Hylidae 



placed elongated spots on each side of the body. The spots and 

 dorsal band may be green or red-brown, and are often outlined 

 with light. There is a light line from the eye to the arm. Eye 

 bright orange. Throat of male, in spring, yellow. Legs with three 

 transverse bands, or irregularly spotted. Posterior face of femur 

 conspicuously striped lengthwise. Underparts light-coloured. 

 (See Fig. 184.) 



Measurements: Size extremely small, i. e. length f inch to 

 i \ inches. Legs long; the length of the leg to the heel is greater 

 than the length of head and body together. The tibia is longer 

 than the femur. Foot scarcely longer than tibia. (See Fig. 184.) 



Structure; Skin rough and warty. Head pointed, long from 

 eyes to end of muzzle. The ear is indistinct; one-third the 

 diameter of the eye. There is a fold across the breast and a cur- 

 ving fold over the ear from eye to shoulder. The foot is fully 

 webbed. The inner and outer sole tubercles are both present, 

 though small. The tubercles under the joints of the toes are 

 fairly prominent. The disks on fingers and toes are so small 

 that they are scarcely noticeable. Underparts granulated poste- 

 riorly only. (See Fig. 184.) 



Range: The Cricket Frog is found in Eastern North America 

 and through an extent of country including Florida, Texas, Kan- 

 sas, and the Northwest. On the Atlantic coast it has not been 

 reported north of southern New York and Connecticut. 



The most conspicuously active of our small tree frogs is the 

 Cricket Frog, a tree frog with wholly terrestrial habits. When it 

 is frightened, it jumps high and far, repeating these leaps in 

 remarkably rapid succession. It catches its insect food 1 by 

 giving these prodigious leaps, after the moving insect has been 

 sighted at a distance. This power of activity, combined with its 

 small size and protective colouration, allows it to withstand its 

 enemies, the small snakes and lizards of the ground. The 

 Cricket Frog stands in special need of protection. Unlike 

 the greater number of tree frogs, it cannot climb shrubs and trees 

 to get out of danger, because the disks of the fingers and toes are 



1 " Among other insects, Chlorops, crane-flies, Thyreocoris, Calocoris rapidus, numerous pupse 

 and wingless Aphidida; and Orthoptera, have been determined from the contents of their stomachs." 

 Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist. H. Carman. 



154 



