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U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 160 PLATE 1
BUFO ALVARIUS GIRARD
Illustrating parotoid, ulnar, and tibial glands, skin texture, and other identification points. Upper photograph by Dr. Walter P. Taylor, Bureau of Biological Survey.
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM \\;yt, \\
Bu.vetTin 160
~
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS INe THE: UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
BY REMINGTON KELLOGG
Assistant Curator, Division of Mammals United States National Museum
ANSON STF GG
a MAY 19 1932 *
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1932
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.
ADVERTISEMENT
The scientific publications of the National Museum include two series, known, respectively, as Proceedings and Bulletin.
The Proceedings series, begun in 1878, is intended primarily as a medium for the publication of original papers, based on the collections of the National Museum, that set forth newly acquired facts in biol- ogy, anthropology, and geology, with descriptions of new forms and revisions of limited groups. Copies of each paper, in pamphlet form, are distributed as published to libraries and scientific organizations and to specialists and others interested in the different subjects. The dates at which these separate papers are published are recorded in the table of contents of each of the volumes.
The series of Bulletins, the first of which was issued in 1875, con- tains separate publications comprising monographs of large zoologi- ..eal groups and other general systematic treatises (oceasionally in several yolumes),. fayynal works, reports of expeditions, catalogues of type-specimens and-special collections, and other material of similar nature. The majority of the volumes are octavo in size, but a quarto size has been adopted in a few instances in which large plates were regarded as indispensable. In the Bulletin series appear volumes under the heading Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, in octavo form, published by the National Museum since 1902, which contain papers relating to the botanical collections of the Museum.
The present work forms No. 160 of the Pulletin series.
ALEXANDER WETMORE, Assistant Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
Wasarncton, D. C., March 31, 1932.
CONTENTS
Pege
ie aenaereerenrslls SUM WUINENINNDNNNE toro 2259 8S he Pe ee 1 Collecting work of Nelson and Goldman__--_-_-_--_--____--------_--- 1 Other sources of National Museum material___---__-___-_-_-_--__-- 3 Material. in astiee Geena iat oe ed Sy Sani bee sotie tees ___ 9 Brinowledemenits..._..62)). $0 $63 65 43 a6 Sekt do yy! ods aie Tk 15 Abbreviations_-___------ aby seblendts lo. acty levine? sitnoe med) f 15 Class Amphibia Linnaeus: Order Salientia Laurenti_______._-__-_-__-_- 16 Key to families of Mexican Salientia___._.__-.----__--_-__------- 17 Pamily.Pelobatsdac Latene soo! ee ES prea’) __ 18 Genut Beapisopas Hollrockoo: +22! Joes Legh Db lees) 3 18 Key to Mexican species of Scaphiopus_-__----___-_-__-------- 19
Family Rhinophrynidae Ginther_ —__---__ ~~ + --_---~--+2-L.----+---+- 24 Genus Rhinophrynus Duméril and Bibron_-_--------_------------- 24 Meerty. Etapeatite Sty t) Si es oS) es ew ATs Laseeds Fie Peat © 7 Ccemeeepfee Trent 1058 58 te io Sys span Latte. Phe tesa) 8 27 Key to Mesiean’apcties of Bufé__« ost) tosses secs... 31 Bamilyisptedmsrtylides Bergin.) she) Jo eels lero foe iets) 2. 74 Key to genera of Mexican Leptodactylidae_____________-_-_------ 76 GoshuntEuggstemope: Mapadas =): 239) So ey beet eee ede ot 77 Genus Lenlodarctylus Fitsinger.. ...___._._2= 2 __3 ths") eae tie 81 Key to Mexican species of Leptodactylus_________-_---------- 82
Genus Eleutherodactylus Duméril and Bibron_-_------------------- 90 Key to Mexican species of Eleutherodactylus_________--------- 92 GammpCanghias Broevhito 19.2 3): saney feeush dee deoeta ll Ef iis Genus Tamedactgtus Gunther. + ea 120 Gate Sgrrhopiies Cope: 22n eh tp sees deere te esl at 123 Key to Mexican species of Syrrhophus___-_------.----------- 124
Whansly : Higticiess Gin thee? etre ak Neo words dee bs ee Uren BL 129 Key to genera of Mexican Hylidae_-_-_---_~-_-----_---_------~--- 131 (Genus Gastrotheca Fitzinaer=? 8152200). omnes: ) eee) 133 Genus Pisrnchyla Boalenper 3 20 a0 t szalinse: See 28s_.3l 135 Gand 2englenr Qopetc tet nek ees Neewers Teoh Sea Terstal EF 137 iene wienrien Gope. it ot eee Sheet). ctere he es 138 ons Eiaglibtteines Wagers 32) =) ctor eh bet ns 5 An gost ons BOE 139 Key to Mexican species of Phyllomedusa________---+--------- 142
Gantn tible teeta. ee he iert)l) eid mesiey Ef bo pod fei ee 147 Kay to. Moexiean-species of- Hoyle... - 2 a _- 150
Genus Hylella Reinhardt and Liitken_-____----------------------- 179 Key to Mexican species of Hylella__...___-.-.-.------------- 180
Wamily. BrevierpitidaseGapets b> Loe. oe ees seco 8 182 Key to Mexican Brevicipitidae___-~—~++~ ~~ ~--~-------~---+------ 182 GanuirEypopuchis Kefcontein 583 82 ere S_ be Us eet te 183 comnts, Coateirempalbar ayes, De wht hn en = 186 ie SES ENGINES. 2s er ee, Ge 189 ais ches Lanmsiurer> <> >. | Peer <5 eS. OTS FR RS 189 Baylis Mexican ween et Meee: 2220 Se 190
Deine st SO Bo ce 6 2 ey es ee ee Se 217
ILLUSTRATIONS
FiGuRES
Page
Figure 1. Diagrams illustrating structural conditions found in the sacral vertebra and coecyx of Mexican tailless amphibians- ------- 18 2. Terminal phalanges of the toe in the foot of Hyla___-.------- 18
3. Diagrammatic ventral view of shoulder girdle of Bufo ameri- CONUS. ara ee een) pen apni Feed ho fee 27
4. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo alvarius from Guadalupe Canyon, Sonora, Mexico. .- = 20 = eee eke etatee 36
5. Lateral and dorsal views of type specimen of Bufo canaliferus, from Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico._.----222-22--+-404-- 40
6. Lateral and dorsal views of type specimen of Bufo coccifer, from Arriba, Costa: Ries. eww dias Vuk Fe epee elk en ay 41 7. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo cognatus from Nebraska- --~- 42
8. Lateral and dorsal views of cotype specimen of Bufo compactilis from Pesquieria Grande, Nuevo Leon, Mexico----_------_- 45
9. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo cristatus from Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico. 2. 2 ootititaahetan 9d Spat NE Qyeuple eden es 49
10. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo debilis from Delaware Creek, Culberson. County, Tex 2-2 = 5 pees 2 Sei eal yh tree Weer 50 11. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo marinus from Gatun, Panama_ 54
12. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo marmoreus from mountains 12 miles north of Santo Domingo, Oaxaca, Mexico-_-_--_-------- 58
13. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo punctatus from La Paz, Lower Califormigy 2.223 oy ke A WM i ae alka 61
14. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo simus from Valley of Mexico and from Dolores; Nayanit;Mexicosj242-22252 24 4b 22.8. J 64 15. Lateral and dorsal views of Bufo valliceps from Victoria, Tex __ 69
16. Lateral and dorsal views of type specimen of Bufo woodhousii, from San Francisco Mountain, Ariz....._._-...._.------- 73 17. The T-shaped terminal phalanx of Hleutherodactylus_-_-------- 76
18. Lateral and dorsal views of Engystomops pustulosus from Santo Domingo, Oaxaca, Mexico 00 00 are EM pcre gale teh Sl pti 79
19. Fore feet of Central American hylids, illustrating the extent of the web between the fingers?.-L- selec oie tel 22k 141
20. Hind feet of Mexican hylids, illustrating the extent of the web between ‘the foes.) te ct gate! ee i 141
21. Diagrammatic ventral view of shoulder girdle of Rana cates- Berens jas pO ay IN kg ees “pada te NS ea OD 195 22. Diagrammatic dorsal view of skull of Rana catesbeiana___-_-- 196 23. Diagrammatic ventral view of skull of Rana catesbeiana_-_-__-__ 196
24. Opened mouth of Rana pipiens, showing position of vomerine Beet a an Et ei TN ea eR To ai wopedigcep aN ENS anol 204
PLATES
PuaTE 1. Bufo alvarius Girard__.__-____- Fe a oS ee Re a .-- Frontispiece
IV
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS IN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
By Remineton KELLOGG
Assistant Curator, Division of Mammals, United States National Museum
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
In 1926 the writer was instructed by Dr. E. W. Nelson, at that time chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture, to examine and prepare a report on the herpetological collections made by Doctor Nelson and Edward A. Goldman in Mexico. This work has been completed since the writer became a member of the staff of the United States National Museum. In the course of this study the scope of the report was enlarged to include all the Mexican material that was available in the National Museum and other American institutions. Inasmuch as it was orig- inally intended to deal with the Mexican collection of Nelson and Goldman, a few facts in regard to the inauguration of their field work and the extent of their explorations may be of interest.
COLLECTING WORK OF NELSON AND GOLDMAN
Upon completion of field work by the Death Valley expedition and the consequent disbanding of the party at Visalia, Tulare County, Calif., the various members scattered to take up other assignments. Doctor Nelson traveled southward through the San Joaquin Valley to the Goldman ranch at Alila (now Earlimart), Calif., where he mentioned to E. A. Goldman’s father his intention of obtaining an assistant. The father spoke of his son’s interest in natural history and remarked that he was then in Fresno. As a result of this conversation, the senior Goldman went to Fresno and brought Edward back with him to the ranch for Nelson’s appraisal. On October 10, 1891, Goldman left his father’s ranch as Nelson’s personal assistant, the understanding being that he was to be given $30 a month and his board. This was paid by Nelson out of his own salary of $150 a month. They traveled in a buckboard outfit, which was the object of no little curiosity because of two 42-pound bear traps that hung one from each side. For some reason Nelson had chosen the name “Scalops”’ for one member of their team, while the other went by the name of “Johnny.”
1
2 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Nelson and Goldman drove through the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley to a site 8 miles west of Tejon Pass and thence to the head of San Emigdio Canyon. Leaving this camping site they crossed the southern end of the valley, collecting at various localities on their northward trip to San Luis Obispo, Calif. From this place they worked northward to San Simeon and the mountains near by, and in a few days drove southward along the coast, collecting sea birds particularly, to Santa Paula, where, about January 4, 1892, they abandoned the buckboard and field outfit.
Orders had been received from Dr. C. Hart Merriam, chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, for Nelson to start on what it was anticipated would be a three months’ trip to western Mexico. Nelson and Goldman traveled by rail from Santa Paula to San Francisco and sailed on the Pacific mail steamer Acapulco for Manzanillo, Colima, where they landed on January 24, 1892. From the time of sailing until March 1, 1892, Goldman, who had previously been a personal assistant of Nelson, worked for the experience without pay, and then he received his first official appointment from the Biological Survey, which authorized his employment at $75 a month, out of which he was to pay his board and traveling expenses. Instead of lasting three months, the field trip was extended, until Goldman had passed four years in Mexico, after which he received permission to visit his home.
In September, 1893, Nelson left Chihuahua City for Washington; D. C., but returned to the City of Mexico in December, 1893, where he was met by Goldman, and they continued the field work together. Again on August 15, 1896, Nelson left Carneros, Coahuila, for Wash- ington. The same year, Goldman received permission to visit his home in California, and he accordingly left Santa Rosa, Guanajuato, on November 18, 1896, for Alila, Calif., but resumed field work at Rio Verde, San Luis Potosi, on January 7, 1897. Nelson rejoined Goldman at Ameca, Jalisco, on February 6, 1897. Field work for that season was completed on September 17, 1897, at Bolaifios, Jalisco, where Goldman left to revisit his home in California and Nelson to return to Washington. Goldman, on his return to Mexico, went to the Valparaiso Mountains in Zacatecas, where he began collecting on November 26, 1897. Doctor Nelson rejoined him at Altamira, Tamaulipas, on April 24, 1898.
About September 20, 1898, Nelson left Goldman at Parral in Chi- huahua and returned to Washington, while the latter proceeded across the Sierra Madre. Again, on June 3, 1899, Nelson met Gold- man at Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, and the two continued to collect until October 7, 1899, when they discontinued field work for the season at Sierra en Media, Chihuahua. Goldman again left for California and while there did some collecting. About December 30, 1900, he arrived in Arizona and began field work near Winslow, the main
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 3
object of the trip being to obtain a series of wild turkeys. About the middle of January, 1900, he went to Washington for the first time and remained there for about six weeks before returning to Mexico. He resumed field work at Frontera, Tabasco, on March 3, 1900, and after a trip into the interior he returned there to meet Nelson on April 20, 1900. ‘This season’s field work ended at Carrizal, Vera Cruz, about May 15, 1901, and then both Nelson and Goldman returned to Washington. Early in the winter of that year Goldman received instructions to return to Mexico, and accordingly he resumed field work on December 19, 1901, at Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. This rail journey was somewhat unusual in that it marked a departure from the previous practice of the Biological Survey in regard to the payment of traveling expenses, for Goldman’s expenses were paid to the Mexican boundary from Washington. Nelson met Goldman about February 6, 1902, at Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and after about four months in the field both of them left Eagle Pass, Tex., on June 8, 1902, for Washington.
After spending a brief period at headquarters, Goldman was sent on a field trip to California, where he began collecting on July 17, 1902, at Paraiso Springs in Monterey County. The last entry in the field catalogue was on September 10, 1902. During part of this trip Dr. C. Hart Merriam was with him. Returning to Washington, Goldman remained a few weeks before being ordered again to Zaca- tecas in Zacatecas, where he resumed field work on December 19, 1902. Nelson joined Goldman on December 23, 1902, at Ocotlan in Jalisco. On June 28, 1903, they terminated their collecting at La Barca, Jalisco, and returned to Washington. This was Nelson’s last trip on the mainland of Mexico.
The following year Goldman visited Mexico City on his way to Jaltipan in Vera Cruz, where field work was begun on February 3, 1904. This season’s field work ended in July, 1904, at Lerma in the State of Mexico, and Goldman returned to Washington. In the course of these 12 years, since the beginning of their partnership, Nelson and Goldman had visited every State and Territory in the mainland of Mexico, and in some instances had crossed and recrossed them several times.
OTHER SOURCES OF NATIONAL MUSEUM MATERIAL
The United States National Museum has received Mexican speci- mens of tailless amphibians from a number of other sources. Most of the early acquisitions came from individuals with whom Prof. Spencer F. Baird had corresponded. Numerous letters on file in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution reveal Baird’s active interest in building up a representative collection of Mexican animals. He was instrumental also in effecting the appointment of qualified
4 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
naturalists on the various expeditions and surveys of the United States Government, and made an effort to get in contact either personally or by letter with everyone who showed any interest in natural history.
From Dr. Thomas H. Webb, secretary and surgeon of Commissioner John Russell Bartlett’s party of the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission, the Smithsonian Institution received its first collection from Mexico. Upon the completion of the Gila River survey, Bartlett’s party left Tucson, Ariz., on July 17, 1852, for El Paso, Tex. Their route traversed northern Sonora and continued through the villages of Tubac, Santa Cruz, Agua Prieta, Janos, and Corralitos, the party arriving at El Paso, Tex., on August 18, 1852. Owing to the lack of an adequate military escort, Bartlett accepted the offer of one from the Mexican Boundary Commissioner, and then proceeded to Ringgold Barracks, Tex., through the Mexican States of Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. The party left EI Paso, Tex., on October 7, 1852, en route to the city of Chihuahua, and arrived there on October 22, 1852. The road taken passed through Guadalupe, Carrizal, Encinillas, and Sauzillos. The type specimen of Bufo insidior Girard, collected by Dr. Thomas H. Webb, came from Chihuahua, possibly from the city itself, but this is uncertain. Bartlett states that when Doctor Webb’s wagon broke down south of the Laguna de los Patos, the members of the party amused themselves by collecting insects, reptiles, and other objects of natural history while it was being repaired. Bartlett’s party remained 10 days in the city of Chihuahua, and it is to be presumed that Doctor Webb utilized his leisure to make collections, as there is ample evidence in the commissioner’s narrative that the surgeon availed himself of every opportunity to collect minerals and natural- history specimens. Leaving Chihuahua on November 1, 1852, Bartlett’s party passed through Saucillo, La Cruz, Las Garcas, Santa Rosalia, Jimenez, Cerro Gordo, San Pedro del Gallo, Quincamé, and La Pena, arriving at Parras on November 27, 1852. They reached Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, on December 7, 1852, Santa Catar- ina on December 11, and Monterey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, on December 12. They left Monterey the next day by a route that passed through Marin, Carrizitos, and Cerralvo, and on December 19, 1852, they arrived at Mier. The following day the party passed through Camargo and thence across the Rio Grande to Ringgold Barracks in Texas.
John H. Clark, a collector employed by the United States and Mexi- can Boundary Survey under the direction of Commissioner Bartlett, accompanied Col. J. D. Graham, chief astronomer, from Fort Davis, Tex., to Copper Mines, N. Mex., where they arrived on August 2, 1851. On August 28, Bartlett and his personal party set out for Santa Cruz, Sonora, to replenish their supplies. On September 18,
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 5
Colonel Graham caught up with Bartlett at the Calabassa Hacienda on Santa Rita Mountain, Sonora. Both parties then proceeded on their way to Santa Cruz. Although Bartlett does not specifically state that Clark accompanied Colonel Graham on this trip, he must have done so, for the type specimen of Hesperomys sonoriensis Le Conte was collected at Santa Cruz in Sonora, about 6 miles south of the Mexican boundary line. In that event the cotypes of Hyla afinis Baird were collected somewhere along the route from Copper Mines in New Mexico to Santa Cruzin Sonora. Baird published the descrip- tion of this tree frog in 1854, and since the Boundary Commission, of which Clark was the principal assistant and surveyor, did not resurvey the Sonora boundary line until 1855, these cotypes must have been collected in September or October, 1851. Additional details in regard to Clark’s field work will be found in the remarks under Bufo punctatus (p. 62).
Arthur C. V. Schott was appointed a collector and assigned to the party of Lieut. A. W. Whipple by Commissioner Bartlett. Sub- sequently Schott was transferred to the party working under the direction of Maj. William H. Emory. During the period between September, 1851, and October, 1854, Schott evidently was assigned to work along the Rio Grande. One of the cotypes of Bufo debilis was collected during this period. In October, 1854, when the Boundary Commission was again reorganized, Schott was assigned as an assist- ant to Lieut. N. Michler, and this division proceeded through New Mexico to California. After establishing the initial point of the boundary line on the Colorado River, Michler’s party journeyed to Tucson, Ariz., along the wagon road that followed the Gila River. Pending the arrival of Major Emory, the party remained in Tucson, and it was not until June 26, 1855, that the survey of the oblique line from Los Nogales to the Colorado River was commenced. ‘Two of the cotypes of Bufo alvarius were collected by Schott during the survey of this line.
In July, 1853, the Smithsonian Institution received another collec- tion of amphibians from Mexico. The records show that Professor Baird corresponded with Maj. William Rich at Mexico City as early as September, 1852, and in the following year a small miscellaneous collection from him was received. Among these specimens were two tree frogs that became the cotypes of Hyla eximia and a small series of frogs that formed the basis for Rana montezumae.
To Lieut. Darius Nash Couch the Museum is indebted for one of the largest Mexican collections received in the early days of the Smithsonian Institution. He conducted the exploring expedition that surveyed northern Mexico for a Pacific railroad and that set out on March 1, 1853, from Matamoros in Tamaulipas and passed through Nuevo Leon and Coahuila to at least as far as the Rio Nasas in Durango. The type specimens of Bufo speciosus Girard, Scaphiopus
6 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
couchii Baird, Scaphiopus rectifrenis Cope, and Bufo debilis Girard were collected on this trip. In addition to the specimens collected by himself, Lieutenant Couch purchased the entire collection of Dr. Luis Berlandier and presented it to the Smithsonian Institution. The Rio Nasas was reached in June, 1853, and on August 1, 1853, he was back again in San Diego, Nuevo Leon. The exact itinerary of this expe- dition is not known to the writer, for the report although written was never published. A more extended account of this expedition is published in the remarks under Bufo debilis (p. 52).
On April 7, 1854, a small collection made in Chihuahua was received from John Potts. Subsequent collections received from Potts in 1854 and 1855 contained a number of additional species, including the type specimens of Eleutherodactylus longipes (Baird) and Scaphiopus multi- plicatus Cope.
An exchange with the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris some time in 1855 resulted in the transfer of a few of the Mexican amphib- ians collected by Adolphe Boucard. In 1860, duplicates of Mexican amphibians and reptiles were received in exchange from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Included among them were several amphibians collected by R. Montes d’Oca at Jalapa in Vera Cruz. One of these was a tree frog with a small tympanum, which later became a cotype of Hyla miotympanum Cope.
In 1859, Professor Baird began to correspond with Dr. Carlos Sartorius, who with his son Florentin collected a number of specimens in the vicinity of Mirador and Orizaba, including the types of Hyla motympanum Cope, H. muricolor Cope, and H. gracilipes Cope. From Charles Laszlo, of Tabasco, the Smithsonian Institution in 1860 received a small collection of alcoholic specimens.
From the Smithsonian annual report for 1861,! one learns that a collection of reptiles from ‘‘Guadalaxara’”’ had been received from J. J. Major. This shipment presumably included the type of Gas- trophryne usta (Cope), a small narrow-mouthed toad described by Cope in 1866.
Following a brief expedition to the interior of Mexico, Louis John Xantus de Vesey, a Hungarian, and one or more of his companions settled on a homestead in Iowa, but as might have been anticipated, Xantus soon tired of this. Fortunately for all concerned he had in the meantime become acquainted with Dr. John F. Hammond, U.S. A., who, with the assistance of Professor Baird, obtained for Xantus the appointment as hospital steward in the United States Army. For a part of his enlistment, Xantus was stationed at Fort Riley, Kans., and later was transferred to Fort Tejon, Calif. Speci- mens collected at these localities were transmitted to Baird, who became more and more interested in his natural ability along these
1 Ann. Rep. Board Reg. Smithsonian Inst. for 1861, p. 66, 1862.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS z
lines. On the expiration of his enlistment in the Army, in April, 1859, Xantus was placed in charge of the tidal station of the United States Coast Survey at Cape San Lucas, Lower California, at the earnest solicitation of Professor Baird, and he remained there until 1861.
Through the influence of Professor Baird, Xantus was appointed in 1863 as United States consul at Colima, Mexico, and in return made large collections in that region, including the type specimens of Phyllomedusa dacnicolor Cope and Bufo argillaceus Cope. This appointment was revoked some time previous to August 11, 1863, because of certain indiscreet understandings that Xantus had with local ‘‘politicos,” but he remained at Manzanillo for some months afterwards as receiver for wrecked vessels. Part V of his Mexico catalogue was mailed to Professor Baird on February 29, 1864. Xantus was intensely interested in all branches of natural history, as is shown by the quantity and variety of material he collected for the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1863, Francis Sumichrast, of Orizaba, Vera Cruz, began condling specimens to the Smithsonian Institution, and additional collections were received from this region until 1867. Sumichrast, who was born in Yvorne, Switzerland, on October 15, 1828, accompanied M. de Saussure of Geneva, the grandson of the celebrated geologist, on his voyage to Mexico in 1855-56. The Mexican revolution made traveling difficult, and Saussure after a year’s stay returned to Geneva with their collections. Sumichrast elected to remain in Mexico and devote his attention to the natural history of that country. During his residence in the State of Vera Cruz, he collected the type specimens of Hyla spilomma Cope, H. staufferi Cope, H. bistincta Cope, Syrrho- phus cystignathoides (Cope), and Eleutherodactylus rhodopis (Cope). In the Smithsonian annual report for 1868,’ there appears the fol- lowing statement: ‘‘Under the joint auspices of the Smithsonian Institution and the Kentucky University, at Lexington, Professor Sumichrast, a well-known naturalist, long resident in Mexico, has gone to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to make observations and collections in natural history * * *.” His first collecting seems to have been done at Juchitan, Tehuantepec, in July, 1868. While the full details of his movements are not known, it is certain that he was at Iztaltepec, Oaxaca, on April 30, 1870; at Rancho de Cacoprieto in Chiapas in April, 1872; and in December, 1872, evidently he had settled down at Santa Efigenia, Oaxaca, where he made his home during the remaining years of his life. In his explorations Sumichrast visited the States of Vera Cruz, Puebla, Mexico, Oaxaca, and Chiapas and sent collections of natural-history specimens to the Smithsonian Institution, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and
2 Ann. Rep. Board Reg. Smithsonian Inst. for 1868, p. 25, 1869.
8 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, as well as to museums in Switzerland, Germany, and France. A number of am- phibians were sent to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where they were studied by Paul Brocchi while he was preparing his ‘“Btude des Batraciens de |’Amérique Centrale,’ published in 1882 as a part of the contribution made by the ‘‘ Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans |’Amérique Centrale.’ Among the numerous specimens col- lected by Sumichrast during his residence on the Isthmus of Tehuan- tepec in the State of Oaxaca are the types of Hylella sumichrasta Brocchi, H. platycephala Cope, Cystignathus perlaevis Cope, C. labialis Cope, Eleutherodactylus rugulosus (Cope), Syrrhophus leprus Cope, and Bufo canaliferus Cope. Sumichrast died of cholera on September 26, 1882, at Tonala in Chiapas.
A few toads and frogs collected in1863 and 1864 by Dr. H. Berendt in Tabasco, chiefiy at San Juan Bautista, were presented by him to the Smithsonian Institution.
At the solicitation of Governor Jose Salazar y Larregui, Arthur Schott, who had previously been employed as a naturalist on the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission under the direction of Maj. W. H. Emory, was appointed to the Comision Cientifica de Yucatan. By March 20, 1865, he had collected 300 specimens, accord- ing to a letter written from Merida, Yucatan. The type specimen of the peculiar Triprion petasatus (Cope) was collected by Schott near this locality. <A letter received by Baird on June 6, 1865, states that Schott had made a trip that included Sisal, Campeche, and Celestun. On November 21, 1866, Schott returned to Washington, D. C., but later went back to Yucatan and collected there until 1868. Schott collected also in Sonora in 1871.
From Mazatlan in Sinaloa, specimens collected by Ferdinand Bischoff were received by the Smithsonian Institution in 1868. Dr. Gideon C. Lincecum, an entomologist, presented amphibians col- lected by himself in 1869 at Tuxpam, Vera Cruz. There is a specimen of Rhinophrynus dorsalis in the collection that was taken by Dr. T. H. Richardson at Cordoba in Vera Cruz on October 19, 1874.
From time to time, beginning in 1877 and continuing until 1887, Alfred Dugés sent to the National Museum specimens labeled as coming from Guanajuato, though Dr. E. W. Nelson is of the opinion that some of them at least were given him by students and that the specimens actually may not have come from that locality. This natu- ralist also supplied the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris with similar collections. Professor Dugés collected the type specimens of Scaphiopus dugesti Brocchi, Cystignathus microtis Cope, Eleuther- odactylus alfredi (Boulenger), H. augusti (Dugés), Syrrhophus guttilatus (Cope), Bufo monksiae Cope, and Rana montezumae concolor Cope.
From C. T. Hoege, a collector previously employed by F. D. Godman, the National Museum received amphibians collected in
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 9
the Valleys of Mexico and Toluca in 1884 and 1885. Alphonso Forrer, another one of Godman’s collectors, sent specimens collected in 1885 at Ciudad in Durango and at the Presidio de Mazatlan in Sinaloa.
During March and April, 1891, William Lloyd, a field naturalist employed by the Bureau of Biological Survey, obtained a few amphib- ians near the Mexican boundary in the States of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Pierre Louis Jouy, an ornithological collector employed to obtain specimens for the National Museum exhibit at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition, brought back a few specimens taken in February, 1892, at Lake Chapala in Jalisco.
Maj. E. A. Mearns was detailed by the War Department to act as the medical officer of the International Boundary Commission, and in the course of his work he traversed the entire boundary line and collected a number of amphibians at localities along it. He reported for duty at El Paso, Tex., on February 1, 1892, and completed the work of the biological section on July 20, 1894, at San Diego, Calif. A few amphibians taken in Sonora in 1893 were received from an army hospital steward, Ernest C. Merton.
Dr. Edward Palmer, a well-known professional botanical collector, in 1896 forwarded specimens collected in Durango. Dr. Charles Haskins Townsend collected at Frontera in Tabasco during April, 1897. General herpetological collections were made in Chihuahua during 1895 by H. H. and C. S. Brimley. The late J. N. Rose, a botanist employed by the National Museum, and his assistant J. H. Painter collected in Jalisco in 1903.
From 1908 to 1923, a few amphibians were received from entomolo- gists, as follows: In 1908, Frederick Knab collected at Cordoba, Vera Cruz; in 1918, J. A. Kusche at Venodio, Sinaloa; in 1920, W. S. Blatchley at Orizaba, Vera Cruz; and, in 1923, Dr. William M. Mann at Tepic, Nayarit. A Phyllomedusa helenae taken at Berta, Vera Cruz, in 1910 was purchased from Charles R. Orcutt. Surg. J.C. Thompson collected a Hyla baudinii at San Blas, Nayarit,in 1913. A few specimens taken at Nogales, Sonora, in 1919, were received from American Consul Francis J. Dyer.
MATERIAL IN OTHER MUSEUMS
American.—The writer was enabled, while a member of the staff of the Bureau of Biological Survey, to visit several American insti- tutions for the purpose of studying their collections of Mexican amphibians. A large number of important distributional records were obtained from these collections.
The Mexican herpetological collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York ranks next to that of the United States National Museum in size and includes specimens received from
10 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
several sources. The bulk of this collection, however, was gathered by two men: Dr. Alexander G. Ruthven, who made a herpetological collection for this museum in Vera Cruz, and Paul D. R. Ruthling, who during 1919 and 1920 assembled a large and varied collection. Ruthling’s itinerary covered Mexican States as follows: In 1919 collec- tions were made in Colima in April; in the Federal District in May and July; in Vera Cruz in June; field work was carried on in Guana- juato during the first week in August; the remainder of August, Sep- tember, and October were spent in Jalisco; in November and Decem- ber field work was carried on in Nayarit and Sinaloa; during May, June, and the first part of July, 1920, amphibians were collected in Oaxaca, while Puebla was visited during the latter part of July. This material for the most part is well preserved, so that a critical deter- mination of some doubtful points of external form of some of the amphibians, which hitherto had been known only from specimens collected many years ago, was possible.
The Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Harvard College, Cam- bridge, Mass., possesses a number of Mexican amphibians. From 1878 to 1880, Dr. Edward Palmer, a botanical collecter, seems to have been somewhat interested in the natural history of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, and Coahuila, as specimens from these localities were sent to Cambridge. In 1911-12, members of a party engaged in Mayan archeological work in Yucatan, particularly L. J. Cole, Edward H. Thompson, and O. Ricketson, sent specimens to this museum. <A few specimens were collected by J. L. Peters in the State of Quintana Roo. From the State of Hidalgo, this museum has specimens collected by Dr. William M. Mann. An ornithologi- cal collector, W. W. Brown, preserved a few amphibians in the course of his field work in Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, and Sonora. Dr. KH. R. Dunn collected in the State of Vera Cruz and in the Federal District in 1921. On this trip Doctor Dunn collected the type specimens of Eleutherodactylus dunnii Barbour and Syrrhopus mys- taceus Barbour near Jalapa in Vera Cruz. Several other individuals, including Dr. G. O. Rogers, P. Townsend, D. B. van Brunt, G. Gliickert, and T. J. Potts, have presented Mexican amphibians to the Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Along with his collections of fishes, S. E. Meek included a small number of amphibians found in the States of Tamaulipas, Guana- juato, Federal District, and elsewhere in Mexico in his shipments to the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Ill. Two mammal collectors, Edmund Heller and C. M. Barber, likewise collected a few amphibians in the State of Vera Cruz. A few specimens were presented by Dr. C. H. T. Townsend, and a collection made by Senor F. Ferrari-Perez, director of the museum at Tacubaya, Mexico,
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 11
in 1889 was purchased. From these sources were obtained practi- cally all the Mexican amphibians belonging to this museum.
In 1910, about 15 species of Mexican amphibians were collected for the University Museums, University of Michigan, by Dr. A. G. Ruthven on a low plain at the foot of the San Andreas Tuxtla Range in southern Vera Cruz. From H. B. Baker this museum in 1926 received a small number of amphibians collected in Puebla and Vera Cruz.
During July, 1925, Joseph R. Slevin made general herpetological collections for the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, in Vera Cruz, Federal District, and Oaxaca.
European.—Herpetologists of Europe have described 54 species of Mexican tailless amphibians, and the majority of the types and cotypes of these forms are still extant in European museums. The writer therefore made an effort during April and May, 1930, to locate and examine as many of these original specimens as possible.
The nucleus of the Mexican herpetological collection in the Museum fir Naturkunde in Berlin seems to have been obtained from three botanical collectors. Included in the herpetological collections made by Ferdinand Deppe, Christian Julius Wilhelm Schiede (who diedin Mexico in 1836), and Graf von Sack were the types of the toads of the genus Bufo described by Dr. Arend Frederick August Wiegmann in Oken’s Isis for 1833. These toads, Bufo compactilis, B. cristatus, B. horribilis, B. marmoreus, and B. valliceps, formed a part of what appears to be the first Mexican herpetological collection received by any European museum, and presumably led Wiegmann to publish in 1834 his ‘‘Herpetologia Mexicana.’”’ In 1870, Dr. Wilhelm C. H. Peters published a report on a collection made by Berkenbusch near Matamoros and at other localities in Puebla. In reporting upon this collection, Peters described the following new species: Hyla macrotis, Hylodes berkenbuschii, Liuperus nitidus, and Engystoma mexicanum. A new leptodactylid collected at Haunusco [=? Huatusco in Vera Cruz] by Doctor Hille was named Phyllobates verruculatus by Peters.
Fifteen supposedly new species of Mexican amphibians were based upon specimens belonging to the Muséum National d’Histoire Natu- relle, in Paris. In their ‘‘Erpétologie Générale” published in 1841, Duméril and Bibron recognized two new amphibians from Mexico, one a peculiar burrowing narrow-mouthed toad (Rhinophrynus dor- salis), which had been collected by Auguste Sallé, and the other a widely distributed tree frog (Hyla baudinii). In 1853, Duméril dis- covered the broad-headed cave frog (Eleutherodactylus laticeps) among specimens collected by Arthur Morelet in Yucatan. The French naturalist Pierre Marie Arthur Morelet made an extended field trip through southern Mexico and Central America during the years 1847 and 1848, and presented his collection to the Paris Museum.
12 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Following the example of Napoleon I after the conquest of Egypt, Napoleon III promulgated a decree, dated February 27, 1864, that formally established the Mission Scientifique au Mexique et dans Amérique Centrale. Firmin Bocourt received an appointment as naturalist to this commission. Adolphe Boucard seems to have been attached to the commission in some capacity, as his name appears among those appointed as voyageurs. The exploratory work of this commission extended from 1865 to 1867. Boucard had visited Mex- ico at least once prior to this, for in 1855 he and Auguste Sallé were making collections in Vera Cruz. After the death of Auguste Dumé- ril in 1871, during the siege of Paris, Firmin Bocourt was given the task of completing the report upon the herpetological collections. The aid of Paul Brocchi having been obtained, he was commissioned to prepare the report on the amphibians, and this was published in 1882 under the title of ‘Etude des Batraciens del’ Amérique Centrale. ” Preliminary descriptions of the new species were published in 1877 and 1879. Two of those described as new, Levuperus mexicanus and Cauphias crassus, were collected by Adolphe Boucard. The types of Ayla plicata and Leptodactylus fragilis were found by Firmin Bocourt. In addition to the material assembled by the personnel of the mission, the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle received herpetological collections from Auguste Sallé, Consul Ghiesbreght, Baron Fredéric de Miiller, Francis Sumichrast, and Alfred Dugés. Rhinophrynus rostratus and Exerodonta sumichrasti were based upon specimens received from Sumichrast. Sallé collected the type of Bufo mexicanus and Dugés sent Brocchi the type of Scaphiopus dugesit. During the years 1896 and 1897, Léon Diguet made collections in Mexico for the Paris Museum, particularly in the State of Oaxaca, in the vicinity of Guadalajara, Jalisco, and in the Territory of Tepic (Nayarit). In reporting upon these collections in 1899, Mocquard recognized three new species, which were named Rana trilobata, Hyla rudis, and Hyliola diguett.
The British Museum of Natural History has a large representative collection of Mexican amphibians, including the type specimens of the species described by Giinther and Boulenger. In tabulating the described species, the writer found that in this collection alone speci- mens from Mexico have formed the basis for 27 species of tailless amphibians.
Previous to 1858, the British Museum had acquired by purchase, gift, or exchange a small number of Mexican amphibians, among which were several amphibians taken by Auguste Sallé in Vera Cruz and Oaxaca. On April 16, 1855, Sallé and his companion Adolphe Boucard were located at Tospam near Cordoba, Vera Cruz, where they were visited by Francis Sumichrast. At Cordoba in Vera Cruz,
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 13
Sallé collected cotypes of Hyla ewphorbiacea Giinther, H. lichenosa Giin- ther, and Bufo sternosignatus Giinther, and the type of Gastrophryne elegans (Boulenger). One of the cotypes of Eleutherodactylus sallaei (Giinther) was also received from Sallé, and while Mexico is the only locality given, it too was probably collected somewhere in the State of Vera Cruz. The following specimens, purchased from Emile Par- zudaki, a dealer at Paris, lack definite localities: Cotypes of Hyla euphorbiacea Ginther, H. lichenosa Giinther, and Bufo sternosignatus Ginther, and the type of 5B. anomalus Giinther. The specimens acquired from Hugh Cuming, including cotypes of Hyla euphorbiacea and H. lichenosa, were collected in the State of Vera Cruz, probably by Auguste Sallé, as the former secured a number of birds from this collector.
In 1876, Frederick du Cane Godman and Osbert Salvin conceived the idea of promoting a monumental work entitled ‘‘ Biologia Centrali- Americana,” which was begun as a private undertaking, though later (beginning in 1881) the collections were presented to the British Museum. To Dr. Albert C. L. G. Giinther were assigned the sec- tions on reptiles and amphibians, and collectors were employed to secure specimens that would supplement available material. Among these collectors was Herbert H. Smith, who collected at Atoyac in Vera Cruz, Teapa in Tabasco, Omilteme and Amula in Guerrero, and Cuernavaca in Morelos. From Omilteme came the cotypes of Rana omiltemana Ginther, Syrrhaphus omiltemanus Giinther, and Eleu- therodactylus calcitrans (Giinther); from Amula the type of Tomo- dactylus amulae Giinther; and from Cuernavaca the cotypes of Hyla nana Giinther (H. smithit Boulenger). Dr. A. C. Buller collected on the plateau of central Mexico, and at the Hacienda el Florencio im Zacatecas he obtained the cotypes of Borborocoetes mexicanus Boulenger. Godman collected in Mexico during 1887 and 1888, and he is listed in the records of the British Museum as the collector of the types or cotypes of five of the species described by Giinther. C. T. Hoege and an Indian assistant of Godman, Mateo Trujillo, collected at Jalapa and Misantla in Vera Cruz. At Jalapa, Hoege collected a cotype of Hyla nigropunctata Boulenger, while Trujillo secured the type of Hylella picta Giinther and the cotypes of Hyla taeniopus Ginther. Godman obtained the types of Eleutherodactylus venustus (Giinther) and E. plicatus (Giinther) at Jalapa, while the cotypes of Hyla godmani Giinther came from Misantla and Jalapa.
Alphonso Forrer collected on the Tres Marias Islands and at several localities in western Mexico, particularly at Presidio near Mazatlan in Sinaloa, from where Forrer forwarded specimens that became the types of Rana forreri Boulenger and Pternohyla fodiens Boulenger and the cotypes of Diaglena spatulata (Giinther) and Hypopachus oxyr-
66785—32——2
14 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
rhinus Boulenger. Forrer collected also the type of Rana pustulosa Boulenger at Ventanas in Durango. In 1888 George F. Gaumer worked in Yucatan and visited Cozumel, Ruatan, and the Bonacca Islands.
The cotypes of Hleutherodactylus alfredi (Boulenger), which were presented by Alfred Dugés, came from Atoyac in Vera Cruz. Dr. Hans Gadow and his wife on one of their visits to Mexico collected the cotypes of Eupemphiz gadovii Boulenger at San Mateo del Mar near Tehuantepec, and those of Eleutherodactylus beatae (Boulenger) at La Perla near Orizaba. The cotypes of Rana tarahumarae from the Sierra Tarahumari formed part of a collection acquired from Doctor Gadow.
So far as known only one of the Mexican types—Bufo lateralis—is located in the Naturhistorische Museum at Vienna, and that was described by Dr. Franz Werner from a toad collected in Tehuantepec in 1872 by T. K.Salmon. A number of Mexican amphibians collected by Dr. Hans Gadow are in the Vienna museum.
The type of the Mexican toad Bufo occipitalis, which was de- scribed by Prof. Lorenzo Camerano in 1879, should be in the museum at Turin, Italy, but it could not be found at the time of the writer’s visit there in 1930. The type of Hylodes augusti remained in the possession of Dr. Alfred Dugés at Guanajuato, Mexico, and its present _whereabouts are unknown.
The tailless amphibians of Mexico are not known to be less abun- dant than those found within the borders of the United States, and yet some of these species are very meagerly represented in American collections. For some of the species only a single individual was available, and in one or two instances the species is known to the writer solely from the diagnosis published by the original describer. Practically all the types of species described by Baird, Barbour, Bo- court, Boulenger, Brocchi, Cope, Giinther, Mocquard, Peters, Werner, and Wiegmann have been studied by the writer. The majority of the specimens examined have been preserved in alcohol from 30 to 100 years, and the vicissitudes of time, including evaporation and action of the preservatives, as well as the bleaching effect of light, have hindered and in some instances prevented critical comparisons. Among the many published reports that deal with or refer to Mexican amphibians, there are a number of such a general nature that no reference is made to them in the text. Shorter articles and particu- larly those containing either descriptions of new species or supplemen- tal data on those already described are cited in the synonymy.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 15 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dr. Leonhard Stejneger and Miss Doris M. Cochran, of the National Museum, have facilitated the preparation of this report in many ways, and to them the writer is greatly indebted for criticisms and sug- gestions. Grateful acknowledgment for the privilege of including specimens under their care in this report is hereby extended to Dr. G. K. Noble, of the American Museum of Natural History in New York; Dr. Thomas Barbour, director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Mass.; Dr. Alexander G. Ruthven, director of the University Museums of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor; Alfred C. Weed and K. P. Schmidt, of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago; Joseph R. Slevin, of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco; Dr. Ernst Ahl, of the Museum fiir Naturkunde in Berlin; Dr. Otto Wettstein, of the Naturhistori- sche Museum in Vienna; Dr. Laura Gambetta, of the Istituto Zoologico R. Universita in Turin; Dr. Louis Roule, director, and F. Angel, of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris; and W. H. Parker, of the British Museum of Natural History in London. To Dr. E. R. Dunn, of Haverford College, Haverford, Pa., the writer is indebted for comments and notes on specimens that he had examined in American and European museums. The drawings for the figures of toads of the genus Bufo, prepared under the author’s supervision, were loaned by the Bureau of Biological Survey.
ABBREVIATIONS
The following abbreviations are used in the lists of specimens examined during the preparation of this report and in the text where catalogue numbers are given:
FANGS Nis eleven American Museum of Natural History, New York, N..3Y:
BACON EN IE Pica Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa.
IBEMeaE ip. fey British Museum of Natural History, London, England.
Po ose sd pees California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, Calif.
GoPix. Comision Geografica Exploradora de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
REMUN THe tes Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Il.
DEC 2 os fh 5h. 2 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass.
IVa Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
VIE Nis ee, seer Museum fiir Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany.
NM Willi? Naturhistorische Museum, Vienna, Austria.
WME Mas ui University Museums, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, Mich. USN Min United States National Museum, Washington, D.C.
16 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Class AMPHIBIA Linnaeus
1758. Amphibia Linnanvs, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 194.
The amphibians have a skull that is characterized by several morphological features. The chrondrocranium is platybasic; the quadrate is immovably united with the cranium by an otic process, which joins the otic capsule, and by an ascending process, which reaches to the pterygoid; the stapes occupies the fenestra vestibuli of the otic capsule; and there are two occipital condyles.
Of the three recent orders included in this class, the Salientia (frogs and toads) are far more numerous as regards genera and species than either the Caudata (salamanders) or the Apoda (caecilians). The Salientia alone are treated in this report.
Order SALIENTIA Laurenti
1768. Salientia LaurENTI, Synopsin reptilium, p. 24.
The members of this order have the hind limbs developed for leaping, and they are much longer and stronger then the forelegs. The most striking skeletal feature found in the Salientia is the fusion of the caudal vertebrae into a single rod, the coccyx or urostyle. The skull is characterized in part by the absence of basioccipital, supra- occipital, and supratemporal bones, by the ankylosis of the frontal and parietal bones, and by the lack of any connection between the stapes and the quadrate. Vomerine and palatine bones are present but are not united with each other, and the latter bounds the choana posteriorly and joins the pterygoid externally. The astragalus and calcaneum are elongated and form a distinct section of the hind limb, the tarsus.
The classification of the Salientia adopted is based on slight modi- fications of internal structure, and some of the forms can only be distinguished from closely related species by close scrutiny. The minute details of internal structure, such as the relations of the several elements that compose the ventral portion of the shoulder girdle, the shape of the sacral diapophyses, the articular relations between the sacral vertebra and coccyx, the number of presacral vertebrae, the shape of the terminal phalanges, and the presence or absence of intercalary disks, can only be determined by dissection. Other characters employed are the presence or absence of maxillary, vomerine, and parasphenoid teeth, the attachment of the tongue, the presence or absence of parotoid glands, the presence or absence of lumbar glands, the shape of the pupil of the eye, the extent of the web between the digits of the fore and hind feet, the characters fur- nished by the texture of the skin, and the color patterns.
The present report is based on the critical study of nearly 2,200 specimens from the mainland of Mexico. Seven families of Salientia are represented in Mexico by a total of 19 genera and 65 species.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 17
KEY TO FAMILIES OF MEXICAN SALIENTIA
. 'Saeral: verte pra prococloser 28. 92. 5 ea op eh Ae ee 2 Sacral vertebra biconvex, with double Paae for coccyx (fig.
1, a); eighth vertebra biconcave, preceded by seven procoelous
vertebrae; without ribs; sacral diapophyses cylindrical or
dilated; pectoral girdle firmisternal (fig. 21, p. 195)_.._---------------- 6 . Sacral vertebra ankylosed to coccyx (fig. 1, b); presacral vertebrae
eight, uniformly procoelous (rarely opisthocoelous); without
ribs at any stage in development; sacral diapophyses dilated;
pectoral girdle arciferal; pupil of eye vertically elliptical; sole
of foot smooth, but provided with a large inner tubercle with
lacks WG Gin ey eC eee ee ners ee Rd ee eee Pelobatidae (p. 18) Sacral vertebrae free (fig. 1, c), with double condyle for coccyx;
presacral vertebrae eight to five, procoelous; without ribs; pec-
foralepindlevarciteral (fig? 3) ip. 27)pise! ehh ee et be Oke Bote ae 3 . Neither maxillary nor vomerine tecth present; parotoid glands ROMeTal ea SIA gles cee Ske Uh ee A Se ee se 4 Maxillary teeth present (except in Hngystomops); no visible parotoid glands; vomerine teeth present or absent_------------------- 5
. Head small and unusually narrowed; no distinct neck; size of
body disproportionate to size of head; mouth conspicuously
small and narrow; snout truncated in front, forming a flat
circular disk; eyes rather small; pupil vertical; parotoid glands
flattened and not raised above skin on shoulders; no tym-
panum; fingers free; toes fully webbed, the tips not dilated;
outer metatarsals united; inner toe tuberclelike; a very large
shovellike inner metatarsal tubercle; epicoracoid cartilages
narrow, scarcely overlapping; no omosternum; sternum ves-
tigial; sacral diapophyses noticeably dilated; terminal phalan-
PER UNI a ee ae wa Rhinophrynidae (Rhinophrynus) (p. 24) Head not unusually narrowed; mouth large; parotoid glands
distinct; terminal phalanges T-shaped or simple (very rarely
claw-shaped); sacral diapophyses cylindrical or dilated;
presacral. vertebrae éight: hy 22 noe ocean! eee Bufonidae (p. 27) . No intercalary cartilage or bone between ultimate and penulti-
mate phalanges of each digit, supporting the claw-shaped or
T-shaped terminal joint (fig. 17, p. 76); sacral diapophyses
cylundrivalvor dilated _. "720% gh) § EM AAAS Leptodactylidae (p. 74) An intercalary cartilage or bone supporting terminal phalanges
(fig. 2), which are generally claw-shaped; sacral diapophyses
GUileY Te lea ela ene Ue Ode AE ale a AR ei el Hylidae (p. 129) . Head distinctly narrowed and mouth small; generally a fold of
skin on top of head behind the eyes; a dermal ridge extends
across the palate between the choanae, and another in front
of the esophagus; tympanum indistinct or not visible; vom-
erine teeth absent; sacral diapophyses somewhat dilated; no
OUROSTO TUT eee Sree Ck, Eig Cen hye Ce Brevicipitidae (p. 182) Head not unusually narrowed; mouth large; tympanum distinct;
maxillary and vomerine teeth present; tongue bicornuate or
deeply notched behind; sacral diapophyses cylindrical or
igre IAG Ce cit ie Aerie feet — bee OS net ee Ranidae (p. 189)
18 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Family PELOBATIDAE Lataste
1865. Scaphiopodidae Corr, Nat. Hist. Rev., London, p. 107, Jan.
1879. Pelobatidae Larastse, Compte Rendu Assoc. Frang. Avance. Sci., for 1878, pp. 761, 762.—BovuLENGER, 1882, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata in the collection of the British Museum, 2d edit., p. 432.
Sac. CAR)
C06.
a
FIGURE 1.—Diagrams illustrating structural conditions found in the sacral vertebra and coccyx of Mexican tailless amphibians: a, Rana pipiens (U.S.N.M. No. 541); sacral vertebra (Sac.) free and biconvex with double condyle for the coecyx (Coc.); 6, Scaphiopus hammondii (U.S.N.M. No. 60359); sacral vertebra procoelous, that is, with an anterior concave articular surface for corre- sponding presacral vertebra, and ankylosed posteriorly with coccyx; c, Hyla baudinii (U.S.N.M. No. 16563); sacral vertebra free, procoelous, and with double condyle for coecyx
The genera comprising the true spade-foot series of toads have a nearly continuous distribution over most of the Palaearctic region, and a second series—Megalophrys and
Aelurophryne—have a restricted range in _ southern Asia and the neighboring islands. Doctor Noble® has recently studied Sooglos-
sus and Nesomantis, which are indigenous
to the Seychelles Islands in the Indian aera ot vache Mae
Ocean, and concludes that his dissections the toe in the foot of Hyla, i indi-
show that this family did penetrate into C#timé the Position of the inter- : cena calary phalanx
the Southern Hemisphere. This is generally
considered to be one of the primitive families of living Salientia.
Genus SCAPHIOPUS Holbrook
1836. Scaphiopus Hotproox, North American herpetology, Philadelphia, ed. 1, vol. 1, p. 85. [Genotype, Scaphiopus solitarius HoLtBroox, idem, vol. 1, p. 85, pl. 12 (Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee) = Rana holbrookit HARLAN, 1835, Medical and physical researches, p. 105 (South Carolina).]
? Noble, G. K., An analysis of the remarkable cases of distribution among the Amphibia, with descrip- tions of new genera, Amer. Mus. Nov., no, 212, pp. 8-12, 1926.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 19
1866. Spea Corr, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, new ser., vol. 6, pt. 1, p. 81, July. [Genotype, S{caphiopus] bombifrons Corn, 1863, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 15, p. 53, Mar. (type locality not designated, but the cotypes were obtained at Fort Union on the Missouri River, latitude 48° N.; on the Platte River, 200 miles west of Fort Kearney; and at Llano Estecado, Tex.).]
The genus Scaphiopus is the only representative of the family Pelobatidae in North America. The several species breed in temporary pools after rains, and the ropelike egg mass is attached to water weeds. Wright has found that the eggs of Scaphiopus hammondii are occasionally stalked. The egg has two capsules in addition to the vitelline membrane. In one species, S. holbrookii, the intracapsular development is very short, the larvae hatch in an immature condition, and the frontal gland initiates the hatching process, the tadpoles emerging before the gills are formed. The tadpoles of Scaphiopus have simple teeth.
KEY TO MEXICAN SPECIES OF SCAPHIOPUS
1. Glandular enlargements or parotoid glands variable in their presence, generally limited to a thickening of the skin in scapular region; skin of upperparts generally conspicuously warty, covered with closely spaced large tubercles, especially on sides and shoulders; a conspicuous pair of light-colored supra-anal spots; vomerine teeth in two clusters either be- tween or at level of posterior margin of choanae; tympanum visible or concealed by hypertrophy of parotoid; canthus rostralis scarcely indicated; head flat or slightly concave between the eyes; cephalic ossification incomplete; underparts smooth, with a few rounded areolae; fingers in order of decreasing length, 3, 1, 4, 2; palm smooth except for con- spicuous elongated inner metacarpal tubercle and less dis- tinct small outer metacarpal tubercle; fingers essentially free, with a vestigial web on each side of second finger rarely present; first and second fingers of breeding males with horny nuptial excrescences; heels not meeting when legs are flexed; web complete or strongly scalloped, in which case the distal phalanx is largely free on all toes but fourth, on which the two distal phalanges either are or are not bordered with dermal fringe; sole smooth except for large external metatarsal tubercle with black cutting edge; toes in order of decreasing length, 4, 3, 5, 2, 1; color pattern of upperparts variable; darker coloration restricted chiefly to V-shaped interorbital band and anastomosing blotches or wavy cross bands in thoracic and sacral regions, which may or may not interrupt distinct or indistinct longitudinal light stripes; generally a pair of blotches of same color in scapular region; longitudinal light-colored stripes when present 2 to 4 in number, the inner pair of which are on a line with inner margins of orbits, and the outer with tympanum; vertical light-colored stripe on tip of nose; fore and hind limbs with transverse dark crossbars; head- and-body length of adults, 55 mm___. hammondii multiplicatus (p. 22)
20 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
No glandular enlargement on post-tympanic region; a supra- scapular dermal enlargement above and in front of tympanum; parotoid glands generally absent, or small and indistinct; skin of upperparts rough, with scattered low tubercles, more closely spaced on sides and shoulders than elsewhere; light-colored supra-anal spots smaller and generally indistinct; vomerine teeth in two clusters behind or at level of posterior margin of choanae; tympanum large, more than half the diameter of the eye, but anterior margin often indistinct; canthus rostralis rounded; head rounded anteriorly, depressed or flattened between the eyes; cephalic ossification complete; skin of under- parts slightly roughened, smoother anteriorly; fingers in order of decreasing length, 3, 1, 2, 4; palm smooth except for two large metacarpal tubercles; fingers free; first and second fingers black and horny internally in breeding males; heels not meet- ing when legs are flexed; foot large, web strongly scalloped, the fourth digit having the two distal phalanges bordered by dermal fringes; sole smooth except for large external metatarsal tubercle with black cutting edge; color pattern of upperparts irregular, asymmetrical, but with intricate arrangement of spots, or net- work of brown bands; upperparts variable in color—green, olive, or brown—and streaked, spotted, or blotched more or less irregularly with some shade of yellow; a dark V-shaped interorbital band; pustules black or yellow; underparts light colored; fore and hind limbs barred or spotted with some darker color; head-and-body length of adults, 65 mm__-_-_- couchii (p. 20)
SCAPHIOPUS COUCHII Baird Coucn’s SpapE-root Toap
1854. Scaphiopus couchii Batrp, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, p. 62, Apr.—Bairp, 1859, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, p. 28, pl. 35, figs. 1-6.
1863. S [caphiopus] rectifrenis Corr, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 15, p. 58, Mar. (Tamaulipas; Rio Nazas, Coahuila).
Type locality—Rio Nazas, State of Coahuila, and Matamoros, State of Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Range.—In Mexico from Matamoros southwestward through the States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and San Luis Potosi to Acaponeta in Nayarit.
According to Strecker,* Couch’s spade-foot toad inhabits the entire Rio Grande Valley from Brownsville to El Paso, Tex., and, although its range in Texas is still imperfectly known, it does not appear to range east of the 96th parallel. The northernmost record is 50 miles south of Fort Worth.
Remarks.—Baird gave Coahuila and Tamaulipas as the habitat of S. couchii, but neglected to cite the catalogue numbers of the co- types. Cope, however, in revising this genus in 1863 removed one (U.S.N.M. No. 3714) of Baird’s original cotypes of S. couchii and
4 Strecker, J. K., Notes on the life history of Scaphiopus couchii Baird. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 21, pp. 199-206, Nov. 24, 1908.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 21
transferred it to his new species rectifrenis. This specimen was collected on the Rio Nazas in Coahuila by Lieut. D. N. Couch and unfortunately can not now be located in the collection. In this same paper, Cope cited a specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 3713) obtained by Couch at Matamoros in Tamaulipas as the basis for the diagnosis of S. couchit. The other cotype of S. rectifrenis (U.S.N.M. No. 3715), which was collected in Tamaulipas by Couch, is marked in the record book of the division of reptiles as having been destroyed. The collections that Cope had in his possession for study so many years were returned to the National Museum after his death, but so far as known not one of these cotypes was ever found.
This night-prowling spade-foot toad has a somewhat bloated appear- ance in life and frequents lowlands as well as plateaus. It is most frequently observed during the time of the spring rains, when it comes forth to breed in temporary pools and at other times when heavy rains drive it fromits burrow. It is well adapted for a subterra- nean and nocturnal life, and at certain seasons may be found half buried in moist earth under some old log. From 350 to 500 eggs are laid in strings, the number in each string varying from 45 to 125. The eggs are attached to gréss, weeds, or roots in shallow water, generally less than 6 inches in depth, and they hatch in 8 to 10 days. The growth of the tadpole is very rapid, and within three weeks the meta- morphosis to the land stage has taken place. Doctor Nelson observes in his field catalogue that hundreds of these spade-foot toads were mating at Acaponeta on June 26, 1897, in a pool of water near the river bank.
Specimens examined.—Thirty, as follows:
Scaphiopus couchit
Num- Catalogue | ber of ois By whom collected or Museum Mot speci- Locality collected Date collected fcauiiwhominddelvad mens TAMAULIPAS: U.8.N.M.2 a 47912 1 Mier ee oe ES Apr. 30,1891 | William Lloyd. ©, ou te 1659 3 Savincto (tropical moun- | Dec. 15,1878 | Edward Palmer. tains on road to Tampico). COAHUILA: U.S.N.M_-___- 46947 1 Marneros. i. toe Le Aug. 11,1896 | Nelson and Goldman. MO Zea 1639 6 INT ORCLOV Ate toe ee ee ee ee ee ee ree Edward Palmer. San Luis Porost: Ose soo 1664 10 An IS OLOSln eee 1879 Do. IDOe a. es 1669 3 San ag Potosi (9 leagues |____- do Do. south). U.S.N.M....-| 47859-64 6 | NayYARiItT: Acaponeta___._.___ June 26,1897 | Nelson and Goldman.
22 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
SCAPHIOPUS HAMMONDII MULTIPLICATUS (Cope)
M®erxXICAN SPADE-FOOoT TOAD
1863. S[caphiopus] multiplicatus Corn, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 15, p. 52, Mar.
1879. Scaphiopus dugesti Broccut, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, ser. 7, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 23.—Broccui, 1882, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans ]’Amérique Centrale, recherches zoologiques, pt. 3, sect. 2, p. 24, pl. 9, fig. 4 (Mexico).
Type locality.—‘‘ Valley of Mexico,’ State of Mexico, Mexico.
Range.—From Sonoyta in northwestern Sonora south through western Chihuahua and Durango to northern Jalisco; east to Mi- quihuana in western Tamaulipas, and south through San Luis Potosi to Guanajuato, Mexico, and Federal District. North of the Mexican boundary, the species S. hammondii and its geographic races are distributed from the northern Okanagan Lake district (Vernon) of British Columbia, south through western Washington, Oregon, Neva- da, and California, to northern Lower California (Ensenada); east to the western margin of the great plains in northwestern North Dakota (Fort Union); and south along the great plains to western Kansas, the panhandle district of Texas, and to San Antonio and El Paso.
Remarks.—The type (U.S.N.M. No. 3694) was sent by John Potts to the Smithsonian Institution. The actual preservation of the type is fairly good, notwithstanding numerous incisions made by Cope. There is a transverse incision across the right suprascapular region, one across angle of jaw, a longitudinal and two crosswise cuts along the sacrum, and an oblique cut on the upper surface of the right tibia. There are lengthwise and transverse cuts on the throat, and the viscera have been exposed by a long crescentic incision. The skin has been freed from the upper surface of the head.
The two cotypes of Scaphiopus dugesii (M.H.N.P. No. 281a, parchment labels 86-287, 86-288) are both young individuals, with head-and-body lengths of 32 mm. and 33.5 mm., respectively. Black spots are present on the upperparts and the black inner metatarsal tubercle is quite distinct. Both of these cotypes are typical young individuals of this Mexican form. Alfred Dugés is listed in the catalogue as the collector of the cotypes of S. dugesit.
Specimens from northern Sonora have a relatively smoother skin on the dorsal surface of the body than those taken farther south. Some of those from northern Sonora differ in no appreciable manner from California and Nevada specimens unquestionably referred to S. hammondii. Along the southern border of the known range of Scaphiopus in Mexico, individuals with very warty skins and with an appreciable thickening of the skin in the parotoid region predominate. Between these two extremes are various intermediate individuals, and no satisfactory method for determining the status or relations of
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 23
such extreme types is apparent. Additional material may show that these spade-foot toads with skins grading from relatively smooth to warty are separable into at least two groups, and that a more satisfac- tory disposition of this puzzling question will result from the allocation of those taken along the northern border of Mexico to the subspecies hammondv and those with unusually warty skins from farther south to the subspecies multiplicatus.
The spade-foot toad may be very abundant wherever it is found, though it may escape observation because of its nocturnal habits. It is commonly assumed that it remains in its burrow most of the year and that it comes out only to deposit its eggs in June and July in pools formed by heavy rains. The spade-foot makes circular holes in the ground near the bases of shrubs and clumps of weeds, and yet in very sandy soil it is very difficult to find the place where it has burrowed, for in most instances it appears as if the hole has been pulled in after the toad. After the breeding season is over, these toads seem to take more pains in constructing their burrows, as they are well-rounded inside and resemble somewhat an earthen jar with a narrow top. Thesurface around the neck of the burrow is often quite sticky when the spade-foot is discovered inside. In Montana during June, 1916, I found that these toads made their appearance after midnight on dark nights, and when hunted with a flash light they burrowed from sight in a very short time. The time from the laying of the eggs to the transformation of the tadpoles and their leaving the water does not exceed 30 days. This rapid development is ne- cessitated by the tendency of the breeding pools of rain water to dry up very quickly.
This spade-foot toad can be distinguished almost instantly by its trim and neat body appearance, by its moist and usually warty skin, if it has not been hopping about long enough to fill the pores with fine sand and dust, and, like its relatives, by the catlike vertical pupils of the eyes. In life the upperparts are usually olive-colored with splotches of black or purplish black, and with orange-red tubercles scattered over the skin.
Specimens examined.—Seventy-one, as follows:
Scaphiopus hammondii multiplicatus
Num-
Catalogue | ber of No. speci- mens
Date collected By whom collected or
Locality collected from whom received
Museum
U.S.N.M_ 62253 1 Nogales: {5.2.08 Uh ad See July 27, 1919 | F. J. Dyer. ID phe es ae 21801 1 SOHO Vln. ee oe 2s a ee ee Jan. 20, 1894 | E. A. Mearns ; Do: - 2-4. i 26597 1 | CorfuaHUA: Meadow Valley_| July 18, 1898 Ht. H. and C. S. Brim- ey. M.C.Z___.---| 10038-39 2 | TamMAuLipas: Miquihuana____ 1924 W. W. Brown. Do__.-..-| 8363-66 4 | DuRANGO: Durango (streams 1921 P. Townsend.
near city).
24 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Scaphiopus hammondii multiplicatus—Continued
Num- Catalogue | ber of . By whom collected or Museum N oe epee Locality collected Date collected! yy how recaived mens ere ties iain os lt. 8,000 | fT 23, 1926: WM OZ Ven dees SET 1 Alvarez (kilo. 58, alt. 8, une - = L feet). {Sept 36, 1925 pw Vga Dow veie6 9678 1 Morales... = 2:22 2-352 2Eeies 1923 Do. GUANAJUATO: U.S.N.M-- 9881 1 Guanayusto# 2S = Se owe 1877 Alfred Dugés. DOn eee 9884-85 2) Wace OO! 8.252 ee ah eae Be 1877 Do. Dota: 11360 4 eesee Gol hee REE ee ee Jan. 30, 1880 Do. Doss wes 16203-04 Bios GOs. os ee Bare eee oe ee Lue’ ee Se Do. 1D (ye 16205-O07 | 3: je---- GOS. .528 eee are SOF Se ae So Pes Do. i DY) Eee 16208-17 AQ H|ES eee LO ae dt es tear Do Dott se? 9915 1 eeses GOL UAC ee a eS 1877 Do Doe ss we 32383 Beeld GO. eaten eae eel 2 Be Do. Doeekee et 17437-38 2 Silda res Biel See Sn we eae ee eae eer Do. JALISCO: A.M.N.H_.__- 12551 1 Arroyo Hondo, below Hos- | Oct.31, 1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. totipaquillo. U.S.N.M_..__- 46971 1 Btzatlany 3 222 eee ee June 17, 1892 | E. W. Nelson. FEDERAL DISTRICT: INO TA Saas. 8452-57 6 Lake Xochimilco___--------- July —, 1921 ee ee A.M.N.H._..- 10490 1 Llanos la Vaquita_-_-_------_- Oct., —, 1919 i Lope Wo. 2344 12091-12100 10 ‘ ae Cruz (i mile north) _-- nay 10, 1919 | Paul D- ’R. Rutbling. ? STATE: U.S.N.M..-_- 71153 1 Between Chihuahua and |____----------- John Potts. Valley of Mexico. Dost a4 71709-11 Osea Out E es Oy eT a eee Do. Do Bai 3694 11 Walleyiofi Mexico) 2-2-5542 s|beo te Do. eek ae 14599 8 No definite locality._...-.-.| Sept. 1, 1881 | Alfred Dugés. M. H N. Bern 28la a2 eee OE iat ns Sk 2 eis ohh Ne 9 a? ia ae | Do. 1 Type of Scaphiopus multiplicatus. 2 Cotypes of Scaphiopus dugesii.
Family RHINOPHRY NIDAE Ginther
1858. Rhinophrynidae GiinrHER, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum, p. 127.
A single genus, Rhinophrynus, is the sole known representative of Rhinophrynidae. The precise relationships of this family are some- what uncertain, and, although it is to be referred to the suborder Procoela, it occupies a somewhat anomalous position on account of the presence of a peculiarly modified pectoral girdle. Among the arciferal amphibians the clavicles and coracoids extend toward the middle line to join the corresponding epicoracoid cartilaginous plate. The two halves of the pectoral girdle thus overlap on the mid-line. In Rhinophrynus, however, both halves of the pectoral girdle are attached to a single curved epicoracoid cartilage. The under epico- racoid seems to have been lost. Bombinator and Ceratophrys have somewhat similarly shaped coracoids and clavicles, but both of these genera have overlapping curved epicoracoid cartilages.
The life history and developmental peculiarities of the eggs and tadpoles of this toad are unknown.
Genus RHINOPHRYNUS Duméril and Bibron
1841. Rhinophrynus DumiéRiL and Bisron, Erpétologie générale, vol. 8, p. 757. {[Genotype, Rhinophrynus dorsalis DumféRIL and Brsron, idem, vol. 8, p. 758, pl. 91, figs. 2, 2a (Vera Cruz, Mexico).]
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 25
The absurd-appearing Rhinophrynus, locally known in Mexico as ‘““noche”’ or ‘‘po-chi,”’ is dark brown in life, with a yellow or orange vertebral stripe in addition to smaller spots or blotches of the same color. The head is narrow and unusually small for so large an animal, the skin on the oval-shaped body is loose and flabby, and the limbs are rather short. When disturbed the body is distended and the limbs are drawn up beneath. The small nostrils are located on the top of the snout, nearer the eyes than the end of the muzzle. Being noctur- nal, the small eyes of this toad have vertical pupils. No vestige of an external tympanum is discernible. Neither maxillary nor vomerine teeth are present. Although the tongue is attached posteriorly and can not be flung forward like that of the common toad, it is said to be remarkably adept in licking up insects. It has a foot remarkably well adapted for burrowing, with an inner horny metatarsal tubercle on the calcar fully 10 millimeters in length and a secondary shovellike tubercle about half as long on the end of the first toe.
Correlated with its burrowing habits are certain anatomical modifi- cations. Inasmuch as the rather brief published diagnoses of this toad do not adequately describe its structural peculiarities, the follow- ing diagnosis is given:
Superior plate of sphenethmoid covered by the completely ossified fronto-parietals; sphenethmoid septal walls ossified to end of muzzle, and separating the nasals; nasals large, entirely in contact with fronto- parietals, separated by median process of the latter, and by the sphenethmoid septum; pterygoid straight, thin, with a short maxil- lary suture; no wing of pterygoid extending inward to parasphenoid ; exoccipital nearly completely covered by parasphenoid; single fissure for anterior cranial nerves; neither maxillary nor vomerine teeth; no tympanum; tongue attached behind; coracoid short, expanded at extremities, and slightly curved; clavicle narrow, flattened, and strongly curved upward; clavicles and coracoids attached medially to a single curved or epicoracoid cartilage; no omosternum; scapula short and wide; suprascapula thin, constricted medially, and with distal dilation; suprascapula normally in close proximity to and in certain positions capable of sliding over pro-otic; humerus with flat head and high knifelike deltoid crest; radius and ulna fused; pre- sacral vertebrae eight; sacral vertebra free, procoelous, and with double condyle for coccyx; sacral diapophyses short, dilated; femur with flat head, slender shaft, inner and outer crests on posterior surface, and greatly expanded distal end; tibia and fibula fused, shorter than femur; two very short, flattened metatarsals separated by median oval aperture; large flattened shovellike calcar; first toe with verti- cally expanded terminal phalanx; remaining terminal phalanges simple.
26 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
RHINOPHRYNUS DORSALIS Duméril and Bibron Burrowine Toap
1841. Rhinophrynus dorsalis DumfRit and Brsron, Erpétologie générale, vol. 8, p. 758, pl. 91, figs. 2, 2a—GutnrTuER, 1858, Catalogue of the Batrachia Sali- entia in the collection of the British Museum, p. 127, pl. 12.
1897. Rhynophrynus dorsalis Duets, La Naturaleza, Mexico, ser. 2, vol. 2, pp. 98-100, pl. 5, figs. 1-5. [Colored plate with correct spelling.]
1877. Rhinophrynus rostratus Broccut, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, ser. 7, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 196.—Broccui, 1882, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l’ Amérique Centrale, recherches zoologiques, pt. 3, sect. 2, pp. 98, 99, pl. 9, fig. 1 (Tehuantepec, Mexico).
Type locality.—Vera Cruz, State of Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Range.—From Tuxpam in northeastern Vera Cruz, south through Tabasco (reported by Dugés from Chiapas), Yucatan, and Quintana Roo to Guatemala; on the west coast in the region of the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec.
Remarks.—The type of Rhinophrynus dorsalis (M.H.N.P. No. 693, parchment label No. 743) was collected by Auguste Sallé. It is a young individual and is fairly typical of the species. The head- and-body length is 44.5 mm.
Remarks.—One of these burrowing toads was found by Hugo Fuick on October 19, 1874, in the neighborhood of Cordoba in a lagoon at an altitude of 2,100 feet. Among the field notes of Dr. E. W. Nelson are the following observations on this interesting toad:
They occur in thickets and woods near Tuxtepec in the state of Oaxaca. One came into camp at night during a rainstorm and at the same time the muffled call notes of others, which were more like the hoarse calls of some bird than of a toad, were heard. These toads live in the ground and are called ‘ Po-chi.”’ When held in the closed hand they try to escape by moving backwards, and by a kind of a hitching motion of the hinder parts they exert a surprising amount of force. The hard callosities on the inside border of the feet are used to secure a hold and no doubt serve in this way when the animal is burrowing underground.
Specimens examined.—Fifty-eight, as follows:
Rhinophrynus dorsalis
Num- Catalogue | ber of . By whom collected or Museum No: speci Locality collected Date collected foritwhormireceined ed PSOE PES MODS Pi Ae 0 Oey ea Bee ied AY VERA CRUZ: TORS IN ieee 8262 1 Cordoba: J 2 rere Oct. 19, 1874 | Hugo Fuick. MAO 62) 2ae 23 8458-8506 40 Hacienda Cerro del Gallo, 1921 E. R. Dunn. near San Cristobal del Llave. US: Ni M222 25213-14 2 Tuxpaint: 22.0. aaah ee Fe 1870 Gideon C. Lincecum. OSG abs Messy Sea 1 Were Ce a ee | RS eh See MES NEP 693 Ph a ocd GO 5 iss PU ee ee ONE is ee ae ee Auguste Sallé. OAXACA: U.S.N.M___--| 30271-73 3 Tehuantepec City? 22505: Salle eis. 168 vee Francis Sumichrast. Doss 70404 i LOS Neg irre EUR iat Sea Ee cutee Cul | Do. Dole. =3 46920-21 2 Tuxtepec tac). Fi eel Pi: Apr. 9, 1894 | Nelson and Goldman. TABASCO: Dow ees 47312 1 Miontecristoies aes fee ee May 8, 1900 Do. Posse. 47313 Bee Oe eae May 29, 1900 Do. MiGs G24 106 2421 ul No definite locality. ____---- 1895 T.J. Potts. UESEN Mie 2 6622 Dye eee. D2 Le eR ee eee 1860 Ch. Laszlo. Mi Cage 2772 1 | Yucatan: Chichen Itza sa- 1911 E. H. Thompson. cred cenote. Noses 2856 1 | QuInTANA Roo: Xeopen_--_- 1912 J. L. Peters.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 27 Family BUFONIDAE Hogg
1841. Bufonidae Hoaea, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 2, vol. 7, no. 45, p. 361.
The family Bufonidae is here retained for the genus Bufo, which comprises numerous species in the Old and New Worlds. The major- ity of the species are readily recognized, and a few of them have an extensive range in their respective regions. Adults of the genus Bufo lack maxillary teeth. There is some evidence, however, that Bufo is a derivative of a toothed ancestor. The presence of a tooth ridge and a tooth furrow in the upper jaw of a Bufo tadpole is regarded by Oeder * as conclusive evidence that the ancestors of this genus had teeth. Doctor Noble * has examined the morphological details of the several families of living Salientia and has concluded that the bufonids are inseparable from the leptodactylids.
The accumulating evidence seems to indicate that a satisfactory scheme of classification can not be based solely on dentition characters. Cope attempted to outline a natural classi- fication based largely on the pectoral FIGURE 3.—Diagrammatic ventral view of girdle, Nicholls employed characters shoulder girdle of Bufo americanus; arciferal furnished by the vertebral column, in structure. The opposite halves of the
3 shoulder girdle, or pectoral arch, are capable while more r ecently Noble has of movement with contraction and expan- stressed the importance of the thigh sion of the thorax; the epicoracoid cartilages
- overlap
musculature. As might be expected Cl., clavicle; Co., coracoid; Ep., epicora- there are exceptions to all these coid; Mes., sternum or mesosternum; Sc., schemes of classification. The tooth- “PU *» *iphisternum
less toads of the genus Bufo have long been recognized as a natural group, and while the known morphological evidence may not warrant the retention of the family Bufonidae solely for this genus, some allowance must be made for the fact that relatively few species have been critically studied by those interested in classification schemes.
Genus BUFO Laurenti
1768. Bufo Laurent1, Synopsin reptilium, p. 25. [Genotype, Bufo vulgaris LAURENTI, idem, p. 28=[Rana] bufo Linnazus, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 210 (Europe).]
1824. Oxyrhynchus Sp1x, Animalia nova, sive species novae testudinum et ranar- um quas in itinere per Brasiliam, etc., p. 49. [Included species: Bufo naricus, p. 49, pl. 14, fig. 2; B. nasutus, p. 50, pl. 14, fig. 3; B. semilineatus, p. 51, pl. 21, fig. 1; B. granulosus, p. 51, pl. 21, fig. 2; B. acutirostris, p. 52, pl. 21, fig. 3; B. proboscideus, p. 52, pl. 21, fig. 4 (all from Brazil).]
5 Oeder, R., Die Zahnleiste der Kréte. Zool. Anz., vol. 29, p. 538, 1905. 6 Noble, G. K., The phylogeny of the Salientia, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 46, art. 1, p. 20, 1922.
28 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
1828. Chaunus WacueEr, Isis von Oken, vol. 21, p. 744. [Genotype, Chaunus marmoratus WAGLER, idem, p. 744= Bufo granulosus Spix, op. cit., p. 51, pl. 21, fig. 2 (habitat in Provincia Bahia, Brazil).]
1838. Osilophus Tscuup1, Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. de Neuchatel, vol. 2, pp. 52, 89. [Genotype, Osilophus typhonius Cuvizr=[Rana] typhonia Linnaxrvs, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 211 (America).]
1843. Phrynoidis Firzincer, Systema reptilium, fasc. 1, p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo asper Kunu= B{ufo] asper GRAVENHORST, 1829, Deliciae musei zoologici Vratislaviensis, fase. 1, p. 58 (Java).]
1843. Phrynomorphus Firzincer, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo leschenaultii DumMiRiL and Brsron= Bufo leschenaulttti Tscuup1, 1838, Mém. Soe. Sci. Nat. de Neuchatel, vol. 2, p. 89 (India?) =[Bufo] guttatus ScuneIvER, 1799, Historiae amphibiorum naturalis et literariae, fase. 1, p. 218 (India Orientali).] (Preoccupied by Phrynomorphus Curtis, 1888, Hemiptera.)
1843. Leptophryne Firzincer, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p. 32. (Genotype, Bufo cruentatus= Bufo cruentatus Tscuupt, 1838, Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. de Neuchatel, vol. 2, pp. 52, 88 (India Orientali).]
1843. Docidophryne Firzincer, Systema reptilium, fasc. 1. p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo agua Davupin, 1803, Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds, p. 64, pl. 37 (Brazil) =[Rana] marina LinnaEvs, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 211 (America).]
1843. Peltophryne Firzinanr, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo peltocephalus Dumérit and Brsron= Bufo peltocephalus Tscuunt1, 1838, Mém. Soc. Sci. Nat. de Neuchatel, vol. 2, pp. 52, 89 (Cuba).]
1843. Otolophus Fitzincer, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo margaritifer DaupiIn=Rana margaritifera LAURENTI, 1768, Synopsin rep- tillum, p. 30=[Rana] typhonia LrnnaEvs, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 211 (America).]
1843. Eurhina Firzincer, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo proboscideus WAGLER= Bufo proboscideus Sprx, 1824, Animalia nova, sive species novae testudinum et ranarum quas in itinere per Brasiliam, etc., p. 52, pl. 21, fig. 4 (habitat ad flumens Solimoens, Brazil) = Bufo typhonius (Lin- NAEUS).]
1843. Chilophryne Fitzincer, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p.32. [Genotype, Bufo d’orbignyi DumériL and Brsron, 1841, Erpétologie générale, vol. 8, p. 697. (Montevideo, Uruguay).]
1843. Phryne Firzinecer, Systema reptilium, fase. 1, p. 32. [Genotype, Bufo vulgaris LAURENTI, 1768, Synopsin reptilium, p. 28= Rana bufo LINNAEUS, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 210 (Europe)= Bufo bufo (Lin- NAEUS).]
1845. Anaxyrus Tscuun1, Untersuchungen iiber die Fauna Peruana, Herpetologie, p. 78. [Genotype, Anazyrus melancholicus TscHupi, idem, p. 78, pl. 11, fig. 5= Bufo compactilis W1EGMANN, 1833, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, p. 661 (Mexico).]
1849. Schmismaderma Situ, Illustrations of the zoology of South Africa, appendix, p. 28. [Genotype, Schismaderma lateralis Smitra= Bufo carens Situ, 1848, idem, pl. 68, fig. 1.]
1860. Adenomus Copsz, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 12, p. 371, Sept. [Genotype, Adenomus badioflavus Corre (Ceylon) = Bufo kelaarttt GUNTHER, 1858, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum, p. 140, pl. 10, fig. A (Ceylon).]
1862. Rhaebo Cops, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 14, p. 358, Sept. [Substitute name for Phrynomorphus FirzinaeEr, 1843.]
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 29
1863. Incilius Corn, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 15, p. 50, Mar. (Genotype, Chilophryne conifera CopE=Bufo coniferus Corn, 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 14, p. 158, Mar.] (See also Copxr, 1865, Nat. Hist. Rev., p. 102.)
1865. Epidalea Corr, Nat. Hist. Rev., p. 102, Jan. (Genotype, Epidalea calamita Core=Bufo calamita LAURENTI, 1768, Synopsin reptilium, pp. 27, 119 (Europe).]
1868. Otaspis Corr, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 20, p. 312, Nov. [Genotype, Otaspis empusa Corr=Peliaphryne empusa Corn, 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 14, p. 344, Sept. (Cuba).]
1870. Nannophryne GtnTuHER, Proc. Zool. Soe. London, p. 402, June 9. [Geno- type, Nannophryne variegata GUNTHER, idem, p. 402, pl. 30, fig. 2 (Puerto Bueno, Port Grappler, and Eden Harbour, in Territorio Magallanes, west coast of South America).]
1870. Ansonia SrouiczKa, Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. 39, pt. 2 (Nat. Hist.), p. 152, June 7. [Genotype, Ansonia penangensis SToLiczKa, idem, p. 152, pl. 9, fig. 4 (Penang Island, Straits Settlements).]
1876. Cranopsis Corr, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, ser. 2, vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 96. [Genotype, Cranopsis fastidiosus Corx, idem, p. 96, pl. 23, figs. 1, 1a (2,500 feet elevation on slope of Pico Blanco, district of Uren, Costa Rica) .]
1876. Crepidius Corn, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, ser. 2, vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 97. [Genotype, Crepidius epioticus Corn, idem, p. 97, pl. 23, figs. 2, 2a (5,000 feet elevation on Pico Blanco, Costa Rica).]
1876. Ollotis Corr, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, ser. 2, vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 98. [Genotype, Ollotis coerulescens Corn, idem, p. 98, pl. 23, figs. 3, 3a (3,000 to 5,000 feet elevation on Pico Blanco, Costa Rica).]
1879. Dromoplectrus CaAMERANO, Atti R. Accad. Sci. Torino, vol. 14, p. 882. [Genotype, Dromoplectrus anomalus CAMERANO= Bufo anomalus GUNTHER, 1858, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum, p. 57 (Mexico) = Bufo compactilis W1EGMANN, 1833, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, p. 661 (Mexico).]
Thirteen species of Bufo are recognized in Mexico. One, B. alvarius, is semiaquatic and has a rather smooth leathery skin, but most of the species are mainly terrestrial except during the breeding season. Three others, B. compactilis, B. cognatus, and B. woodhousii, have a large shovellike inner metatarsal tubercle, which facilitates burrowing. The extent to which cranial crests are developed con- stitutes an important diagnostic character for many species. Cranial crests are quite prominent in some, especially in B. valliceps, which has high sharp-edged bony ridges. Conversely, there are others, particularly B. punctatus, that have a nearly flat interorbital region and normally are devoid of such crests. Abnormal development or peculiarities in the conformation of the cranial crests are occasionally observed in a large series of any species of Bufo. The Mexican toad B. cristatus may be an instance of this sort, for, with the exception of the peculiarly enlarged parietal crests, it conforms in most respects to the valliceps type of toad. The nondevelopment of certain cranial crests when associated with an exceptionally tubercular skin, such as has been hereinafter described in the case of certain individuals
66785—32——3
30 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
of B. compactilis and B. simus, often materially changes the general appearance of the species. Nieden, in his key to the genus Bufo, often uses the occurrence of single or double subarticular tubercles on the toes as a diagnostic character. In many instances the number of subarticular tubercles present at each joint varies from one to two on the same digit, and yet the number of such tubercles will be con- stant in the majority of the specimens in any large series.
Although most kinds of toads are squat, fat, and warty, there are some smooth-skinned species, one of which (Bufo alvarius) inhabits the arid sections of Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. There is also a slender-bodied tropical toad (2. haematiticus) that reminds one of a frog. Of the many kinds of toads living to-day in different parts of the world, both the largest and the smallest belong to the American fauna. The largest, B. marinus, ranges from northern Mexico southward to Patagonia, and within the United States and northwestern Mexico is a form nearly as large, which is locally known as the Colorado River toad (B. alvarius). Large individuals of B. marinus may have a body length of 9 inches and a mouth large enough to swallow small birds, but insects constitute the major portion of their food. Probably the smallest living toad is the oak toad, B. quercicus, of the Southeastern United States; this species feeds largely on ants. The little green toad, B. debilis, is the smallest Mexican member of the genus.
Most toads have the skin covered with warts, which are more closely aggregated on the sides of the neck than elsewhere, and these, together with a pair of large glandular masses, the parotoid glands, situated behind the eyes, secrete a milky poisonous fluid whenever the animal is molested. This secretion is an acrid irritant, causing pain in cuts and producing a bitter astringent sensation in the mouth. Some investigators have advanced the idea that the female lacks this fluid during the breeding season, while the male at the same time has an overabundant supply of it. |
According to Madame Phisalix, toads possess two distinct kinds of glands, which secrete venom of different properties, one type pro- ducing a mucous and the other a granular venom. While the mucous glands are distributed over the entire body, they are principally found on the abdomen. The mucous secretion produced is an alka- loid that acts as a narcotic, its effect being confined to the nerve centers. Glands situated on the back, together with the parotoid glands on the shoulders and connected with them, secrete a granular acid venom that acts as a convulsive.
It is not unusual to find hundreds of toads belonging to the same species congregated in a small pond, temporary pool, or shallow stream during the breeding season. Some species are far less numer- ous, and a dozen pairs may comprise the breeding population for
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 31
some small temporary pool. Under normal conditions, if mated in the water, the female begins laying at once, and according to species may lay from 600 to 16,000 eggs, the process usually being completed within one day unless there should be a sudden drop in the tempera- ture. The eggs are generally laid in long spiral strings of jelly, which are attached to or which come in contact with some submerged object. One species, B. punctatus, does not deposit the eggs in strings, but singly or in a scattered mass. The inner tube of the egg string is absent in B. compactilis but present in B. valliceps. The length of the hatching period depends upon the temperature. Below 65° F. it requires 8 to 12 days, and above that temperature 3 to 8 days. Warm weather speeds up the rate of development and shortens the total time in the egg and tadpole stages. Toads are thus born in the water and in it spend their early life in a larval, fishlike state, breathing by means of gills. The transformation of the tadpole to a young toad takes place some time between 30 and 65 days after hatching, and under abnormal conditions 200 days have been required.
KEY TO MEXICAN SPECIES OF BUFO
1. Elongated gland extending full length of ulna; oval gland on upper surface of thigh and an interrupted gland on superior surface of tibia; parotoid gland long, oval, and nearly as large as side of head, descending on shoulder; tympanum large, two-thirds the diameter of orbit; supraciliary eranial crest forming regular curve with more elevated postorbital crest; a narrow preorbital crest; one or more prominent warts posterior to rictus oris; first finger longer than second; smooth leathery skin, with scattered warts; grayish or brownish green above; underparts light; size large, head-and-
body Jeneth i125 to tl G0 hmm! ie Sa en rs we ee alvarius (p. 35) Novelongated glandsfom ulna and tibia 2s set hae es Sore | 2
2. Parotoid gland subtriangular in outline and nearly as large as or largerithanr side ofthe headi! se. Seon eet a ipate _tptainas. 2 3 Parotoid gland smaller than side of the head_________.__--____._------_-- 4
3. Parotoid glands divergent, very large, each extending backward to a point beyond shoulders, and covered with small tubercles; a small indistinctly margined tympanum almost contiguous to orbit; short-legged, small-bodied, with rough granular or tubercular skin on upperparts and top of head; supraciliary and postorbital crests indistinct; greenish or bluish slate above, with small blackish spots; eyelids with oblique cross- bar; tarsal fold with row of warts; metatarsal tubercles insignificant; head-and-body length, 40 to 75 mm-_-__~_--- debilis (p. 50) Parotoid glands divergent, unusually large, and studded with large pores; a distinctly margined tympanum, about one-half width of eye; skin of upperparts warty, interorbital region generally smooth; prominent cranial crests, including canthal, preorbital, supraciliary, parietal, postorbital, orbito- tympanic, and supratympanic; interorbital space wider than upper eyelid; coloration of upperparts variable, ranging
32 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
through various shades of brown, including yellowish, reddish, or even blackish, and sometimes greenish olive; upperparts with or without large black insuliform spots, which when present are usually edged with pale yellow; a light vertebral line occasionally visible; arms and legs of im- mature individuals usually banded with dark brown; under- parts dingy white or yellow; first finger longer than second; toes half or two-thirds webbed; double subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe; a distinct tarsal fold;
head-and-body length, 115 to 185 mm________-_-_----- marinus (p. 53) 4. Inner metatarsal tubercle large and shovellike, with sharp, horny; and usually black€dgeshe OA Leen ere eee ae a 5 Inner metatarsal tubercle neither large nor shovellike nor with gle Guiibin ged ees aod st a ee aM ac ye SR in 7
5. Coloration of upperparts leopardlike, with conspicuous blotches, which vary from green to brown, margined with white or pale yellow; a bony elevation or boss between and considerably above level of nostrils, from which thick, blunt-edged cranial crests diverge backward; postorbital crest thick; interorbital region narrower than upper eyelid; reniform parotoid gland almost in contact anteriorly with postorbital crest; first finger longer than second; toes one-half webbed; double subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe; a thick tarsal fold or ridge; head-and-body length, 65 to OE Ta elec ee tee be el oe ik py es eg ty ay OC BD ld cognatus (p. 41)
Coloration/of;upperparts not deopardlike {2252452 = se ee 6
6. A light vertebral streak extending from transverse interorbital band to vent; upperparts generally grayish or dull yellowish brown, conspicuously blotched with a darker color or with scattered spots; limbs obscurely barred; underparts light yel- lowish, with or without black markings on breast; largest warts red tipped and encircled at base with narrow black bor- der; cranial crests distinct, but not high; canthus rostralis generally distinct; interorbital space either concave or convex, depending upon approximation of supraciliary crests, which may either parallel one another or diverge slightly posteriorly; parietal crests generally lacking, but supraciliary crests may be thickened at their posterior extremities; transverse post- orbital crest forms right angle with supraciliary crest; a well- developed preorbital, a less distinct orbito-tympanal, but no supratympanic crest; parotoid glands in contact with post- orbital crests, about twice as long as broad, their maximum diameter being longer than length of orbit; tympanum oval, higher than wide, and equal to half or more of length of orbit; toes one-third webbed; inner metatarsal tubercle large, with free cutting edge; subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe single or double; tarsal fold indistinct or absent; head-and-body length, 80 to 115 mm_-_-_-____ woodhousii (p. 72)
No light vertebral streak; coloration of upperparts generally light greenish gray or brown, irregularly spotted with darker color; interorbital light band occasionally present; top of uead without or with poorly defined cranial crests; paro- toid glands reniform in outline, in contact anteriorly with postorbital crest or upper eyelid; tympanum generally more than half the diameter of orbit, rarely indistinct and par-
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS
tially concealed by tubercles; first finger longer than second; subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe gen- erally single, occasionally double; a tarsal fold; head-and-
33
body length, 60%oS (monies. So) Sega: feet 2 compactilis (p. 44) 7. Head broad, flat or shallowly concave, and thin through, with-
out raised cranial crests, or with only vestiges of such; snout short, blunt; parotoid glands elevated, rounded or broader than long, and studded with minute tubercles; skin of upperparts with closely set small tubercles; coloration ranging from light reddish brown to gray or even malachite green; warts on upperparts tipped with red, orange, or yel- low and encircled or partially encircled at base by narrow black border; obscure black markings occasionally present on limbs; underparts uniform white or spotted with darker color; diameter of oval tympanum more than half that of orbit; first finger longer than second; subarticular tubercles on dis- tal phalanges of fourth toe single; a tarsal fold bearing row
of small tubercles; head-and-body length, 55 to 80 mm_ punctatus (p. 60)
Head narrow or broad, but with distinctly raised cranial crests
8. Parietal crests unusually swollen, merging with thickened post-
10.
orbital crests; supraciliary crests high, converging anteriorly; supratympanic crest short and connecting with large swollen subtriangular or ovoidal parotoid gland; interorbital region concave; snout pointed, prominent; tympanum small, less than one-half diameter of orbit and often rather indistinct; skin of upperparts and upper surfaces of fore and hind limbs with scattered small conical warts; underparts strongly granular; upperparts (in alcohol) sooty brown with a few indistinct markings of some lighter color; throat and chest dusky or blackish; belly with irregular blotches of yellow; under surfaces of fore and hind limbs irregularly marked with yellow and some dusky color; first and second fingers subequal; toes about two-thirds webbed, the penultimate and last phalanx of fourth toe free; metatarsal tubercles of mod- erate size; subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe single or double; bicolored parotoid glands, black later- ally and grayish superiorly; head-and-body length, 48 to
(Oo IMME Pas TERNS tet et vii ay Re heir eel Peete cristatus (p. 48)
Parietal crests when present not unusually swollen or expanded laterally [parietal crests of Bufo valliceps considerably swol- len in Tarenmgbanees|: (Vit ey ae Be er Fie fe
Parotoid glands elongate, in contact anteriorly either with postorbital crest or with upper eyelid; no supratympanic
Parotoid glands not in contact either with upper eyelid or with postorbital crest, but separated by an interval of varying width; parietal crests generally present, occasionally ves- tigial; supratympanic crests present-__------------------
Parietal crests slender, short, and converging posteriorly; supraciliary crests convergent anteriorly; interorbital space wider than upper eyelid; postorbital crests very short, if present, and not extending more than halfway across to- ward tympanum; parotoid glands elongated, as large as or larger than upper eyelid; tympanum either distinctly out- lined or largely concealed by tubercular skin and closely set
34
BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
conical warts; general coloration of upperparts grayish, greenish, or brownish, marbled with a darker shade of brown; an interrupted irregular light vertebral stripe and an irregu- lar lateral light band formed by anastomosing spots gener- ally present; a transverse ashy white or yellowish band ex- tending across upper eyelids and anterior interorbital region; underparts immaculate or spotted with some darker color; skin of upperparts with scattered small conical warts or decidedly tubercular; first finger longer than second; toes half webbed; a tarsal fold with linear series of small conical warts; subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth
toe generally double; head-and-body length, 65 to 85 mm- simus (p. 63)
No parietal crests present; low curving supraciliary crests
continuous with short postorbital crests; parotoid glands elongate, larger than upper eyelids, and contiguous anteriorly with postorbital crests; tympanum distinct, one-half the diameter of orbit; skin of upperparts rough, with numerous small warts; underparts coarsely granular; coloration of upperparts light brown, with light vertebral stripe from snout to vent, on each side of which are large blackish brown angular spots; posterior interorbital region with inverted dark chevron, which ends on upper eyelids; a dark band extending from orbit to thigh below light longitudinal band; underparts immaculate or grayish white; first finger longer than second; toes half webbed; no tarsal fold; subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe single; metatarsal
tubercles small; head-and-body length, 40 to 52 mm~. canaliferus (p. 40) 11. Cranial crests high, sharp edged, conspicuous; superior margin
of uppertjawe/generally iprotruding] 232. aes ewe eee eee Cranial crests less conspicuous; parietal crests often indistinct
or absent; combined supraciliary and postorbital crests form a continuous curve from anterior margin of orbit to supra- tympanic crest; interorbital region shallowly concave, not wider than upper eyelid; preorbital crest indistinct or vestigial; supratympanic crest short and thick; snout short, bluntly truncated, with angular canthus rostralis; tympanum dis- tinct, transverse diameter about half width of orbit; parotoid glands subtriangular, smaller or no larger than ‘upper eyelid; skin of upperparts thickly set with small warts; a lateral row of light-colored warts, but lateral fold is indistinct; coloration of upperparts brownish gray, marbled more or less distinctly with some darker color; whitish vertebral stripe of varying width, on each side of which are three large and a greater number of small irregular light-margined dark blotches; whitish markings above and dark-brown markings below lateral row of warts form more or less confluent longi- tudinal bands of varying width; a continuous or medially interrupted chevron band crosses upper eyelids and inter- orbital region; fore and hind limbs with dark crossbars above; underparts immaculate; first finger longer than sec- ond; a row of small closely spaced warts along tarsal fold; toes less than half webbed; subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of fourth toe single; inner metatarsal tubercle
small; head-and-body length, 55 to 75 mm_______- marmoreus (p. 58)
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 35
12. Parotoid glands ovoidal in outline, descending on shoulders; no linear series of enlarged warts on side of body; first and second fingers subequal; subarticular tubercles on fourth toe double; toes one-third webbed; no tarsal fold; two small metatarsal tubercles; skin of upperparts rough, tubercular; underparts coarsely granular; coloration of upperparts brown or brownish black with blotches of darker color on each side of vertebral line; yellowish or whitish lateral stripe from paro- toid gland to thigh, below which is a broad dark-colored lateral band; underparts usually yellowish, rarely spotted with a darker color; interorbital region and upper eyelids with anterior and posterior transverse medially interrupted dark bands; cranial crests high; canthal, preorbital, supraciliary, postorbital, and supratympanic crests distinct in adults; parietal crests vestigial or absent; tympanum small but distinct, its diameter slightly more than half that of eye; head-and-body length, 68 to 71 mm______-----_-_----- coccifer (p. 41)
Parotoid glands subtriangular in outline, bicolored, and as large as or larger than upper eyelid; a linear series of large conical warts on side of body; first finger longer than second; subar- ticular tubercles on fourth toe generally single; toes one- third webbed; no tarsal fold; two small metatarsal tubercles; skin of upperparts rough, tubercular, but somewhat smoother in southern specimens; warts often spinose; underparts ba coarsely granular; coloration of upperparts quite variable, at one extreme yellowish or light grayish with distinct markings, and at the other extreme with markings subdued or obliterated by a dark slaty or blackish suffusion; prevailing color generally some shade of brown, with linear series of conical warts extending along lateral line from parotoid glands to thighs, above which is a light-colored stripe and below which a dark-colored one; near level of middle of parotoid glands an inverted black chevron bisects light ver- tebral line; back irregularly marbled or blotched with some darker color; limbs cross banded; underparts unicolored or heavily marbled with black; a posterior interorbital trans- verse black band; cranial crests relatively high; canthal ridges distinct; supraciliary crests high, diverging posteri- orly; parietal crests lower than the latter and converging posteriorly; the thick transverse postorbital crest forms an obtuse angle with short supratympanic crest; distinet orbito- tympanal and preorbital crests; interorbital space deeply concave and much broader than upper eyelid; tympanum distinctly outlined, ovoidal in outline, and equal in width to slightly more than half length of orbit; head-and-body fongth), 60 tarlOO) ming ose) 8 ee 2 valliceps (p. 68)
BUFO ALVARIUS Girard Plate 1, frontispiece; Figure 4
1859. Bufo alvarius GIRARD, in Baird, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, p. 26, pl. 41, figs. 1-6 —-Corz, 1889, U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 265, fig. 62—Dicknrson, 1906, The frog book, pp. 106-108, figs. 107-111, col. pl. 5, fig. 4—-NizpEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 75, 129, fig. 182.—-Srormr, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 27, pp. 163-167, pl. 12, fig. 32.
36 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Type locality.—Valley of the Gila and Colorado Rivers.
Range.—Vicinity of streams with permanent flow of water from Guadalupe Canyon in northeastern Sonora north to Turkey Creek near Prescott in central Arizona, and in the lower Colorado River Valley from Fort Mohave to Fort Yuma; also occurs in Imperial County, Calif. Exact limits of range unknown. Reported from Guaymas (Mocquard) and Cajon Bonito Creek (Mearns), Sonora.
Remarks.—This large toad frequents the hottest portion of the North Amer- ican Continent, and, although it has never been found in the strictly desert areas, it seems to be extending its range with the advent of irrigation. It has been described as semiaquatic and, ex- cept in irrigated areas, is seldom ob- served during the dry season. The eggs are laid during the first heavy summer showers in temporary pools of water or in shallow streams.
Exceptionally large individuals may be rather uncommon, and the maximum size attained by this species can not be ascertained by the limited material available. One specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 66734) measures 160 mm. in head-
FIGURE 4.—Head of Bufo alvarius ai te a (U.S.N.M. No. 21063) from Guadalupe and-body length. The distinctive char-
Canyon, Sonora, Mexico: a, Lateral
sce. aotedl GE acters of this species are a smooth
leathery skin, large size, and greenish color. Unlike other Mexican toads, it has a large elongate gland on the forearm and several smaller ones on the hind limb. Major Mearns,’ in describing his experiences with this large toad, states:
Of batrachians, a toad (Bufo) and a frog (Rana virescens brachycephala Cope) were found at Warsaw Mills; and at Buenos Ayres, at the beginning of the sum- mer rains, Lieutenant Gaillard observed great numbers of a very large frog-like toad, named Bufo alvarius by Girard. Nothing was seen or heard of them until the advent of the early summer rains, which formed a large shallow lake near Buenos Ayres and about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Boundary Line. These large toads then filled the air with their loud cries, which increased until a deafening roar was produced. Numbers of them were seen hopping about, but their rarity was not suspected by Lieutenant Gaillard, on which account none were collected. The range of Bufo alvarius Girard, extends from Monument
7 Mearns, E. A., Mammals of the Mexican boundary of the United States. U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 56, pp. 113, 114, 1907.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 37
No. 73, in Guadalupe Canyon, to the Colorado River (Monument No. 205). I first met with it in a dense growth of arrowwood (Pluchea sericea) on the edge of the Colorado River at Fort Mojave, Arizona, May 13, 1884. A specimen was carried to Peach Springs and given into the charge of the hotel proprietor, who allowed it to escape during my absence at the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. No specimen of this toad was again seen until July 6, 1892, when Lieutenants Gaillard and Irwin and the writer lay down to rest upon the damp grass beside the San Bernadino Springs, near Monument No. 77. At dusk these huge green batrachians began to hop about us, occasionally landing upon our faces. A few were caught and saved as specimens. No more were seen by me until October 3, 1893, when Hospital Steward E. C. Merton brought me another that he had just caught in a spring situated between Monument No. 73 and Cajon Bonito Creek, in Sonora, Mexico. Another was taken at Quitobaquita Springs, Monument No. 172, January 26, 1894.
The potency of the toxins secreted by this large toad during the physical stress of danger and pain has been recorded as follows by Musgrave:®
Just about sundown of that evening [September 1, 1928] I was looking over a planting in the front of our home when I discovered a large green toad in a stand- pipe used for irrigation purposes. I lifted the big fellow out and dropped him over the side. Our little wire haired fox terrier, standing near by made a dash at the toad, but I spoke to her and she stepped back. Immediately the toad swelled himself up, hissed at the dog and hopped a little way toward her. That was too much, the dog immediately grabbed him and in one shake the toad was dead. I was leaning over the standpipe and my face was perhaps 4 or 5 feet from the toad while she was shaking it.
About this time a large police dog that is a visitor at our home ran up and touched his nose to the toad; the little terrier snatched it away. I thought no more of it and started back to the house, the big police dog following. He had gone no more than a hundred feet when his front legs crumpled under him and he pitched forward. However, he gathered himself and then tipped backwards, his legs and body being paralyzed.
Immediately I realized that something was wrong and looking over to where the little terrier had been I saw her lying on the ground with her feet crumpled under her and her face in the dirt. I ran over and picked her up and found that she had fallen on top of the toad as she was carrying it. I felt her heart and found the action slow, and although she gasped and did her best, she could get no air into her lungs. Within two or three minutes from the time she first bit the toad she died. Immediately after death, bloody foam oozed from her mouth and nose.
About that time I became very sick myself, my head was swimming, and there was a lifting feeling in my lung cavity. It affected me rather peculiarly, as I wanted to walk and keep walking. I took a large dose of warm salt water and after disgorging what I had in my stomach I felt better. However, the effects did not wear off for about 80 minutes. The old police dog also revived in about three quarters of an hour.
I do not know whether I got the effects of the poison while leaning over the standpipe or while working with the little dog, as I pried her mouth open and tried to get salt water down her. I did not detect any odor whatsoever. I am sure that I did not get the poison from the toad before the dog attacked it,
§ Musgrave, M. E., Bufo alvarius, a poisonous toad. Copeia, no. 173, pp. 96-98, Jan. 16, 1930.
38 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
although I did lift it with my hand, but this I have done on many occasions before without experiencing any trouble. I also handled with no ill effect a toad of the same species that was later sent to the Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, D. C.
Recently I have had a cormhenntsteetioy from Miss May Noble, who lives in Phoenix and who within the past few days has had a similar experience. Her Pekinese dog seized one of these green toads but Miss Noble got it away from the dog before he had hurt it to any great extent. However, the dog soon became paralyzed and Miss Noble called two veterinarians, one of whom seemed to know nothing of the effects of that sort of poisoning, but the other said it was not uncommon in this valley. Miss Noble informs me that she used ammonia with good results and that the dog recovered within an hour after it had gotten the poison. This dog, however, did not puncture the skin of the toad, only picking it up.
Although it is not so stated in the original description, Girard seems to have based his description of Bufo alvarius on specimens received from two collectors. The locality is cited as the “Valley of Gila and Colorado,” and the collector is stated to be ‘‘A. Schott.” Arthur Schott was an assistant of Lieut. N. Michler, who was in charge of the party surveying the United States and Mexican bound- ary line from Fort Yuma, Calif., to Los Nogales, Sonora. Michler’s party arrived at Fort Yuma from San Diego, Calif., on December 9, 1854, shortly after which Schott made surveys of the Gila and Colorado Rivers for short distances above their junction. After the initial point of the boundary line at the Colorado River was established on April 21, 1855, preparations were made for the survey of the oblique line. On May 5, 1855, the Mexican and American parties departed from Fort Yuma and began their journey along the wagon road up the Gila Valley to Tucson, Ariz. A camp was maintained near Tucson during most of June. It was not until June 26, 1855, that Michler’s party met the United States Commissioner, Maj. W. H. Emory, and resumed the boundary survey near Los Nogales. The topography of the boundary line between Los Nogales and the Colorado River was completed on August 16, 1855. This itinerary shows that Schott actually traversed the area designated as the type locality. The next point to be determined is whether specimens of this toad were collected in this area by Schott and transmitted to the Museum.
On the lower margin of the original set of drawings of Bufo alvarius reproduced on the plate in the report on the reptiles of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, Baird has written ‘Sierra de la Union.’ There is only one entry in the catalogue of the division of reptiles that could possibly apply to this specimen. The original entry reads as follows: “Cat. No. 2571; Bufo alvarius; Sierra de la Union y Charcos de la Nariz; 2 specimens; received from Major Emory; collected by A. Schott.” This range of mountains is located on the divide and not in the drainage of the Gila River, but it is quite
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 39
probable that Girard may have assumed that this range was so situated. It would seem that specimens collected along the route between Monument No. 14 on Sierra de la Union and the water holes of the Nariz Mountains were placed in one container and so labeled. The Sierra de la Union is shown on modern maps as Sierra de Moreno, and this range of mountains crosses the boundary line between Arizona and Sonora about 10 miles west and south of San Miguel in southern Pima County. The Sierra dela Nariz crosses the boundary line about 35 miles distant in a northwest direction. No other toad of this species collected by Schott is entered in the museum catalogue.
An examination of the catalogue of the division of reptiles reveals that another specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 2572) was available to Girard at the time the description was written. This was collected at old Fort Yuma, Calif., by Maj. George Henry Thomas, and is designated in the museum catalogue as the type of Bufo alvarius. Old Fort Yuma is located near the junction of the Gila and Colorado Rivers and thus lies in the ‘‘Valley of Gila and Colorado.” The fact that Major Thomas had no official connection with any of the parties working on the survey of the boundary line does not suffice to explain the omission of this particular specimen, for a bat received in the same shipment with this toad is listed by Baird. The collection made by Thomas was received at the Museum in 1856.
It is quite certain from the notation made by Baird that the speci- men figured on the plate accompanying the original description of Bufo alvarius came either from some spot between Sierra de la Union (Sierra de Moreno) and Charcos de la Nariz, or else from one or the other of these localities. These mountain ranges are located on the divide between the drainage of the Gila River in Arizona and that of the Rio Concepcion in Sonora. It is equally certain that the speci- men which was collected by Major Thomas at Fort Yuma, Calif., had been received by the museum at least three years prior to the publication of Girard’s description.
It is unfortunate that the type or cotypes of Bufo alvarius are not designated by the original describer. The usual procedure is to select as the lectotype or as the cotypes the specimen or specimens that were seen by the original describer before his description was published. In this instance one has to assume that all the material available in the Museum from the region covered by the boundary survey report was placed at Girard’s disposal. If one takes Girard’s “Valley of Gila and Colorado”’ at its face value, then the specimens taken by Schott and labeled as coming from “‘Sierra de la Union y Charcos de la Nariz’’ must be disregarded, inasmuch as they were not obtained at the type locality. On the other hand, if one insists that the type or cotypes were collected by Schott as stated by Girard, then the specimen collected by Major Thomas at Fort Yuma in the
40 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
valley of the Gila and Colorado must be ignored, because it was not taken by Schott. The selection of either of the above as the basis for Girard’s description might lead to conflicting opinions, and since neither of these specimens has ever been formally designated as the type, the two specimens (U.S.N.M. No. 2571) collected by Schott and the one (U.S.N.M. No. 2572) collected by Major Thomas are hereby designated as the cotypes of Bufo alvarius. The specimens collected by Schott can not now be located. The one received from Thomas is quite well preserved and conforms in most details with the actual figures published by Girard.
Specimens examined.—One (U.S.N.M. No. 21063), collected by E. C. Merton, October 3, 1893, in Guadalupe Canyon, Sonora, in bed of dry wash about 3 miles southwest of Monument No. 73.
BUFO CANALIFERUS Cope
Figure 5
1877. Bufo canaliferus Corn, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. 17, no. 100, p. 85, July 20.—Broccui, 1882, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans |’ Amérique Centrale, recherches zoologiques, pt. 8, sect. 2, p. 74, pl. 8, figs. 2, 2a-b.—NuiEpEN, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 76, 181.
Type locality.—Tehuantepec, State of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Figure §—Head of Bufo “@nge.—This species has been collected at canaliferus (U.S.N.M.No. localities in the States of Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Sanna Mexioe s Tawai and Chiapas, the most northerly record being lar aeuar Type Orizaba. It is reported from Tabasco (Dugés)
and from Cerro de Valtierra (Giinther) in
Chiapas. The exact limits of its range are unknown. The most
southerly record is Patulul in Guatemala.
Remarks.—This is a small light-colored toad, with a whitish verte- bral stripe, on each side of which are dark-colored spots. It has a narrow head, low cranial crests, distinct tympanum, and elongate parotoid glands. The name chosen for this toad by Cope is in allu- sion to the once contemplated canal on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. It seems to be a rare toad in American collections. There are no published observations on the habits and life history of this species.
The cotypes of this species (U.S.N.M. Nos. 30315-24) were collected by Francis Sumichrast. Notwithstanding their long immersion in a preserving fluid, most of them have a fairly well-preserved color pattern and are otherwise in very good condition.
Specimens examined.—Seventeen as follows:
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 4l
Bufo canaliferus
Num- Catalogue| ber of : By whom collected or Museum et speci- Locality collected Date collected | “f;om whom received mens OAXACA: A.M.N.H..-- 13901 1 @hivela 2+. 222 232222 2 as se Paul D. R. Ruthling. U.S.N.M..--- 10022 1 Santa Efigenia, Tehuantepec_|_..------------ Francis Sumichrast. Det*.} > 10036 15 Tapana, Tehuantepec.-_-----|.--- pn See eres: Do. Does 30315-24 210 Mohwantepee: sess JES. ERE ss Se SSR, Do. 1 Young. 2 Cotypes. BUFO COCCIFER Cope Figure 6
1866. Bufo coccifer Corr, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 18, p. 130, May.—Cops, 1876, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, ser. 2, vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 100, pl. 23, fig. 5—NrepEN, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 76, 132.
Type locality.—Arriba, Costa Rica.
Range.—Specimens have been taken as far north as Tehuantepec, in the State of Oaxaca, and as far south as San Jose, Costa Rica.
Remarks.—It is rather surprising that so little is known in regard to the habits of this toad, for it has a rather extensive range on the Pacific slope of South America. It is brownish colored, with a yellowish vertebral line and irregular wavy chestnut-brown markings on the upperparts, and has a rather broad head, high cranial crests, small tympanum, and small circular parotoid glands.
The type of this species (U.S.N.M. No. 6490) was presented to the National Museum by Ficure 6.—Head of Bufo Charles N. Riotte, who was the United States (ee ee minister to Costa Rica for some years prior to Lateral view; 6, dorsal view. 1868. Type specimen
Specimens examined.—One (U.S.N.M. No. 51175), collected by Francis Sumichrast at Juchitan, Tehuantepec, Oaxaca.
BUFO COGNATUS Say
Piains Toap Figure 7
1823. Bufo cognatus Say, in Long, Stephen H., Account of an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, vol. 2, p. 190.—Corzn, 1889, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 275, fig. 67.—Dickrerson, 1906, The frog book, pp. 99-102, figs. 85-92, col. pl. 5, fig. 2—NtepEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 75, 127, fig. 180.—Srormr, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 27, pp. 187-192, pl. 11, fig. 31a.
1879. Bufo dipternus Corr, Amer. Nat., vol. 13, no. 7, p. 437, July (Montana).
42 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Type locality.—Arkansas River, Prowers County, Colo.
Range.—In Mexico the range of this toad extends southward from the northern boundary to San Pedro in the State of Nayarit and to the mountains of Alvarez in the State of San Luis Potosi. Reported by Perez from Villa Lerdo, Durango. North of the Mexican bound- ary, the plains toad has been recorded from a wide extent of territory. It has been found in the Upper Missouri River drainage (Valley County) and in southeastern Montana (Yellowstone, Rosebud, and Custer Counties); in north-central (McHenry County) and eastern (Jamestown, Stutsman County) North Dakota; the Missouri Flood Plain area of central South Dakota (Fort Pierre); south through west- ern South Dakota (Ardmore, Fall River County); eastern Wyoming (Laramie County); central Nebraska (Fort Kearney) ; northeastern (Sedg- wick and Weld Counties) and south- central (Costilla County) Colorado; western Kansas (Trego, Gove, Wal- lace, and Morton Counties) ; north- eastern New Mexico (Koehler Junc- tion); central Oklahoma (Caddo and Cleveland Counties); southwestern Arkansas (Red River); the Staked FIGURE 7.—Head of Bufo cognatus (U.S.N.M. Plains region from the northern
ee Nebraska: a, Lateral view; 6, boundary of Texas to Pecos River, the salt plains of E] Paso County, and Jeff Davis County, Texas; central (Bernalillo County) and south- western (Grant County) New Mexico; southeastern Arizona (Cochise, Maricopa, and Pima Counties) and along the Colorado River at Fort Mohave; Salton Sea Basin (Mecca and Brawley) and along the Colo- rado River from Fort Yuma to Needles, Calif.; and also in northern Utah (Utah and Emery Counties).
Remarks.—In life this toad can be recognized instantly by the conspicuous greenish blotches on the upperparts. These irregular spots, as will be noticed on closer inspection, vary from green to brown and are margined with white or pale yellow. The parotoid glands are short, broad, and widely separated; the bony crests on the top of the head converge anteriorly and are united on the muzzle, forming araised boss. The so-called leopard, or plains, toad frequents
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 43
the plains and the foothills as a general rule, though it may be found occasionally in the vicinity of streams and in bottomlands that are subject to periodical overflow from some river. Although nocturnal like most toads, it leaves its place of hiding during heavy showers, and comes forth in search of food.
Say concludes his description of Bufo cognatus with the following statement: ‘“‘A specimen is placed in the Philadelphia Museum.” This specimen is undoubtedly the type of this species and presumably is the individual collected in July, 1820, in southeastern Colorado. The ‘‘Philadelphia Museum’’® was established by Charles Wilson Peale in 1784. The collections made by the expedition of Major Long to the Rocky Mountains in 1819-1820 were deposited in this museum on March 23, 1821. Peale’s museum was incorporated as a stock company in 1820 and continued in existence until 1846, when financial difficulties forced the sale of the collections at public auction. The natural-history collection, however, was kept intact and exhibited in Masonic Hall, Philadelphia, until 1850, when Moses Kimball bought one-half for the ‘‘Boston Museum,” and the other half was sold to P. T. Barnum’s “‘American Museum” in New York City. Barnum’s ‘‘American Museum”’ was destroyed by fire on July 13, 1865. The bulk of the Boston Museum’s share of the old natural- history collection of the Philadelphia Museum passed into the posses- sion of the Boston Society of Natural History in 1893 and the residue in 1899. After this collection reached the society’s rooms, some of the specimens were destroyed, but most of the birds were sold to C. J. Maynard in 1900. When the importance of this collection became generally appreciated, the Boston Society of Natural History redeemed it from Maynard. Again, in 1914, the remaining relics of this collec- tion were transferred to the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. The possibilities for the loss of the type of Bufo cognatus during the numerous transfers of the collections of the old ‘Philadelphia Museum,” or while it was in the possession of either Barnum’s ‘‘ American Museum” or Kimball’s ‘‘ Boston Museum,”’ are too numerous to leave any serious hope for its future recovery in some unexpected depository.
In 1876, Dr. F. V. Hayden, in charge of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, authorized an investiga- tion of the Judith River Lignite Formation. Prof. E. D. Cope was placed in charge of the expedition that fitted out at Fort Benton, Mont., for this exploratory survey. Among the published results of this expedition is the description by Cope in 1879 of a toad, which he
9 Faxon, W., Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 119-148, July, 1915.
44 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
had found ‘‘abundant on the plains north of the Missouri River east of Fort Benton,’’ as a new species, Bufo dipternus. The following is quoted from the original description:
There are two faint straight supraorbital ridges, and a postorbital but no supratympanic ridge. The supraorbitals are united by the enlargement of the posterior part of the prefrontal bones, which forms quite a tuberosity in adults.
In contradiction to this published description, Cope in 1889 stated that a large young specimen of this species served as the type and that ‘although an inch and a half long, this individual had not developed a trace of the cranial crests.” Nothing is known in regard to the subsequent history of the material upon which Cope based this name.
Specimens examined.—Twenty, as follows:
Bufo cognatus
Num- Catalogue | ber of | : By whom collected or Museum No. speci- | Locality collected Date collected | “¢-om whom received mens | U.S.N.M.-_-- 19407 TuPIVERXICAN, BOUNDARY. = 2-2 aieen bes mee E. A. Mearns. VIN Eee 1092 1 | CHIHUAHUA: Colonia Juarez. _-|_-.--.-------.. S. E. Meek. COAHUILA: U.S.N.M..--_- 2564 2 Alamo de Parras__---------- June —, 1853 | D. N. Couch. IMEC). 7-335 ee 1643 5 SanvRedro =<. see 1880 Edward Palmer. DURANGO: U.S.N.M_-_._-| 47246-51 6 Purengosss. 4. 8a ae sae July 6, 1898 | Nelson and Goldman. Dor = 23997-99 3 | No definite locality_....____- Sept. —,1896 | Edward Palmer. | San Luis Porost: Mi Ciges 2s 1660 1} Mountains of Alvarez__-____ 1879 | Do. 1D yo See 1671 1; San Luis Potosi (9 leagues 1879 Do. | southeast).
BUFO COMPACTILIS Wiegmann Figure 8
1833. Bufo compactilis WinaMaNnN, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, pp. 661, 662.— Perers, W., 1863, Monatsber. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 80.— Corr, 1889, U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 272, fig. 65.—DickErson, 1906, The frog book, pp. 102-104, figs. 98-98.—NirpEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 74, 108.
1854. Bufo speciosus GrrRaRD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, pp. 85-87, May (valley of Rio Bravo [Rio Grande del Norte] and not uncom- mon in the province of New Leon).—Barrp, 1859, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, pp. 26, 35, pl. 40, figs. 5-11.
1858. Bufo anomalus GintTuER, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum, p. 57 (Mexico).
1877. Bufo levifrons Broccui, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, ser. 7, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 187, 188 (Mexique).—Broccul, 1882, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l’Amérique Centrale, recherches zoologiques, pt. 3, sect. 2, pp. 70, ‘71, pl’ 6) figs.
1879. Bufo mexicanus Broccui, Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, ser. 7, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 23, 24 (Mexique).—Broccui, 1882, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l’Amérique Centrale, recherches zoologiques, pt. 3, sect. 2, p. 85, pl. 8, figs. 3, 3a, 3b.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 45
Type locality.— Mexico.
Range.—From Mexican boundary south to Atemajac in Tabasco, to Tupataro in Michoacan, Xochimilco in Federal District, and to Potrero in Vera Cruz. Reported from Ciudad, Durango (Forrer). In Southern United States, disregarding a doubtful record for south- western Kansas, we may say that the range of this toad extends from the Red River Valley in southeastern Oklahoma (Frederick, Tillman County) south through the middle district of Texas (Upper Wichita River) west of the timber belt and east of the plains to McLennan, Burnet, Kendall, Austin, Colorado, Bexar, Goliad, Victoria, Refugio, Nueces, Starr, and Cameron Counties; northwest along the Rio Grande drainage through Kinney, Val Verde, and Reeves Counties to El Paso County, Tex.; northward in New Mexico along the Rio Grande to the Mim- bres Mountains and to Albuquerque; in southeastern Arizona (Huachuca Moun- tains, Cochise County), as well as in Mari- copa, Yavapai, and Mohave Counties; and in extreme southwestern Utah (Washington County).
Remarks.—The type of Wiegmann’s Bufo compactilis (M. N. B. No. 3528) was col- lected in Mexico by two botanical collectors, Ferdinand Deppe and C. J. W. Schiede. The ground color of the upperparts of the type is very light, although the mottling is dark; underparts white, with afew scattered © ~ dark spots on chest; vertical black bars on upper lip quite distinct; interorbital band Ficure 8—Head of Bufo compactilis light colored; supraciliary and postorbital anatase eae crests distinct; a cluster of minute warts _ ico: a, Lateral view; 6, dorsal view. occupies the position of the parietal crest; CYP’ SPewmen parotoid glands elongated and in contact with postorbital crests, not- withstanding the presence of a rather prominent knoblike supratym- panic crest; head relatively small; body wide and squat; skin of upperparts warty, with numerous small tubercles; length of body approximately 65 mm.
Three specimens are designated in the National Museum catalogue as the cotypes of Girard’s Bufo speciosus. One of these (No. 2611) was collected by Lieut. D. N. Couch during April, 1853, at Pesquieria Grande, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and was figured by Baird in his report on the reptiles of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey. The viscera of this specimen have been removed through an abdominal ‘opening, and the lower jaws have been cut away from the head at the
66785—32——4
46 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUS&UM
angles of the mouth. It is an adult and is fairly well preserved. The second cotype (U.S.N.M. No. 2608) was obtained in the vicinity of Ringgold Barracks [Rio Grande City, Starr County], Tex., by Arthur Schott, a surveyor attached to the United States and Mexican Bound- ary Commission under Maj. W. H. Emory. This is an adult female and may have been dissected by Cope. There is an incision on the abdominal wall, another across the right parotoid gland, and a third along the under surface of the humerus. At some time the preserva- tive in which this cotype was kept may have been allowed to evapo- rate, for the skin is rather stiff. Capt. Stewart Van Vliet sent the third cotype (U.S.N.M. No. 2610) to the Museum from Brownsville, Tex. It is quite young, and the head-and-body length is 27.5 mm. The black-margined inner metatarsal tubercle is well developed. ‘The body is shrunken and somewhat distorted.
The type of Giinther’s Bufo anomalus (B.M. No. 58. 9. 6. 12) is an adult male purchased from Emile Parzudaki, who was a dealer in natural-history specimens in Paris, and is labeled as coming from Mexico. The type does not have the cranial crests developed, the skin is rough and tubercular, and it is clearly an immature individual. The head-and-body length is 43.7 mm. The upperparts are light gray with black spots, and the warts are dark at the base. It has large inner and small outer metatarsal tubercles.
The type of Bufo levifrons could not be located in the Paris Museum at the time of my visit in April, 1930. Mexico is given as the type locality for this species. A specimen from Mexico collected by Dugés (M.H.N.P. No. 643b, parchment label No. 83-289) and labeled as the type does not agree with the figure published by Brocchi. This specimen has a head-and-body length of 53.5 mm. It is briefly described as follows: The tibio-tarsal joint, when the hind limb is carried forward along the body, reaches the posterior margin of the parotoid gland; skin of upperparts strongly tuberculate; cranial crests not developed; tympanum covered with minute tubercles; underparts light colored with scattered dark spots; a large black inner and a small light-colored outer metatarsal tubercle. The type of Bufo mexicanus was received from Auguste Sallé, according to Brocchi, but no entry of this specimen was found in the catalogue of the laboratory of herpetology of the Paris Museum.
This burrowing species has a rather compact body, and the skin is often covered with closely set pustulose warts. Asa rule it is irregu- larly spotted with dark, though there are occasional individuals that exhibit little or no indication of darker spots. On many of the speci- mens there is a conspicuous white interorbital band that is almost on a line with the vertical white lip stripe below the eye. The underparts are often white with small dark spots. On some of the specimens the cranial crests are lacking. From the variation observed in a series of
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 47
42 individuals, it would seem that the development of the cranial crests is too unreliable a character to have much of a diagnostic value. Fourteen of the specimens examined have no vestiges of cranial crests on top of the head. When present, the postorbital crests are generally thick and blunt-edged. The supraciliary crests are often but faintly indicated, though they may be quite prominent on some individuals. When supraciliary crests are developed, the interorbital region seems more strongly concave than those without such crests.
In two instances the tympanum was covered with a tubercular skin, and on the others it was distinctly outlined and covered with a smooth skin. In the majority of the specimens examined, the paro- toid gland was separated from the upper eyelid by the blunt-edged transverse postorbital crest. On two individuals (U.S.N.M. Nos. 47245 and 26596), however, the parotoid glands are almost in con- tact with the upper eyelids, and there are no vestiges of the postor- bital crests. One individual from McLennan County, Tex. (U.S.N.M. No. 57625) has subcircular parotoid glands in contrast to the normal elongate type. These glands are rarely very narrow, but they often have a lateral enlargement that extends over upon the side of the shoulder.
Specimens taken in Durango and Chihuahua occasionally have the underparts spotted with dark brown or black. The skin of the upper- parts is strongly tubercular and is covered with low pustulose warts. Brocchi’s Bufo levifrons represents a variation of this sort. The figure of Bufo mexicanus published by Brocchi resembles two toads collected in Nuevo Leon (U.S.N.M. Nos. 46914-15) on which the warts are low and flat, and the skin feels smooth, as compared with the variety named levifrons by Brocchi. Variations such as these may be expected in this species. This species has a conspicuous palmar callosity and a large shovellike inner metatarsal tubercle. .
Specimens examined. —Ninety-eight, as follows:
Bufo compacitlis
Num- Catalogue ber of : By whom collected or Museum No. | speci- Locality collected Date collected from whor received mens VER GZS ose = 2375 | 1 | Sonora: No definite locality | Mar. 23, 1903 | Ward’s Nat. Sci. Estab- lishment. CHIHUAHUA:
F.M.N.H_-_-- 1779 1 Colonia Garcia 3 asi teeere 2 Aug. 17, 1902 | S. E. Meek. W.S.N.M__..- 47314-17 4 Colonia Garcia (near) __---_- July —, 1899 | Nelson and Goldman. Por Bt). 22 2654 5 Mncinillas!y% 68 _ 5 25 eee be Oct. 20, 1852 | Thomas H. Webb.
WO este 5 47244 1 Guadalupe y Calvo__-_------ Sept. 8, 1898 | Nelson and Goldman. Dosz Aut 26596 1 Meadow Valley._...-------- July 6, 1896 a H. and C. S. Brim- ey. Dori, 8327 2 No ‘definite locality: 22234224). 2.2ee.Seeeeeet John Potts. COAHUILA: Dovsils 47231 1 UimiulGo2!3 23 5-_- ya sey Dec. 16, 1898 | Nelson and Goldman. VT Oo Ze 1637 4 MOnNCIOVA. =.-2—sacceesee eae 1880 Edward Palmer. Nuevo LEon: Fi U.S.N.M_..-- 46915 1 MOCLOR CG OShse ean a enon Apr. 20, 1891 | William Lloyd. Dole a 2611 | i] Pesquieria Grande__-----... Apr. —, 1853 | D. N. Couch.
1 Cotype of Bufo speciosus.
48 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Bufo compactilis—Continued
Num- Catalogue | ber of : By whom collected or Museum NG. speci- Locality collected Date collected froin whouurecatved mens U-SON Nisa TAMAULIPAS: Doers 2627 1 Matamoros! 22 tePee aes ae Mar. —, 1853 | D. N. Cough. Doo suse 46914 1 AY 8 Cs) a CO ee 00) May 6, 1891 | William Lloyd. DURANGO: Does: 47245 1 Salto! soo oss eee ee July 20, 1898 | Nelson and Goldman. Doles 47447 1 Near Guanacevi___..-------- Aug. 19, 1898 Do. GUANAJUATO: A.M.N.H_---| 12228-36 9 Guanajuatoy 2 feeteeee yh see Aug. 6, 1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. DOW. 12237-60 24 Trapuatoeee: oo eee eee eee es (6 Foy Do. Wow we os 13778 21 | VerRA Cruz: North of Rio | June 19, 1919 Do. Atoyae, near Potrero. FEDERAL DISTRICT: Doras! 13757-60 4 North of Guadalupe__-_--_--- July 19, 1919 Do. Ogee: 13444 1 Xochimileo (2 miles west)---| May 10, 1919 Do. JALISCO: Does oe 12280 1 Afemajac rss: -fak ee Sept. 23, 1919 Do. ESN PIM 46962 yO (RG Fs eR a eee May 28, 1892 | Nelson and Goldman. A.M.N.H_--- 12281 1 (Buenavista ss ss eeu ose Aug. 10, 1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. DOs ey 12279 1 Cerro del Col, or Cerrodeel | Sept. 18, 1919 Do. Fuerte, 6 miles west of Guadalajara. a an = ug. 17,
Do te 12412-13 BN fatty reeks Yu: ERO Dae { ei Teg Do. U.S.N.M..--- 47151-54 4 ILAGOSEL Eh tk ee June 27, 1896 | Nelson and Goldman. A.M.N.H_--- 13767 1 On way to Magdalena_--_-_-- Sept. 29, 1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling.
Mowe ase 12272-77 6 South of Tlaguepaque_------ Sept. 10, 1919 Do.
Domes 5 12278 1 BONS fae ee ke oe ok eS. Oct. 6, 1919 Do.
MICHOACAN: F.M.N.H-_--- 963 1 anbalman = ots sac ose eo June —, 1901 | S. E. Meek. ESSN. IMecee2 10257 1 Upaparon se oe eo eee 1879 Alfred Dugés.
? STATE: ; Bees? 2 eae 58. 9. 6. 12 81 No definite localityze: <2 22 ois e Soe wee Emile Parzudaki. VEIN SB es a2 3528 NG = 9d On eeeps sees ae ese, wi ees | SN re, Ferdinand Deppe and
C.J. W. Schiede. A.M.N.H.-...| 12261-71 ll laa Voeet Ren ree Rake Lapeaaas ase oe Paul D. R. Ruthling 2 Young. 3 Type of Bufo anomalus. 4 Type of Bufo compactilis.
BUFO CRISTATUS Wiegmann Figure 9 1833. Bufo cristatus W1EGMANN, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7. pp. 660, 661. 1879. Bufo occipitalis CAMERANO, Atti R. Accad. Sci. Torino, vol. 14, pp. 889, 890.—Gintuer, 1901, Biologia Centrali-Americana, Reptilia and Batrachia, pp. 248, 250, pl. 69, fig. C, Feb——NuimpEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 74, 129.
Type locality —Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Range.—At present can not be accurately defined.
Remarks.—The two cotypes of Bufo cristatus (M.N.B. Nos. 3523- 3524) came from the vicinity of Jalapa in Vera Cruz, and they were collected by Ferdinand Deppe. The following notes were made on them:
No. 3523: Parietal crests 4 mm. high, enormously swollen, but with- out any vestiges of internal projections or buttresses, and in contact posteriorly with parotoid glands; parotoid glands somewhat ovoidal in outline; toes half webbed, with last three phalanges of fourth toe free from web; inner and outer metatarsal tubercles very small, the inner slightly larger than the outer; fore and hind feet with numerous supernumerary tubercles; skin of upperparts studded with numerous closely approximated small warts; color markings somewhat obliter- ated; a narrow black interorbital band; a narrow oblique outwardly
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 49
directed black stripe from each parietal crest; underparts brownish, with light spots; head-and-body length, 63.5 mm.
No. 3524: Parietal crests abnormally swollen, with internal pro- jections or buttresses, and separated posteriorly from parotoid glands; interval between supraciliary crests 7.8 mm.; parotoid glands pro- tuberant, somewhat elongate or ovoidal, and peculiarly marked with light spots; parotoid glands measure 14 mm. in length and 9 mm. in width; subarticular tubercles distinct; numerous supernumerary tu- bercles on soles of fore and hind feet; a narrow black interorbital band; a light mark in middle of back; underparts brown, with numerous light spots; head- and-body length, 75 mm.
A third specimen (N.M.W. No. 1869. I. 6) from Mexico was found in Vienna. This individual like- wise has very thick enlarged parietal crests, a heavy — supratympanic crest, a thick supraciliary crest, and ovoidal parotoid glands.
The original specimen on which the description of Bufo occipitalis Camerano was based is thought to be in the Zoological Museum at Turin, Italy, and is said to be labeled as having come from ‘‘ Mexico.” The type specimen could not be located at the time !!¢U8= 9.—Head of Bufo of my visit to this museum in April, 1930. In 1921, sss trom Jalaga, Vera Dr. E. R. Dunn collected a fifth specimen of this ©, Mexico: a, Lat- species (M.C.Z. No. 8362) at Jalapa in Vera Cruz. Po hoe pte The characters used in the key for Mexican species of Bufo are based on this specimen.
The large swollen parietal branches of the supraciliary crests will at once distinguish this species from any other Mexican toad. The supraciliary crests are high and converge anteriorly. The postorbital crests are rather thick. Thelarge protuberant ovoidal orsubtriangular parotoid glands are often bicolored, black laterally and grayish above. Small conical warts are scattered over the skin of the upperparts and the upper surfaces of the fore and hindlimbs. Thetympanumissmall, less than one-half the diameter of the eye, and oftenisratherindistinctly outlined. Thisspeciesseems to bemost closely related to Bufo valliceps.
Specimens examined.—FYour, as follows:
Bufo cristatus
|
Num-
Catalogue | ber of No. speci- mens
a By whom collected or
Museum from whom received
Locality collected Date collecte
VERA CRUZ:
M.N.B_.--...| 3523-24 12 Telapatis. 280 De sara Rey AE As ee ERE Ferdinand Deppe. VE Cree Lo 8362 1 Ob ssa te SE ls ae ea E.R. Dunn. ? STATE: NeWUOWine 25+ - 1869-I-6 1 INGidefinitelocality:- sees. | ene a Ee ee ee
1 Cotypes.
50 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
BUFO DEBILIS Girard Figure 10
1854. Bufo debilis Girarp, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, p. 87, May.
1854. Bufo insidior GIRARD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, p. 88, May (Chihuahua, Mexico).—Barrp, 1859, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, pp. 26, 35, pl. 41, figs. 13-18.
1889. Bufo debilis Corn, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 264, fig. 61—DickErson, 1906, The frog book, p. 112.—Srreckemr, 1922, Sci. Soc. San Antonio Bull. 4, p. 10, fig—NrEpEN, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 73, 109.
Type locality.—‘‘In the lower part of the valley of the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande del Norte), and in the province of Tamaulipas, Mexico.”’ Range.-—From Mexican boundary southwest > through the States of Tamaulipas and Chihuahua to Mazatlan in Sinaloa, and south along Pacifie coast at least as far as Acaponeta in Nayarit. This small toad has a rather peculiar distribution in the United States. The northern limit seems to be extreme southwestern Kansas (Morton and Grant Counties). It has been taken in the Wich- ita Mountains (Comanche County), Oklahoma, and in eastern New Mexico (Cuervo, Guadalupe County). Cope reports that it occurs in the panhandle district of Texas. It occurs in the middle district of Texas from the Upper Wichita River south through McLennan, Burnet, Comal, eae eae aut Bexar, Bee, Refugio, Duval, and Nueces Counties
2624) from Delaware to the Rio Grande, and along the Rio Grande poe > iPro from Brownsville (Cameron County) to the mouth bi donee iow ’ of the Pecos River (Val Verde County). It has
been recorded from Delaware Creek (Culberson
County) in western Texas and also from Grant County in south-
western New Mexico.
Remarks.—Rough skin, small size, and greenish coloration usually will identify this toad in life, and doubtful specimens will be identified by transverse black bands across the upper eyelids. Although it is a burrowing species, the sole tubercles are insignificant; the body is small, less than 2 inches in length; the parotoid glands are large, and diverge posteriorly; and the legs are short.
These little green toads seem to prefer the open country and are generally found on mesquite-covered flats. They emerge after dark from their burrows under the roots of the mesquite and other shrubs. They breed during April and May in shallow depressions or ditches filled by heavy rains.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 51
The cotypes of Girard’s Bufo debilis are not designated in the cata- logue of the division of reptiles. On searching, it was found that there are only two entries that could possibly have been collected prior to the publication of Girard’s paper. One of these is a specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 2620) collected by Arthur Schott between the Salado River (which empties into the Rio Grande near the town of Guer- rero in Tamaulipas) and Camargo in Tamaulipas. This locality is in the lower part of the valley of the Rio Bravo (Rio Grande). Under the initial organization of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey under Commissioner J. R. Bartlett, Arthur C. V. Schott was appointed a collector and assigned to the party of Lieut. A. W. Whipple. The commissioner’s party left El Paso, Tex., in November, 1850, and arrived at Copper Mines, N. Mex., in May, 1851. Col. J. D. Graham, the chief astronomer, did not arrive at Copper Mines until August 2, 1851, and this delayed the progress of the boundary survey considerably. The parties under the direction of Bartlett were then reorganized, and Schott must have received some other assignment, for his name is not included among those who left Copper Mines on August 28, 1851. On September 138, 1851, Maj. William H. Emory was directed to proceed to El Paso, Tex., to relieve Colonel Graham and take charge of the astronomical force. Observatories were established at Frontera (El Paso, Tex.), at San Elceario (Elizario, Tex.), and at Eagle Pass, Tex. It would seem that Schott was subsequently assigned to Major Emory, as a bird skin was collected by him at Eagle Pass, in June, 1852. Bartlett’s expedition did not return to Ringgold Barracks, Tex., until December 20,1852. When thework of the Boundary Commission was suspended in December, 1852, Major Emory left for New Orleans. That Schott either was left in Texas or was directed to report there in advance of the main party of the new commissioner seems to be confirmed by the birds collected by him at Sabanitas, Rio Grande, on September 20, 1853, at Rio Grande, Tex., on October 13, 1853, and at Browns- ville, Tex., on October 25, 1853. The new commissioner, Gen. Robert B. Campbell, was appointed in March 1853, and work was recommenced in December, 1853. Arthur Schott was placed in charge of a surveying party under Major Emory and assigned the survey from Laredo to Ringgold Barracks, Tex. Although the date of completion of this portion of the survey is uncertain, the boundary survey was again reorganized in October, 1854, under Commissioner William Hemsley Emory. Schott was assigned as assistant to Lieut. N. Michler and this division proceeded through New Mexico to Cali- fornia, where camp was made on the initial point of the Rio Colorado in April 21, 1855. Inasmuch as the entry in the catalogue for this particular toad indicates that Schott was working under the direction of Major Emory, the assumption is that it may have been collected
52 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
some time between October, 1851, and October, 1854, and in all probability during the spring of 1854 while Schott was in charge of the party surveying the Rio Grande between Laredo and Ringgold Barracks, Tex. This specimen can not be located.
One lot of eight newly metamorphosed young of Bufo debilis (U.S.N.M. No. 2621) was collected by Lieut. Darius Nash Couch at Matamoros in the State of Tamaulipas. In 1853, Couch, acting under instructions received from the War Department, made a survey for a Pacific railroad in northern Mexico. Letters on file in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution show that Couch made prep- arations for his forthcoming Mexican trip at Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia, Pa., and that, although he received orders to proceed to Brownsville, Tex., in October, 1852, he was notified by Professor Baird on December 26, 1852, that the letter from the Mexican minister addressed to Couch in care of Professor Henry had been received. It is thus apparent that Couch did not reach Brownsville before 1853, and this assumption is confirmed in part by the fact that the first specimens collected at that locality are dated February, 1853.
The exploring expedition conducted by Lieutenant Couch reached Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on March 1, 1853. While there Couch purchased the collection of Luis Berlandier and presented it to the Smithsonian Institution. Baird acknowledged its safe arrival in Washington on April 25, 1853. The party then proceeded west- ward through the States of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila, at least as far as the Rio Nasas in Durango. The report of this exploring expedition was never published, and it is difficult to deter- mine from the labels attached to specimens the route followed on the return trip to Brownsville. A specimen labeled as having been taken by Lieutenant Couch at Ringgold Barracks, Tex., is dated July 15, 1853, and this date would seem to indicate that the trip was one of short duration. There are, however, other specimens that are labeled as having been taken in August, 1853, in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. It is apparent, however, that all the Mexican speci- mens received from Couch were collected during 1853, since he arrived in Washington some time prior to January 10, 1854. Couch re- mained in Washington for some months writing a report on the explorations made by his party in Mexico, and was then ordered to Boston, Mass., and in October, 1854, to Fort Leavenworth, Kans., where he remained until he resigned from the Army on April 30, 1855. These specimens are undoubtedly cotypes of Girard’s species.
Two specimens (U.S.N.M. No. 2622) from Chihuahua, collected by Dr. Thomas H. Webb, are designated in the museum catalogue as the cotypes of Girard’s Bufo insidior. The preservation of these specimens is fair, but both are very much bleached. Doctor Webb was the secretary and surgeon of Commissioner John R. Bartlett’s
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 5S
party of the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission. Returning from the Pacific coast, Bartlett’s party followed the road through the State of Chihuahua, and, according to the commis- sioner’s journal, was within the limits of that Mexican State from October 8 until November 14, 1852. The entry in the museum catalogue reads “Chihuahua, Mex.,”’ which may or may not refer to the city of Chihuahua. Specimens exramined.—Twelve, as follows:
Bufo debilis
Num- Catalogue | ber of : ; By whom collected or Museum Nor speci- Locality collected Date collected leant whoulrecoivad mens WS INEM 2622 12 | CurmmuUAHUA: No definite local- 1852 Thomas H. Webb. ity. Poles. 25153 1} SmnaLoa: Mazatlan_-_----__-_- Apr. —, 1868 | F. Bischoff. Dr fifty co 2621 28 | TAMAULIPAS: Matamoros-_--__| Mar. —, 1853 | D. N. Couch. DOU! =< 47865 1 | NAYARIT: Acaponeta_________- June 26, 1897 | Nelson and Goldman. 1 Cotypes of Bufo insidior. 2 Young; cotypes of Bufo debilis.
BUFO MARINUS (Linnaeus) Figure 11
1758. [Rana] marina LinNaxnvs, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 211 (no. 7).
1784. Rana gigas WALLBAUM, Schrift. Berlin. Ges. Nat. Freunde, vol. 5, p. 239.
1799. [Bufo] marinus ScHNEIDmER, Historiae amphibiorum naturalis et literariae, fase. I, pp. 219-222.—NrimpxENn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 76, 138. :
1801. Bufo agua LatreILue, Histoire naturelle des reptiles, vol. 2, p. 130, pl.—, fig. 1, An. X (Brazil and Cuba).—Daupin, 1803, Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds, pp. 64-66, pl. 37.—Davpin, 1803, Histoire naturelle, générale et particuliére, des reptiles, vol. 8, p. 205, An. XI.
1833. Bufo horribilis WIEGMANN, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, pp. 654, 655 (vicinity of Vera Cruz, Mexico).—Pxrters, 1868, Monatsber. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 81, Feb.
Type locality.—America.
Range.—From Rio Yaqui in southern Sonora (Camoa), southern Durango (Guasamota), Morelos, southeastern Mexico (Chalco), and the western boundary of Tamaulipas (Hidalgo), south through Mexico and Central America to southern Peru (Urubamba Valley) and Pacific coast of Argentina (Buenos Aires). These enormous toads either were indigenous to or have been introduced on many of the Windward Islands, including St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Paget (East Bermuda), Martinique, Santa Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada. They occur also on Tobago and Trinidad, and have been introduced into Jamaica and Porto Rico. In most places where they have been introduced they have multiplied very rapidly. Reported from: Sinaloa, Presidio de Mazatlan (Forrer); Durango, Ventanas (Forrer); Jalisco, north of Rio de Santiago (Godman), Guadalajara
54 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
(Dugés); Michoacan (Dugés); Morelos, Cuautla (Dugés); Guerrero, Iguala, Tierra Colorado, and San Luis Allende (Gadow); Oaxaca, San Mateo del Mar, and Tehuantepec (Gadow); Vera Cruz, Tampico (Richardson), Coatzacoalcos (Street), Tetela (Gadow), Cuatotolapam and Lake Catemaco (Ruthven).
Remarks.—Linnaeus gave the name Rana marina to the toad described and figured by Seba,’® and merely states that its habitat is in America. In the caption for the Dutch text, Seba refers to this species as a ‘‘rare Virginia frog.’”’ In the Latin text, however, it is listed as ‘“‘Rana, Marina, Americana, rara; Mas.” The presence of scrotumlike protuberances below the vent, which possibly were the result of faulty preservation, led Seba to conclude that the specimen figured wasamale. The type of Bufo marn- nus is therefore the specimen figured and described by Seba. Information furnished by Dr. Leonhard Stejneger indicates that the collection on which the ‘‘Thesaurus’’ was based was pur- chased in 1716 for 15,000 Dutch guil- ders by ‘‘Peter the Great”’ of Russia and taken to St. Petersburg. This collection subsequently became the property of the St. Petersburg Acad- emy of Sciences, which, however, was not established by Catherine I until December 21, 1725. A large part of the first collection '' assembled by ; Seba was destroyed by fire in St. FIGURE 11.—Head of Bufo marinus (U. S. N. Petersburg in 1747. Seba died in
M. No. 54119) from Gatun, Panama: a, Lat- 1736, and his second collection was
ee a ee sold at public auction in 1752 at Amsterdam. A portion of this collection was also purchased by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Wallbaum, who published an extended description of this toad, con- cludes that it is a land type because the construction of the foot does not seem to be adapted for swimming in the sea. Hence, he argues that if this observation is corroborated, the Latin specific name Bufo marinus (Linnaeus) must be corrected, because it is misleading. Wallbaum proposes Rana gigas as a substitute name for the inappro- priate specific name marinus.
10 Seba, A., Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata descriptio, et iconibus artificiossimis expressio, per universam physices historiam, Amsterdam, vol. 1, p. 120, pl. 76, fig. 1, 1734.
1 Strauch, A., Das zoologische Museum der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften 2u St. Peters- burg in Seinem finfzig jihrigen Bestehen, St, Petersburg, pp. 1v+372, 1889; Thomas, O., Ann. and Mag. Wat. Hist., ser. 6, vol. 9, no. 53, p. 310, 1892.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 55
In describing Bufo agua, Latreille seems to have confused the South American Bufo marinus with the Cuban Bufo peltocephalus. It is stated that this enormous toad has been found principally in Brazil and in Cuba. Reference is also made to the fact that the figure in Seba’s ‘‘Thesaurus,”’ which is the basis for Bufo marinus (Linnaeus), is hardly recognizable. Latreille does state, however, that his Bufo agua is the same toad as the Bufo marinus of authors, or ‘‘L’épaule- armée.”’ One might infer from these remarks that the figure and description of Bufo agua was based upon some specimen in the ‘‘ Cabi- net d’Histoire Naturelle du Jardin du Roi’”’in Paris. It would appear from the synonymy listed under Bufo agua in Daudin’s natural history of frogs and toads that this author had failed to recognize the essen- tial characters of this species. In the eighth volume of his natural history of reptiles, which was published during the preceding year, Daudin curiously enough does differentiate between ‘‘Le Crapaud Epaule-Armée”’ and ‘‘Le Crapaud Agua.’’ The synonymy given for “Te Crapaud Epaule-Armée”’ is correct and includes Seba’s ‘‘The- saurus,” pl. 76, fig.1. Itshould be noted that ‘‘Le Crapaud Agua” in this last-mentioned publication of Daudin is a quite different batra- chian from Bufo agua Latreille.
Wiegmann’s Bufo horribilis is based on specimens collected by Ferdinand Deppe and Graf von Sack in Mexico. The four cotypes (M.N.B. Nos. 3479-81) collected by Deppe are all toads of moderate size. The one collected at Misantla (No. 3479) has a head- and-body length of about 167 mm.; an annotation on the label states that this species is No. 57 in the sale catalogue of Deppe’s brother. Of the two (No. 3481) labeled as coming from Vera Cruz, the largest has a body length of about 110 mm. ‘The largest of the cotypes (No. 3480) is without definite locality and has a body length of about 125mm. The fifth cotype (No. 3498) is a young individual collected in Mexico by Graf von Sack and F. Deppe that lacks cranial crests and has a head-and-body length of not more than 50 mm.
Full-grown toads with a rather rough skin and with triangular parotoid glands as large as or larger than the side of the head and studded with large pores may be referred without question to this species. In general, the coloration of Bufo marinus is quite variable, ranging through the various shades of brown, including yellowish, reddish, or even blackish, and occasionally greenish olive; upperparts with or without large black insuliform spots, which when present are usually edged with pale yellow; a light vertebral line occasionally visible; arms and legs of immature individuals usually banded with dark brown; underparts dingy white or yellow. The interorbital space is wider than the upper eyelid and the cranial crests are often quite prominent in old adults. Sexually mature males have numerous
56 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
low spiny tubercles on the back. The range of individual variation in Bufo marinus has been discussed by Ruthven” and Noble.”
Adults of Bufo marinus are the largest of the true toads. Miranda- Ribeiro “ states that specimens with a head-and-body length of 220 mm. have been taken in Brazil and that this species ranges southward to the Patagonian district. These large toads are nocturnal in their habits and hide under fallen tree trunks, matted leaves, and stones, or burrow into loose soil.
Atmospheric conditions seemingly influence the time of breeding of this species. Egg laying may commence as early as February, if there has been plenty of rain, but may be delayed until July in regions of continued drought. The breeding season also varies according to locality. Tadpoles have been noticed in Barbados in the pools during August and February, while in Bermuda the eggs are usually laid during April. From the observations made by Ruthven,” it would appear that 45 days are required for development from egg to adult. The eggs that Mark !* kept under observation hatched in a few hours less than 4 days.
The poisonous nature of the glandular secretions of some of the toads has been investigated by Madame Phisalix,!” and she has dis- cussed the kinds of toxins that are present. Few actual observations on the action of this secretion on other animals, however, have been published. It is therefore of interest to review a short paper by Dodds.'® Near the end of July, 1922, at Los Mochis in northern Sinaloa, a small terrier dog was observed teasing a large toad, pre- sumably Bufo marinus. At last the dog caught the toad by the back and ‘‘although the dog’s mouth was not in contact with the toad for more than an instant, he immediately lost all interest in the animal.’’ The dog refused water and “‘in about a minute’s time showed signs of weakening and general paralysis. He sank to the ground with his legs spread out, writhing and whining with pain, and unable to recog- nize his master. During this time he was able to push himself along the ground, gradually becoming weaker and very rigid, with eyes greatly protruding and respiration and heart action exceedingly rapid. After twenty minutes he was somewhat quieter as if he was going to die.”” Castor oil was then administered to the terrier and an hour later the dog apparently was quite normal.
Specimens examined.—One hundred and four, as follows:
1 Ruthven, A. G., The amphibians and reptiles collected by the University of Michigan-Walker Expedition in southern Vera Cruz, Mexico. Zool. Jahrb. (Syst. Abt.), vol. 32, pl. 4, p. 309, 1912.
Noble, G. K., Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 38, art. 10, p. 333, 1918.
Miranda-Ribeiro, A. N., Archiv. Mus. Nac. Rio Janeiro, vol. 27, pp. 134, 216, 217, 1926.
4’ Ruthven, A. G., The breeding season of Bufo marinus (L.) in Demerara. Copeia, no. 31, pp. 43, 44, May 24, 1916.
16 Pope, P. H., The introduction of West Indian Anurainto Bermuda. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 123, 124, June, 1917.
17 Phisalix-Picot, M., Animaux venimeux et venins, vol. 2, pp. 1-174, 1922.
18 Dodds, C. T., A note on Bufo marinus. Copeia, no. 114, pp. 5, 6, Jan. 20, 1923.
Catalogue Museum No.
UES eM 47243 iby: ee Se 47169 Dore Ve. 47450 Dolan 2. 30517
F.M.N.H-. 1361
U.S.N.M____- 71054-55
DTN Bes oi 3479
© Gib Me 2! 13 Diese: 4 8
U.S.N.M____- 30354 Doers +. 5 6352
EONESIN Henne 1367
AsMN. Héace 12305
WEN IB... 3481
AAG UTNE TVies NERS es hy
A.M.N.H_---| 13751-52
U.S.N.M___-- 18987-88 ID Qn ees 47903 Dsl uses 63855-67 Osseo 11113 Doss. 2! 63665-71 Woree ss 57591
MiGreeceey eu 3950
U.S.N.M_.__- 57592
Boreas 10
FIM.N:H.:-.- 1379 103 Xess 1358
U.M.U.M_.__- 14
esau
Mi @y7isers eel 1253 Dns. - 1054
OAR fe esas © 5040
Mp Dox, res 5188-89
eSsNen ies 46968 Dope bia 47466-68
AMUN. A. 13920
OLAQ tity 4 6345
ACV ET 2 6258 DoAcks. 6261-62 ID Gree se oa 6266-67 BGs Pere: 6269-70 [nie ees 6274 Dok se. 6276
WSaNe Mies 47362 Do 47465 Do 30434
A.M.N.H 6252-57
U.S.N.M 47080
A.M.N.H___- 13906
U.S.N.M 46854-56 Do 46847 Do 46763 Do 47310 Do 46619 Do 47571 Doioe... 13907 DoeeLt Le: 12288 Wo sts are. 19280
F.M.N.H____ 549
a
M.N.B 3480
Oe 3493
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS Bufo marinus
Num- ber of speci- mens
Locality collected Date collected
t|, SONORAs Camoalan i. jee oae Nov. 8, 1898 1 | DuRANGO: Guasamota_.______ Aug. 14, 1897 1) TAMAULIPAS: Hidalgo________ Mar. 18, 1891
VERA CRUZ:
57
By whom collected or from whom received
$$ $$$
E. A. Goldman. Nelson and Goldman. William Lloyd.
1 WOrdOb as oa 2 ee eed (?) C. Sartorius. 4 pile e S55: oc te hoe a Oa 1903 S. E. Meek. 2 VUE OTs onto ceaeat eR eeie ae eet oe C. Sartorius. 1] IMiisantla = 225i 5.0.7 Os LenS Ferdinand Deppe. 1 Motzorongat’ 22.0 cae itd | dane Weenie These ee G02. J2cc2 eee AURA, Sept. 10, 1918 1 OnZaDB 22 sano Ue omen | one en ee (?) C. Sartorius. Tele a Oe u bre ki SEs Ty eB otil BE Wigs Gude to Francis Sumichrast, 4 EOE OZ eae ee re te ee tied tee 1903 8. E. Meek. 1 Weral@ruz 42. =. ead June 3,1919] Paul D. R. Ruthling. Woes CaS nen ae Ru heal oyna Mat Ferdinand Deppe. Dg Pesce DOSR! 2350) see pel TEE July —,1918 | S. Senties, 2] Nayarit: Puerta Azul, east | Dee. 23,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling, of Santiago Ixcuintla. 2 | JaLisco: Barranca Ibarra______ Apr. 21,1892 | P. L. Jouy. COLMA: Dal pease Tories ae te ear eee Feb. —, 1892 | E. W. Nelson. (Shi: ¥Coliman yh ele ES, July —,1863 | John Xantus. Te Pad Quetta elem ee Lees 1863 Do. if |CLEOS. gass PTs eT el 1863 Do. De Os ne Lees A OM en July 27,1902 | Julius Hurter. Oe Eo Mtr £7! 5 Freee iag erent 1916 G. Gliickert. MORE LOs: 1 Pucntelde Extlat.: 5! June —, 1901 | Julius Hurter. Oe ubatecalarsssenc cee ok een Oct. 14, 1890 sin Vanitepece hiv ss Ceuih oe vee 1903 S. E. Meek. 1 A Tixcony yes 7h biter. 2 bai 1903 Do. 1 Vaso de Tenango, 1,400-1,500 | July 17,1926 | H. B. Baker.
meters elevation. GUERRERO: Acapilcow tt ete Ph edhe 6 d
1872 1872
12, 1925 20, 1925 - 8, 1894
24, 1895 14, 1920 Aug. 24, 1925 July —, 1920
ea Se ee AE July
sa S500 5) aire etait ae oy dois>ths-§
aes doe ee
ai se Goer Wy
ea 2 [Coase dares 254
=e ae do. Ses
May 28, 1895
May 1, 1895
West of Tehuantepec River_| May 1, 1920
MUxte pee. a. 2 ees nee Apr. 6, 1894
Xadani and San Miguel del {j une 8, 1920
Puerto. June 10, 1920 CHIAPAS:
La wees 800 feet alti- | Nov. 10, 1895 tude.
Wapachtla=.-- aco ee Feb. 1, 1896
TONAL aA bn) filed ae FO Aug. 5, 1895
May §8, 1900
Jan. 23,1885 Jan. 29, 1885
May 9, 1900 | Apr. 14,1901 |
Hassler Expedition. Do.
Joseph R. Slevin. Do. afeison and Goldman. oO. Paul D. R. Ruthling.
Joseph R. Slevin. Paul D. R. Ruthling. 0.
Nelson. and Goldman.
0: Francis Sumichrast. Paul D. R. Ruthling. Nelson and Goldman.
\Paul D. R. Ruthling,
Nelson and Goldman.
Nelson and Goldman. Do.
E. W. Nelson. Nelson and Goldman.
Do. : /}AleaeED Es U. S. Fish Commission. sate Schott.
0. | George F. Gaumer. Ferdinand Deppe.
Ferdinand Deppe and Graf von Sack.
! Cotypes of Bufo horribilis,
58 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
BUFO MARMOREUS Wiegmann Figure 12
1833. Bufo marmoreus Wi1EGMANN, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, p. 661.— GuntTHER, 1901, Biologia Centrali-Americana, Reptilia and Batrachia, p. 246, pl. 70, fig. A, Feb.—NuirprEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46,. Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 76, 130.
1868. Bufo argillaceus Corr, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 20, p. 138, Mar. (Colima, Mexico).
1894. Bufo lateralis WeRNER, Zool. Anz., Jahrg. 17, no. 446, p. 156, May 7 (Tehuantepec, Mexico).
Type locality —Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Range.—From Mazatlan and Rosario in Sinaloa south through Colima, Jalisco, and Guerrero to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca and to Tonala in Chiapas.
ig Reported from: Guerrero, Cocoyul, Tierra FESS Colorado, Cajones, Chilpancingo, Rio Balsas, #22 and Iguala (Gadow); Oaxaca, Salina Cruz ecn2 (Gadow). Ete ee Remarks.—The cotypes of Bufo marmoreus a Pee (M.N.B. Nos. 3529-31) were taken at Vera Cruz by Ferdinand Deppe, according to the label on the jar. These specimens have the light-colored vertebral stripe with irregular longitudinal light line. The supraciliary and postorbital crests are very low. The dark spots on the upperparts have a narrow white edge; the parotoids are light colored above and dark laterally; the underparts are white; Ficure 12,—Head of Bufo mar- the metatarsal tubercles are small; and the
Cee. oe skin of the upperparts is studded with minute
of Santo Domingo, Oaxaca, Warts. The head-and-body lengths of the
Mexico: a, Lateral view; b, three cotypes are 58.2, 56.5, and 56.5 mm.,
dorsal view A
respectively.
John Xantus de Vesey was appointed United States consul at Manzanillo, Mexico, in 1863. From March, 1863, to March, 1864, he remained in Colima, although his consular appointment was revoked prior to August 11, 1863. On February 29, 1864, his last shipment from Manzanillo was assembled, and he states in Part V of his field catalogue that this collection included 1,000 alcoholic specimens withoutlabels. Evidently Xantus traveled a great deal while residing in Colima, as an entry in his journal dated June 25, 1863, states that he had traveled 700 miles that month. He made numerous trips to the city of Colima, and in all probability collected the cotypes of Bufo argillaceus (U.S.N.M. Nos. 27763-64) in the vicinity of that city. These cotypes are fairly well preserved, but are somewhat distorted. It is possible that the preservative may have been allowed
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 59
to evaporate at some time when they were in the possession of Professor Cope.
Professor Werner received the type specimen (N.M.W., Werner Coll. No. 115, 1929) of Bufo lateralis from T. K. Salmon, who made collections on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in 1872. The following notes were made on the type: Head-and-body length, 59 mm.; the hind limb being carried forward along the body, the tibio-tarsal joint does not reach to the level of the parotoid gland, and is at least 7 mm. from the posterior margin of the tympanum; the parotoid glands are placed diagonally on the shoulders, the greatest diameter of the right one being 6.4 mm. and that of the left one 6.8; cranial crests low; a short supratympanic crest; transverse diameter of tym- panum, 3.3 mm.; transverse diameter of eye, 7.5 mm.; transverse diameter of head at level of angle of jaws, 21 mm.; subarticular tubercles on fourth toe double; soles of fore and hind feet with numer- ous supernumerary tubercles; inner metatarsal tubercle small, but larger than outer; a row of minute warts along tarsal fold; throat, abdomen, and under surfaces of thighs granular; warts on upperparts low and flattened ; a white dorso-lateral longitudinal stripe above linear series of low warts; a lateral brown band extends from angle of paro- toid to thigh; coloration of upperparts much faded; a light vertebral stripe, on each side of which is an anterior and a posterior dark blotch; under surfaces of fore and hind feet black.
The species Bufo marmoreus seems to be somewhat closely related to B. canaliferus, a species that has a somewhat similar coloration, but is distinguished at once by its elongated parotoid glands.
The habits and life history of Bufo marmoreus are unknown. Collectors in the past have paid little attention to the ecological preferences of Mexican toads. A large lot received from Xantus would seem to indicate that they congregate in pools in considerable numbers during the breeding season and that their breeding habits are not unlike those of other toads. Their main center of abundance seems to lie west of the Sierra Madre del Sur.
Toads belonging to this species have the following characteristics: Ground color of upperparts brownish gray, marbled more or less distinctly with some darker color; a whitish vertebral line of varying width, on each side of which are three large or a greater number of small irregular light margined dark blotches; the whitish markings above and the brown markings below the lateral row of small warts form more or less confluent longitudinal bands of varying width; a contin- uous or medially interrupted V-shaped band crosses the upper eyelids and interorbital region; fore and hind limbs above with dark cross- bars; underparts immaculate; cranial crests low, the most conspicu- ous of which are the combined supraciliary and postorbital crests which form a continuous curve from the anterior margin of orbit to
60
BULLETIN 160,
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
supratympanic crest; orbito-tympanal crests short; canthal and pari- etal crests vestigial or absent; supratympanic crest short and thick; parotoid glands nearly subtriangular, smaller or at most no larger than upper eyelid; skin of upperparts rather thickly studded with small warts and tubercles; and a row of small closely spaced tuber- cles in place of a tarsal fold.
Specimens eramined.—Two hundred, as follows:
Museum
1 Cotypes of Bufo marmoreus.
Catalogue No.
8537 4694246 4744648
3529-31
10310 11114-18
13898-900 47123 47129
10014 30431-33 30435-36
6260 6262-65 6271-73
6275
115-1929
Num- ber of speci- mens
moO ee ee bo
_
2 3 2 1 4 3 1
3]
Bufo marmoreus
Locality collected
SINALOA: IMazatlane |. ses Sots see oe Rosario___
JATISCO? Jamayore + 25s 5252 _ MeExico:; Acapulco: 82 = GUERRERO: Papayo_-_-_------- OAXACA:
Mountains near Santo Do- mingo.
Mountains 12 miles north of Santo Domingo.
Tapana, Tehuantepec_-_-_-_-
‘Tehuantepee?. ee
nGEhae of Tehuantepec_-__
2 Cotypes of Bufo argillaceus.
Date collected
Aug. 22, 1919 1880 Apr. 20, 1903
1920 June 11, 1895 June 19, 1895 Feb. —, 1876
BUFO PUNCTATUS Baird and Girard
RED-SPOTTED TOAD
Figure 13
By whom collected or from whom received
Paul D. R. Ruthling. Nelson and Goldman.
Do. Ferdinand Deppe.
John Xantus.
Julius Hurter. John Xantus.
Do. C. H. T. Townsend. C. M. Barber. Paul D. R. Ruthling. D. B. von Brunt. Nelson and Goldman.
Paul D. R. Ruthling. Nelson and Goldman,
Do.
Francis Sumichrast. (?) Francis Sumichrast.
Do. Paul D. R. Ruthling. Do. Do. Do. T. K. Salmon.
3 Type of Bufo lateralis.
1852. Bufo punctatus Batrp and Grrarp, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 6, p. 173, Oct.—Barrp, 1859, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, pp. 25, 35, pl. 39, figs. 5-9.—Broccut, 1882, Mission scientifique au Mexique et dans l’Amérique Centrale, re- cherches zoologiques, pt. 3, sect. 2, p. 68, pl. 7, figs. 2, 2a-d.—Copz, 1889, U.S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 262, fig. 60-——Dicxrrson, 1906, The frog book, pp. 110-112, figs. 116-120, col. pl. 5, fig. 1—NuspEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Manat Anura I, pp. 74, 109.—Srorerr, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 27, pp. 192-199.
Type locality—Rio San Pedro (Devils River, Val Verde County, Tex.), a tributary of the Rio Grande del Norte.
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 61
Range.—F rom the Mexican boundary southward through Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila (Monclova and Castanuelas), and Tamaulipas (Sierra Nola) to San Luis Potosi and Guanajuato (Silao). In the Unites States the species is confined to the region west of the Mis- sissippi River, where it occurs locally as far east as the Wichita Mountains (Mount Scott, Comanche County, Okla.). It has been taken in southwestern Colorado (Basin Creek, San Miguel County) in a small alkaline stream whose waters reach the Colorado River by way of the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers. Along the San Juan River in southeastern Utah this toad has been found at a number of localities (Bluff, Natural Bridges, and Caroline Bridge in San Juan County). In northern Arizona it has been found on the floor of the Grand Canyon between the Coconinoand Kaibab Plateaus, and in southwestern Utah in the drainage of the Virgin River (Zion National Park, Washington County). It has been found in eastern California in the Panamint Mountains (Cottonwood Canyon, Inyo County) and in Death Valley (Furnace Creek). South of these localities it has been reported in California from the Turtle Mountains (San Bernardino County), Fort Yuma, the Imperial Valley, and in San Diego County (Vallecito); and thence southward in Lower California to Cape San Lucas. In west-central Arizona the red-spotted toad has been taken in the drainage of Salt River and its tributaries (White River Canyon, Navajo County;
FIGURE 13.—Head of Bufo punctatus 3 : i (U.S.N.M. No. 12661) from La Paz, and McMillenville, Gila County). It has — Lower California: a, Lateral view;
f : b, dorsal vi also been recorded in Arizona from Mari- Tee
copa County (Cave Creek), Pima County (Catalina Mountains near Tucson), Santa Cruz County (Crittendon), and Cochise County (Ramsay Canyon, Huachuca Mountains). It is known to occur in extreme southwestern New Mexico (Dog Spring and Dog Mountains, Hidalgo County). With the exception of the panhandle region, this toad is distributed locally over the western half of Texas. The records by counties are as follows: Dallas (Dallas), Somervell (Glen Rose), Tom Green (Fort Concho), McLennan (Waco), Burnet (Sherrard Ranch), Hays (San Marcos, Wimberley, and Devils Canyon), Kendall (Boerne), Bexar (San Antonio and Helotes), and Duval (San Diego). The occurrences along the Rio Grande River by counties are as follows: Cameron (Brownsville), Starr (Ringgold Barracks), Val Verde 66785—32——_5
62 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
(Devils River and Comstock), Brewster (Boquillas and Terlingua), and El] Paso (El Paso). In the drainage of the Pecos River in Texas this toad has been taken in Jeff Davis County (Fort Davis and Davis Mountains) and in Reeves County (Cherry Creek). Farther north there are records for Alamogordo in Otero County and Albuquerque in Bernalillo County, N. Mex.
Remarks.—The three cotypes of Bufo punctatus (U.S.N.M. No. 2618) were collected in Texas by John H. Clark, a member of Col. J. D. Graham’s party of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, on the Rio San Pedro (Devils River), a tributary of the Rio Grande. According to the original entry in the catalogue of the division of reptiles, these cotypes were received from ‘“‘J. D. G.”’ (J. D. Graham). The name of the collector is not given in the catalogue, but Baird in his report on the reptiles of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey credits their discovery to J. H. Clark. Inasmuch as they must have been collected not only prior to the publication of the original description, but also while Clark was working under the supervision of Colonel Graham, it will not be difficult to fix the approximate date of collection. The party under the direction of Graham followed well-known wagon roads used by the United States Army in southern Texas. Leaving Indianola they passed through San Antonio on their way to Fort Inge. From that post the old road turns westward toward the Rio Grande and crosses the Rio San Pedro (Devils River) near its mouth, and then follows the valley of the latter for some distance before going across to the Pecos River. The road followed the western bank of the Pecos River to the mouth of Delaware Creek and then taking a more westerly direction it passed Salt Lagoons Spring, and ended at Frontera (El Paso, Tex.). Graham’s party arrived at Copper Mines, N. Mex., on August 2, 1851. Work on the boundary survey was com- menced shortly after this date, and Clark accompanied Graham in September, 1851, as far west as Santa Cruz in Sonora, Mexico. On the return trip, Clark spent some time collecting in the vicinity of Copper Mines, N. Mex. Maj. W. H. Emory was not directed to proceed to El Paso, Tex., to relieve Colonel Graham until Septem- ber 13,1851. Clark received a new assignment from Major Emory, and on February 12, 1852, we find him at the Presidio del Norte, which was near the mouth of the Rio Conchos in Chihuahua, and in May, 1852, at Frontera. The cotypes thus were collected during the year 1851 and probably during July.
Spotted toads are readily distinguished from other species by the broadness and flatness of the top of the head, but vestigial cranial crests may or may not be present. The general coloration of the upperparts ranges from light reddish brown to olive or even malachite green. The small sharply pointed warts on the upperparts are bright
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 63
pink or vermilion at the base, and their bases are often encircled or partially encircled by narrow black borders. The underparts are whitish, irregularly speckled with black.
The spotted toad seems to prefer desert areas and in many localities is an inhabitant of rocky gulches and canyons with seepages and springs. During the hot midsummer it takes refuge under large flat stones and bowlders in creek bottoms, under stones partly imbedded in moist earth and sand, or in niches in rock bluffs. Although large numbers of them frequently congregate in pools of water during the breeding season, they are rarely found except after dark. The breeding season varies according to locality and meteoro- logical conditions. In southern Texas, this toad breeds early in March but along the northern limits of its range the breeding season may be delayed until April and May.
Specimens examined.—Forty-five, as follows:
Bufo punctatus
Num- Museum peeeeee ee Locality collected Date collected By whan culleeee mens 7 oe 1658 11 | TAMAULIPAS: Sierra Nola_---- 1879 Edward Palmer. COAHUILA: U.S.N.M.---- 2617 1 Castantielist 22 esa 1853 D. N. Couch. VEG 1638 26 Mionclova:-2352 2.2 s > ese 1880 Edward Palmer. US sNeMe 3 2649 8 | CaravanHvaA: Chihuahua Rio-_|-_-------------- John Potts. San Luis Potosi: MSOs es 1668 13 San eas Potosi (9 leagues 1879 Edward Palmer. south). 1D Yee eee 1662 14 San ae Potosi (22 miles | Sept. 17, 1879 Do. north). ULSeNLMe 222 26158-59 Di GQUANATUATON 222 ere bee ae ee eee Alfred Dugés. 1 Young
BUFO SIMUS Schmidt Figure 14
1858. Bufo simus Scumipt, Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. math.-naturw. Classe, Wien, vol. 14, pt. 2, pp. 254, 255, pl. 3, fig. 22—Gunrumr, 1901, Biologia Centrali- Americana, Reptilia and Batrachia, pp. 254, 255, May.—NrepEn, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 74, 131.
1858. Bufo intermedius GinruerR, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum, p. 140, pl. 9, fig. A-—GtnTuer, 1901, Biologia Centrali-Americana, Reptilia and Batrachia, p. 255, May.— NIEDEN, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 75, 1383.
1879. Bufo occidentalis (MS. De Fiuipp1) CAMERANO, Atti R. Accad. Sci. Torino, vol. 14, p. 887 (Mexico).
1879. Bufo monksiae Corn, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. 18, no. 104, p. 263, June 20 (Guanajuato, Mexico)—NuirpEN, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 73, 110.
Type locality——Chiriqui River in the vicinity of Bocas del Toro, Panama.
64 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Range.—F¥rom Mazatlan in Sinaloa, Sierra Madre in Zacatecas, and Orizaba in Vera Cruz, south through Nayarit, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Morelos, Puebla, and Guerrero to the Isthmus of Tehuan- tepec in Oaxaca; exact limits of range not known; occurs in the province of Bocas del Toro in northeastern Panama and in the Andes of Ecuador. Reported from: Vera Cruz, Tetela (Gadow); Sinaloa, Presidio (Giinther); Durango, Milpas (Forrer); Guanajuato, Guana- juato, Huazteca Potosina, and Silao (Dugés); Puebla, Izucar de Matamoros (Perez); Guerrero, Omilteme and Chilpancingo (Gadow), Amula (H. H. Smith); Oaxaca, Totolapan (Gadow).
Remarks.—The original description of Bufo simus is based solely on young toads taken by J. von Warszewiez in shallow places in the Chiriqui River near Bo- cas del Toro, Panama. It is assumed that the author refers to rivers or streams descending from the Voleano Chiriqui through the present province of Bocas del Toro and flowing into the lagoon, which is con- nected with the Carib- bean Sea by the so-called Bocas del Toro. It is stated that the cotypes are in the Zoological Museum of Krakow. According to the original
FiGURE 14.—Heads of Bufo simus: a, Lateral view of specimen S _ (U.S.N.M. No. 2607) from Valley of Mexico, Mexico;-b, dorsal Gescription, the body view of same; c, lateral view of specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 47171) length of the largest
from Dolores, Nayarit, Mexico; d, dorsal view of same ee Ee 3
individuals (cotypes) is 26mm. There are no bony crests on the crown and on the hinder part of the head. The tympanum is concealed. The parotoid glands are medium sized and irregularly rounded. There is a slight web on the hind foot, but the toes have dermal fringes. The skin on the back is studded with large and small warts, but the skin of the underparts, with the exception of the thighs, is nearly smooth. The coloration of the upperparts is a lighter or darker gray, and that of the underparts yellow-gray with irregular blackish spots.
It has been generally believed that Bufo simus was closely related to Bufo intermedius, and that it differed from the latter only in having the tympanum hidden under a tubercular skin. Ten young toads belonging to the American Museum of Natural History and collected at or near Orizaba in Vera Cruz were compared with the origina,
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 65
description of Bufo simus. 'These individuals have body lengths ranging from 22 mm. to 29mm. A small indistinctly outlined tym- panum, which was covered with minute tubercles, was recognized on five of these young toads. On the remaining five, the tympanum was entirely concealed by numerous closely spaced tubercles. On all, the skin of the underparts is seen on close inspection to be distinctly granular. Nevertheless the smaller individuals have a much smoother and a much more delicate skin on the underparts than have older individuals. A rather casual examination of such individuals might possibly have led Schmidt to infer that the skin on the underparts was nearly smooth. Giinther,'’ however, states that the British Museum of Natural History received through Doctor Werner one of the cotypes of Schmidt’s Bufo simus. This specimen (B. M. No. 98. 9.14. 6) has a tarsal fold, and the tympanum is concealed by the tubercular skin. The head and body length is 15 mm. Although it is a very young toad, the coloration of the upperparts, especially the light areas, the sides, and the upper lip, corresponds rather closely with the type of color pattern most commonly observed in Mexican specimens. The skin on the abdomen is distinctly granulated.
The cotypes of Bufo intermedius (B. M. Nos. 58. 9. 20. 3-6) were collected in 1857 by Louis Fraser, a bird collector employed by Dr. P. L. Sclater, and are labeled as coming from Guayaquil and the Andes of Ecuador. Although the Andes locality is not stated, it is known that Fraser was collecting at Gualaquiza and at Zamora in the eastern wooded region along the Rio S. Iago and on the eastern slope of the watershed at Cuenca, which is situated at an altitude of 8,200 feet on the Rio Matadero. Two of the cotypes have the type of coloration that is commonly present in Mexican specimens, one has prominent black spots on the light ground color of the upperparts, and the other has the color pattern somewhat obliterated by a darker suffusion. In addition, the parotoid glands come in contact with the postorbital cranial crests, the parietal crests are short, the subarticular tubercles on distal phalanges of the fourth toe are double, and a linear series of small tubercles extends along the tarsal fold. ‘The measurements of these four cotypes are, respectively: Head-and-body length, 90.4, 88, 76.4, and 76.7 mm.; transverse diameter of tympanum, 3.8, 3.1, 3.7, and 3.2 mm.; transverse diameter of orbit, 8.5, 8.8, 8.1, and 6.9 mm.; distance between anterior rim of eye and nostril, 6.3, 5.8, 5.0, and 4.3mm. The specimen figured and described by Giinther bears a very close resemblance to the toad that occurs in Mexico, and there are no known characters that will separate the former from the latter. Camerano merely published De Filippi’s manuscript name, Bufo occi- dentalis, in the synonymy of Bufo intermedius, and it is strictly a nomen nudum.
19 Giinther, A. C. L. G., Biologia Centrali-Americana, Reptilia and Batrachia, pp. 254, 255, May, 1901.
66 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The type of Bufo monksiae (U.S.N.M. No. 9896) is a young toad that measures 23.5 mm. from the tip of the snout to the vent. It was collected at Guanajuato by Alfred Dugés in 1877. The upperparts are brownish, with a few small ashen spots and a vertebral stripe of the same color. A transverse light-colored band extends across the eyelids and the interorbital region. It is clearly a young individual of Bufo simus. It is possible that the coloration of this individual may have been changed somewhat by the preservative or by the con- tainer.
The general coloration of the upperparts of Bufo simus is light gray or olive, marbled with a darker shade of brown. A light-colored interorbital band is generally present. The spotted pattern is espe- cially noticeable on a specimen (A. M. N. H. No. 13896) from Santa Catalina in Puebla. Some of the specimens collected in Jalisco have nearly white underparts. A specimen (A. M. N. H. No. 13905) taken at Cafetal Capalita in Oaxaca has an unusually warty skin. Young individuals of this species have a distinct light-colored vertebral stripe, and many have the belly and chin spotted with white. Twenty immature individuals, ranging from 32 mm. to 61 mm. in length, and - collected in Vera Cruz, Jalisco, and Oaxaca, have the tympanum practically hidden by closely approximated conical warts. On all these the tympanum is covered with a tubercular skin, and on a num- ber of them the sole discernible vestige of the tympanum is located in a dermal fold bordered by numerous conical tubercles. The paro- toid glands are generally elongated, somewhat bean-shaped, and in contact with the upper eyelid. These glands are generally studded with minute pores and in rare instances are somewhat pustulose. The tarsal fold is more or less distinct and generally is furnished with a linear series of small closely spaced tubercles. Posteriorly diverging supraciliary crests, short oblique parietal crests, and vestigial postor- bital crests are generally present, except on young or immature individ- uals. In a series of 50 individuals, all but two have double subartic- ular tubercles on the distal phalanges of the fourth toe.
Considerable variation in the color markings on the upperparts was observed in the series studied. The skin of the upperparts is generally covered with small warts, which are either conical or blunt. One individual (U.S.N.M. No. 47171), taken at Dolores in Nayarit on August 6, 1897, by Nelson and Goldman, differs in a number of respects from the average toad of this species. The skin of the upperparts, top of the head, and surfaces of the fore and hind limbs is exceptionally tubercular and is covered with closely set small conical warts. The elongated parotoid glands are likewise covered with spinose warts. The posteriorly diverging supraciliary crests are dis- tinct, but there are no vestiges of the parietals and the postorbitals. The tympanum is indistinct and is covered with tubercular skin and
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS
67
numerous small conical warts. There are single subarticular tuber-
cles on the distal phalanges of the fourth toe.
It would seem that
the hind feet are deformed, for the fourth toe of the right foot is longer than the corresponding toe on the left foot, and both are consid-
erably shorter than the normal.
small conical warts. Specimens examined.—Kighty-four, as follows:
Museum
AGM. NHS. < W-SiN-Mee:
ose A.M.N.H---_|
IN. MsWeet.- a
Num-
Catalogue | ber of
No.
13253 47449
46826 47170
47171 13252
11358 21160-61 9896
3951 3953-55 9032-33
13761-62 13779-95 30224-25
19268 13764-65
13776
13247
6293 13896-97
1359 1910-15
46961 46825 13251 13250 13754 64663 46827 13766 13248-49
13753 13755
47916 13905
1 Type of Bufo monksiae.
speci- mens
rome) Se WHO Re RR RRR RR eR ee RR Oe Oe
ee
Bufo simus
The tarsal fold has a linear series of
By whom collected or
Locality collected Date collected from whom received SINALOA: : Ruined monastery north of | Noy. 25,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. Mazatlan. Plomoesas >. seseerees kts July 19,1897 | Nelson and Goldman. ZACATECAS: Sierra Madre ct.) tesbeee Aug. 17, 1897 Do. eee) Oe es See ere EE LOLOL Do. NAYARIT: Dolores#35-2 7. ee eg se Aug. 6, 1897 Do. J Migr queésadOvisa2--22 22s Nov. 14,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. GUANAJUATO: Quangjustos:2 22-2. 2 Jan. 30,1880 | Alfred Dugés. eae GOe eS ae ak FE ae ee eee Do. sew GOAL ES De see pele sso ee 1877 Do. HIDALGO Genero: 222552 aes Sept. 24,1913 | W. M. Mann. Jaa td age EE Tee eer ees dos..fte Do. Wolasco: ices. 2242. 25 ese 1913 Do. VERA CRUZ: ‘ Opizsibas 222422222 ee Apr. 25,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. edhe Gok. 228 SE ee onthe (Jt 61 2571919 Do. eS Gee SP eae bo Nok et ee | Rlraneis » SU@nNenrast. py A¥e do0....----222---L-- 22.22} Aug. 2,891 | Willis S. Blatchley- Near Orizaba_-.=2.-+2==---- cee (2) | Paul D. R. Ruthling. 1918. North of Rio Atoyac, near |} June 18, 1918 Do. Potrero. FEDERAL DISTRICT: 3 miles east of Ixtacalco-.-_--| Oct. 27,1918 Do. PUEBLA: (Rueblpe tess tet essen July 22,1920 Do. Santa Catalina_----.-------- July 31, 1920 Do. MORELOS: @Guautla sis 222-2. sel S. E. Meek. @nemavacsLloss: 2 eS ae 8 aE H. Gadow. JALISCO: lAtemajac. 29473. 12 R22 May 28, 1892 | Nelson and Goldman. Colonen 28o2s3 eae Aug. 28, 1897 Do. ; E] Aquilar Mine__-_-------- Nov. 6,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. Hostotipaquillo-_--_---..----- Nov. 1, 1919 Do. North of Hostotipaquillo__-_| Sept. 26, 1919 Do. Af: Cos): eno ee eee ae Mar. 6, 1897 | Nelson and Goldman. hg dsaguna: tsetse Sethe Sept. 20, 1897 Do. ; On way to Magdalena-----_- | Sept. 29,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. Platanillo, 8 miles north of | Oct. 28,1919 Do. Magdalena. Rio Blanco, north of Zapopan_| Sept. 12, 1919 Do. West of Tonala__.----------- Sept. 17, 1919 Do. GUERRERO: ‘Talixtaqguillos 2-5. -<--—- See Dee. 10,1894 | Nelson and Goldman. OAXACA: Cafetal Capalita_-_-..------- July 15,1920 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. Wojtitias 22255513. ess 28 July 9, 1920 Do. Juquila, 5,000 feet altitude...| Mar. 2, 1895 | Nelson and Goldman. Mountain descent into valley| July 7,1920} Paul D. R. Ruthling. of Miahuatlan. Oaxneat Us gas Aug. 10,1919 | J. Jarduno. i a AO ele eh ee a Se es Ea OI len O waa isen aL Mountains near Oaxaca, | June 20,1894 | Nelson and Goldman. 9,000 feet altitude. Tehuantepec..-------------- 1920 Paul D. R. Ruthling. 2STATE: No definite locality ......-.--|...-------.---- Walley ot Mexicos: 2-222 esse 3. eee John Potts. 2 Young
68 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BUFO VALLICEPS Wiegmann NEBuLous Toap Figure 15
1833. Bufo valliceps W1eGMANN, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, pp. 657-659.— Peters, 1863, Monatsber. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 81.—Copr, 1889, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 292, fig. 73—DicxrErson, 1906, The frog book, pp. 108-110, figs 112-115, col. pl. 5, fig. 3—NuiEpEN, 1923, Das Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 76, 128.
1833. Bufo trachypus MS. W1EGMANN, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, pp. 657, 658, footnote. (Nomen nudum.)
1852. Bufo granulosus Batrp and Grirarp, Proce. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 6, p. 178, Oct. [Nec Bufo granulosus Sprx, 1824.)
1854. Bufo nebulifer Grrarp, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, p. 87, May.—Batirp, 1859, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, pp. 25, 35, pl. 40, figs. 1-4.
1858. Bufo sternosignatus [part] GiNTHER, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the collection of the British Museum, pp. 68, 69, pl. 5, fig. C’ (Cordova and Mexico).
1896. Bufo valliceps microtis WERNER, Verhandl. k. k. zool.-bot. Gesell. Wien, vol. 46, no. 8, p. 350. (Honduras.)
Type locality.—Mexico.
Range.—From the Rio Grande, below the mouth of Pecos River, southwest through Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Durango to southern Sinaloa (Mazatlan) and Nayarit (Acaponeta), and thence southward along both coasts as well as in the interior of Mexico to southern Costa Rica (Buenos Aires). Reported from Sinaloa, Pre- sidio de Mazatlan (Forrer); Vera Cruz, Tampico (Richardson), Ja- lapa (Hoege), Atoyac (H. H. Smith), Cuatotolapam (Ruthven), and Presidio, Tetela, and Agua Fria (Gadow).
The range of this toad in the United States extends from the east- ern boundary of Louisiana (Como, Franklin Parish) west to Bosque, Llano, Kendall, and Val Verde Counties in Texas, and along the Gulf coast from the mouth of Pearl River, La., to the mouth of the Rio Grande, Tex.
Remarks.—The so-called nebulous toad occurs in the vicinity of coastal marshes in southern Louisiana. In eastern Texas it has been found along the edges of pine forests. Along the western border of its range in central Texas on the grand prairie region, this toad seems to prefer small streams with rocky banks, and hides in fissures and niches in the rocks. In Guatemala, it occurs in considerable num- bers along the margins of forests, in the clearings around villages, and in lesser numbers in the savannas. No published information is available in regard to its breeding habits.
It has very high cranial crests and a dark interorbital cross band. The coloration of the upperparts is quite variable; the lighter-colored individuals are generally yellowish or light gray, and the darker ones have the color pattern subdued or obliterated by a dark slate or black
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 69
suffusion. The vertebral line is usually light colored, and the back is generally blotched with some dark color. The linear series of coni- cal warts extending along lateral line from parotoid gland to thigh separates the dorsal light-colored stripe from the lateral dark-colored one. The parotoid glands are often bicolored.
The normal coloration of this toad may be described as follows: Below lateral linear series of yellowish warts extending from paro- toid gland to thighs is a blackish stripe and above it is a light-colored, often yellowish, stripe. A black transverse bar extends across head between orbits and near origin of parietal crests; a black obliquely placed spot is placed in front of antero-internal angle of parotoid gland; a dark inverted V bisects light-colored vertebral stripe near level of middle of parotoid glands; behind this mark- ing and on each side of vertebral stripe are small irregular dark-colored blotches; an irregular elon- gate black blotch in sacral region on each side of vertebral stripe; warts conspicuous and numerous; cranial crests very distinct.
One of the variants has the upperparts suffused with reddish brown. In another phase the upper- parts are very light colored, and are generally yel- <4 lowish or light gray. In this phase the dark blotches or markings are often indistinct. FicuRE 15.—Head of Bufo
In the dark phase the upperparts are slate — mlliceps(U.S.N.M. No.
: : 42351) from Victoria, colored or even blackish. All the markings are _ Tex.:a, Lateral view; 6, either somewhat subdued or less evident because 4°ts#! view of the general darkening of the entire ground color. The lateral dor- sal light-colored stripes are less noticeable because of an invasion of a slaty suffusion. Some of the lateral linear series of warts may be slate colored.
In some immature individuals, the black markings have a velvety appearance. This condition is occasionally met with in subadult specimens. The underparts are often unspotted, but in most instances dark spots or blotches are present.
It would appear from the footnote in Wiegmann’s article that the brother of Ferdinand Deppe had been selling specimens of this toad under the name Bufo trachypus. It is a nomen nudum and has no standing in zoological nomenclature. The cotypes of Bufo valliceps (M. N. B. Nos. 3525-27, 3532) were collected in Mexico by Ferdi- nand Deppe, who was a member of a party of Germans engaged in making botanical collections in Mexico. The following notes were made on these cotypes:
No. 3525, two cotypes collected by Deppe in Mexico. Head-and- body length, 94 mm. and 100 mm., respectively; the former has white underparts and the latter has white underparts with brown marbling.
70 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
These specimens correspond to normal individuals of this species, and have heavy, high, and relatively thick cranial crests. The lateral row of warts is well developed.
No. 3526, one cotype collected by Deppe in Mexico. Head-and- body length, 84 mm.; underparts white with brown marbling; a dark- colored individual with light blotches on upperparts; cranial crests sharp-edged; parotoid glands subtriangular in outline; a lateral row of minute warts; inner metatarsal tubercle small, but larger than the outer.
No. 3527, one cotype collected by Deppe in Mexico. Underparts white, with dusky spots; upperparts light colored, with dark inter- orbital band, dark spots and dark stripes; cranial crests sharp; inner metatarsal tubercle small, but larger than the outer.
No. 3532, one cotype collected by Deppe at Vera Cruz, Mexico. Head-and-body length, 55 mm. Underparts white, with dark mar- bling; upperparts dark, marbled with light colors; cranial crests blunt-edged and rather thick; parotoid glands subtriangular in out- line; a light-colored vertebral stripe and a light-colored interorbital band.
The type of Bufo granulosus (U.S.N.M. No. 2595) was collected in 1851 by John H. Clark, a member of Col. J. D. Graham ’s party of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, somewhere along the old wagon road that extended from Indianola to San Antonio, Tex. Inasmuch as this name is preoccupied, Girard proposed Bufo nebulifer as a substitute name. The specimen (U.S.N.M. No. 2602) figured by Baird in his report on the reptiles of the United States and Mexican boundary came from New Braunfels, Comal County, Tex.
Ginther’s Bufo sternosignatus was based on three adult toads from Venezuela and two half-grown individuals from Mexico. One of these latter (B. M. No. 56. 3. 17. 25) was taken by Auguste Sallé at Cordoba in Vera Cruz, and the other, labeled as coming from Mexico, was purchased from Parzudaki (B. M. No. 58. 9. 6. 13). The last- mentioned specimen has a head-and-body length of 30 mm. Bou- lenger *° has shown that the two half-grown Mexican toads are iden- tical with Bufo valliceps and has restricted the name Bufo sternosig- natus to the Venezuela form.
More recently Werner has proposed to recognize the Honduran form as a distinct subspecies. The type of Bufo valliceps microtis (M. N. B. No. 13200) is an adult female with a small tympanum and was collected by Schliiter. The following notes were made on this speci- men: Head-and-body length,73 mm. ; transverse diameter of tympanum, 3.7 mm.; transverse diameter of eye, 9 mm.; cranial crests high, sharp- edged; thin, sharp-edged, and nearly vertical preorbital and postor- bital crests; parotoid glands protuberant; general coloration of upper-
20 Boulenger, G. A., See of the Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata in the collection of the British Museum, 2d edit., p. 393,
MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS
71
parts light; upper lip white; a wide white interorbital band, bordered anteriorly and posteriorly by a black stripe; white vertebral stripe interrupted and irregular in width; a lateral white stripe; underparts yellowish, with dusky marbling; a lateral row of small warts; skin of upperparts tubercular; bony surface of top of head fairly smooth. In the southern part of the range of Bufo valliceps specimens will be found that have a much yellower ground color than typical individ- uals and these usually have rather conspicuous dark-brown spots
irregularly arranged on the upperparts.
They often occur along with
other specimens that exhibit the normal coloration of this species.
Females generally have a smaller tympanum than males.
In a large
series of specimens considerable variation in the size of the tympanum
will be noted.
Specimens examined.—One hundred and thirty-three, as follows:
Bufo valliceps
Num- Catalogue | ber of : By whom collected or Museum NTO} speci- Locality collected Date collected | “f;5m whom received mens VM Gis eth Ou 1636 7 | CoanuiLa: Monclova--------- 1880 Edward Palmer. NvEvo LEon: U.S. mu Mies 3 47168 ] Cerro de la Silla_._-_-_------ Mar. 27, 1902 | Nelson and Goldman. peue uae 2599 2 Santa Catarina___________--| Apr. —,1853 | D. N. Couch. TAMAULIPAS:
Doz Lees 47081-83 3 Aa lira eee selene Apr. 23, 1898 | Nelson and Goldman.
WGr eco 46918 1] dsr ate: oa Se ee ee ean Mar. 19,1891 | William Lloyd.
Doss2242 47053-55 13 DATOS VEL ee eee June 4, 1898 | Nelson and Goldman.
gee ee 42501-04 M4 La Barra, 8 kilo. east of Tam-|__------------- Edward Palmer.
pico.
Dozs2-=5 2591 2 Matamoros. 2258-0. - nce Mar. —, 1853 | D. N. Couch.
VERA CRUZ: F.M.N.H.--- 1481 3 Achotal . Fosex £. a es 1904 Edmund Heller and C. M. Barber.
IVICA a 8447-51 5 Cerro del Gallo___---------- 1921 E. R. ea A.M.N.H.__.-- 13756 ul OCORG Rio. Lee ce aes June 22,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling. ES SIVES ee es 56. 3. 17. 25 2] WOTUODR. co see eee eee ea ee ee nee Auguste Sallé, US: New 12170 4 Miradorssi6. S80 ep 3 Oe eee C. Sartorius.
Dione 25094-96 3 eeee2 GOnk Se eee oe Ea ua eee Do.
GRE hey 71056 Lypksee 3 dos fe EE hE ES Se Do. CAGE 5 asl 2 SRO 1 Miotzoronga, 23% 2. eee) keg ee ee U.S.N.M.__-- 47230 1 Orizaba tie ee eee Jan. 19,1894 | Nelson and Goldman.
DOs wees 30360-69 ROY eres G0es Soke nk le a eee Clee Seen ee Francis Sumichrast. A.M.N.H.-.--- 13792 Palaces doit a ee Se es June a 1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling.
Dass: 13763 PALE Xe doses 2 ee ee ee dole = 28 Do. U.S.N.M_.--- 16548-51 14 Vicinity of Orizaba te 2-24.-tth 2... 22.228 st Francis Sumichrast. MC Aes. 10298 1 IPENUCO. eee oa eee eee 1923 W. W. Brown. AVENE ose 1687 1 Perez 22 eee ae 1903 S. E. Meek. A.M.N.H-.--| 13768-72 5 PotrerO. = saeehc ase esas geen June 19,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling.
Doe. 13774-77 4 meen of Rio Atoyac near | June 18,1919 Do.
otrero. IPA Bee 5083 1 eronaps. i cool arenes July 14,1925 | Joseph R. Slevin.
1D (tees 5299 1 Wera Cruz. 2 suaes tees July 24, 1925 Do.
1D yn eee ed 5468 Ber Gan ee Ta Se ee ae July 238, 1925 Do.
DG 22th oe 5563 1) see igs outa eT eo ee July 25, 1925 Do.
MUN Bikes 2 3532 BOD ie km ea NR ee ee Ferdinand Deppe. A.M.N.H-.---| 12306-08 Gees nec cenncartee Renee nana June 3,1919 | Paul D. R. Ruthling.
IDGELER 12292 Pipa Oubes. Fale ES Nee se June 2,1919 Do.
Dossy. 12340 a Vera Cruz (2 miles south)---}| Mar. 1, 1919 Do. U.S.N.M.---- 46948-49 2| Nayarit: Acaponeta--------- Juke 30, aK \Nelson and Goldman. OKG Me (bee eS 1 PoReBrA Preblalsssseeneeeee ole ee geen MEOLAE 2.2 2630 1 | MORELOS: Cuernavaca-------]--------------- T. Barbour.
1 Young.
2 Gocaai of Bujo sternosignatus.
3 Cotypes of Bufo valliceps.
72 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Bufo valliceps—Continued
N Catalogue} ber of By whom collected or
Museum ‘ht speci- Locality collected Date collected Seon hounrecelsed mens OAXACA UES JN Ma 46967 1 Choapsint: 32 see es July 28,1894 | Nelson and Goldman. GaAsBie ee Jt 5038 1 Gosolapa taser ee BF July 12,1925 | Joseph R. Slevin. DO eas 5039 Peet GO. ene ee eee ee July 13, 1925 Do. Do} eases 5091-97 Tee AQ esse Ses dey ee had, July 14, 1925 Do. 1D eee 5099-5104 Biezsce COS se sae ees Re ey sen one do- 2 Do. Wp e222 52 5170 Hey 2 e3 GOL~ ... = Se Ae oe a ke July 16, 1925 Do. WO se 2 a=. 5187 foes 1082 = 22: ee ee ee July 19, 1925 Do. Dorerie. uo 5190-91 Diya E gov GOs shies ee oe ae AR Ee July 20 el Do. sae . June 24, 1895- U.S.N.M___-- 47117-18 2 Gilichicoyiee 22 ee As Nace 26, 1895 } Nelson and Goldman. NWO se 47123 1 Santo Domingo... June 11, 1895 Do. Doe 2 2¥ce 47125-26 2 i638 G62 => 24 a reeh te Phe oh Bey do. 8228 Do. Weiser 47127-28 2 Mountains near Santo Do- | June 19, 1895 Do. mingo. Wg oe 10013 1 TRAD ANS ye we eer eee onal Feb. —, 1876 | Francis Sumichrast. Mors: ihes 30180-81 2 ‘Tehnantepecss bs eevee sade Nl WL be Cee Do. CHIAPAS: DOP ee 46766-69 4 Ocozocoautla. = tala Py ee . 20,1895 | Nelson and Goldman. DG pare 46761 1 Ocnuilepase Net 5 a eee . 27,1895 Do. Dose 46849 1 Tum pales cee. ee . 16, 1895 Do. Does 46851 if Valley of Comitan_ 9, 1895 Do. TABASCO: Wo Ase 47311 1 IPEADAC fans ee be eae 15, 1900 Do. Mg AN ws 37747 1 Frontera 5 22. ee gh ae 12, 1897 | C. H. T. Townsend. YUCATAN: Woes 222 12285 3 INO definite locality. 2< 222-22). 2-2 ae Arthur Schott. 1D (eae 12292-93 es GO Sart erp se ad ag Lae Do. ? STATE: M.N. Bastiat 3525-27 34 No definite localify®£ .. »r2sfi223. 2-8... 2 Ferdinand Deppe. Ves oA 58. 9. 6. 13 SD ieee ee Oh = ieee ASA SF). Se Emile Parzudaki. 2 Cotypes of Bufo sternosignatus. 3 Cotypes of Bufo valliceps.
BUFO WOODHOUSII Girard Figure 16
1852. Bufo dorsalis HatuowxE.L, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 6, p. 181, Oct. (New Mexico). [Nec Bufo dorsalis Sprx, 1824.}—HALLOwELL, 1853, Sitgreaves’s report of an expedition down the Zuni and Colorado Rivers, U. 8. Senate Doc. 59, 32d Cong., 2d Sess., p. 142, pl. 19.
1854. Bufo woodhousii Girarp, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, p. 86, May.—Srorsr, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 27, pp. 199-203, pl. 11, fig. 31b.
1866. Bufo frontosus Cops, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelpuan, vol. 18, p. 301, Oct.—Cop:, 1889, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 283.
1875. Bufo lentiginosus frontosus YARROW, Report upon geographical and geo- logical explorations and surveys west of the One Hundredth Meridian (Wheeler survey), vol. 5, chap. 4, p. 520—Covunrs, 1875, zdem, chap. 5, pp. 627, 628.
1889. Bufo lentiginosus woodhousei Corn, U. 8. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 281, fig. 69.—Dicxkrrson, 1906, The frog book, pp. 91-93, figs.