch government. The still independent area
extends from 98 deg.-99 deg. 35' E., and 2 deg.-3 deg. 25' S. North-east
of Toba Lake dwell the Timor Battas, and west of it the Pakpak, but on
its north (in the mountains which border on the east coast residency)
the Karo Battas form a special group, which, by its dialects and
ethnological character, appears to be allied to the Gajus and Allas
occupying the interior of Achin. The origin of the Battas is doubtful.
It is not known whether they were settled in Sumatra before the Hindu
period. Their language contains words of Sanskrit origin and others
referable to Javanese, Malay and Tagal influence. Their domain has been
doubtless much curtailed, and their absorption into the Achin and Malay
population seems to have been long going on. The Battas are undoubtedly
of Malayan stock, and by most authorities are affiliated to that
Indonesian pre-Malayan race which peopled the Indian Archipelago,
expelling the aboriginal negritos, and in turn themselves submitting to
the civilized Malays. In many points the Battas are physically quite
different from the Malay type. The average height of the men is 5 ft. 4
in.; of the women 4 ft. 8 in. In general build they are rather thickset,
with broad shoulders and fairly muscular limbs. The colour of the skin
ranges from dark brown to a yellowish tint, the darkness apparently
quite independent of climatic influences or distinction of race. The
skull is rather oval than round. In marked contrast to the Malay type
are the large, black, long-shaped eyes, beneath heavy, black or dark
brown eyebrows. The cheek-bones are somewhat prominent, but less so than
among the Malays. The Battas are dirty in their dress and dwellings and
eat any kind of food, though they live chiefly on rice. They are
remarkable as a people who in many ways are cultured and possess a
written language of their own, and yet are cannibals. The more civilized
of them around Lake Toba are good agriculturists and stock-breeders, and
understand iron-smelting. They weave and dye cotton, make jewellery and
krisses which are often of exquisite workmanship, bake pottery, and
build picturesque chalet-like houses of two storeys. They have an
organized government, hereditary chiefs, popular assemblies, and a
written civil and penal code. There is even an antiquated postal system,
the letter-boxes being the hollow tree trunks at crossroads. Yet in
spite of this comparative culture the Battas have long been notorious
for the most revolting forms of cannibalism. (See _Memoirs of the Life,
&c., of Sir T.S. Raffles_, 1830.)
The Battas are the only lettered people of the Indian Archipelago who
are not Mahommedans. Their religion is mainly confined to a belief in
evil spirits; but they recognize three gods, a Creator, a Preserver and
a Destroyer, a trinity suggestive of Hindu influence.
Up to the publication of Dr H.N. van der Tuuk's essay, _Over schrift en
uitspraak der Tobasche taal_ (1855), our knowledge of the Batta language
was confined to lists of words more or less complete, chiefly to be
found in W. Marsden's _Miscellaneous Works_, in F.W. Junghuhn's
_Battalander_, and in the _Tijdschrift van het Bataviaasch Genootschap,
_vol. iii. (1855). By his exhaustive works (_Bataksch Leesboek_, in 4
vols., 1861-1862; _Bataksch-nederduitsch Woordenboek_, 1861; _Tobasche
Spraakkunst_, 1864-1867) van der Tuuk made the Batta language the most
accessible of the various tongues spoken in Sumatra. According to him,
it is nearest akin to the old Javanese and Tagal, but A. Schreiber (_Die
Battas in ihrem Verhaltnis zu den Malaien von Sumatra_, 1874)
endeavoured to prove its closer affinity with the Malay proper. Like
most languages spoken by less civilized tribes, Batta is poor in general
terms, but abounds in terms for special objects. The number of dialects
is three, viz. the Toba, the Mandailing and the Dairi dialects; the
first and second have again two subdivisions each. The Battas further
possess six peculiar or recondite modes of speech, such as the _hata
andung_, or language of the wakes, and the _hata poda_ or the
soothsayer's language. A fair acquaintance with reading and writing is
very general among them. Their alphabet is said, with the Rejang and
Lampong alphabets, to be of Indian origin. The language is written on
bark or bamboo staves from bottom to top, the lines being arranged from
left to right. The literature consists chiefly in books on witchcraft,
in stories, riddles, incantations, &c., and is mostly in prose,
occasionally varied by verse.[1]
See also "Reisen nach dem Toba See," _Petermanns Mitteil_. (1883);
Modigliani, _Fra i Batacchi indipendenti_ (Rome, 1892); Neumann, "Het
Pane- en Bilastroomgebied," _Tydschr. Aardr. Gen._, 1885-1887; Van
Dijk in the same periodical (1890-1895); Wing Easton in the _Jaarboek
voor het Mynwezen_, 1894; Niemann in the _Encyclopaedia van
Nederlandsch-Indie_, under the heading _Bataks_, with very detailed
bibliography; Baron J. v. Brenner, _Besuch bei den Kannibalen
Sumatras_ (Wurzburg, 1893); H. Breitenstein, _21 Jahre in Indien,
Java, Sumatra_ (Leipzig, 1899-1900); G.P. Rouffaer, _Die Batik-Kunst
in niederlandisch-Indien und ihre Geschichte_ (Haarlem, 1899).