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NA T URE-STUD Y RE VIE W 



[11:7— Oct., 1915 



There are some excellent remarks about Salamanders and Newts, 

 with good cuts of a number of species, in "The Batrachians of the 

 Vicinity of New York City" by Raymond L. Ditmars, the natural- 

 ist. Copies of it may be had by applying to the Secretary of the 

 American Museum of Natural History of New York City (Guide 

 Leaflet No. 20). 



Passing from Salamanders to Toads — which latter are also 

 Batrachians — it may be noted that we have a very considerable 

 list of them in this country. Indeed, a small volume might be 

 written about the American toads alone; and, were a book devoted 



Fig. 8. Common American Toad (Bufo leutiginosus). Photo natural 

 size, by the author. 



to all we know about them, it would make a very sizeable volume. 



A fine specimen of our Common Toad is shown in Figure 8 of 

 the present article. With many of its congeners it belongs in the 

 family BufonidcE, and is very abundant in certain localities of the 

 eastern States. There is but one other species with which it might 

 be confused, and that is the Spade-foot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrooki) 

 ■ — a much rarer form, with very interesting habits. 



Our "horned toads" of the West are lizards and not toads at 

 all, not any more than tree-toads are toads, the latter being mem- 

 bers of the frog or raniform group. Later on, in another article of 

 this series, I will come back to our American toads and frogs, and 

 perhaps give an entire chapter to the subject, presenting more 

 species and treating the whole more fully. 



