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A LIST OF TRAVANCORE BATRACHIANS. 



By H. S. Ferguson, F.L.S. 



With Plates A, B & C. 



(Redd before the Bombay Natural History Society 

 on 21st January 1904.) 



There have been so far thirty-four species of Batrachians described 

 as occurring in Travanoore, three of which have not been found else- 

 where as yet. They are Rana aurantiaca, Ixalvs travancoricus and 

 Bufo fergusonii. These have been described by Mr. G. A. Boulenger 

 in the pages of this journal, and I have to record my grateful thanks 

 to him for the kindly help and invaluable advice he has given to me 

 for many years in the study of this class. Of the thirty-four species, 

 fourteen are found in the low country, and it has been possible to as- 

 certain the life history and development of twelve of these. They are 

 Rana hexadactyla, R. cyanopJdictis, R. tigrina, R. limnocliaris, R. 

 breviceps, Rhacophorus malabaricus^ R. maculatus, MicroltyJa rubra. 

 M. ornata, CaUula obscura, Cacopus systoma and Bvfo melanost ictus. 

 Of these the tadpole of Rana cyanophlictis has been described by Dr. 

 J. Anderson in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1895, page 

 660. Those of Bvfo melanostictus, Rana tigrina and Microhyla ornata 

 have been described by Captain S. S. Flower in the same Proceedings 

 for 1896, page 911, and 1899, pp. 892 and 902 respectively. The tad- 

 poles of the remaining eight species have not, I believe, been hitherto 

 described. I tried on several occasions to collect and keep the tadpoles 

 of those frogs and toads found only on the hills; but they would not 

 bear transport to the low country, and invariably died. As I was un- 

 able to study them on the hills, and to watch their development on the 

 spot, I have been reluctantly compelled to give up the attempt to get 

 at the life history of the hill forms. In noting the development of 

 the low-country ones and in describing the tadpoles I have been greatly 

 assisted by the museum preparator, Mr. Shankara Narayana Pillay, 

 and by the museum draughtsman, Mr. C. S. Mudaliar, who has drawn 

 all the diagrams. The measurements and descriptions have been taken 

 from live specimens. 



