500 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. Xf . 



ORDER: ECAUDATA. 



Series : FirmisternIa. 

 Family : Ranid^e. 

 1. Rana he.radactyla. — This frog is common in the tanks and pond* 

 round about Trevandrum. It is thoroughly aquatic and seems rarely to- 

 leave the water. The breeding season appears to last from July to 

 September. I have only had the tadpoles brought to me and have 

 not seen the eggs. 



Tadpoles. — Length of body two and one-third times its width, about 

 half the length of the tail. Nostrils much nearer the end of the snout 

 than the eye. Eyes on the side of the head, a little nearer to the 

 spiraoulum than to the end of the snout. Distance between the eyes 

 twice that between the nostrils, more than twice the width of the 

 mouth. Spiraoulum on the left side directed backwards and upwards, 

 situated nearer the anus than to the end of the snout, visible above 

 and below. Anal opening on the middle line through a transparent 

 tube carried well back beneath the tail. 



Tail. — Length three and a half times its depth, very acutely pointed, 

 tipper crest as deep as the lower. Depth of the muscular portion 

 half the total depth. 



Mouth. — Beak horny, black on the edges, paler interiorly. Upper lip 

 with one row of teeth on the edge ; lower lip with two uninterrupted 

 rows of teeth, the lower of which is on the edge. Papilla on the 

 sides of the lips. 



Colour (in life), — Olive green, paler at the sides, with some silvery 

 marks near the eye. Abdomen white, opaque behind, transparent with 

 silvery dots on forepart. Tail pinkish olive, mottled and spotted with 

 light brown. Length of bodv 1G mm. Length of tail 31 mm. Breadth 

 of body 7 mm ; depth of tail 9 mm. Toes completely webbed. The 

 tadpoles ara vegetable feeders in all stages, but as soon as the transforma- 

 tion is complete they become carnivorous. 



2. Rana cyanophlictis. — This is one of the commonest and most 

 abundant of frogs. Numbers may be 7net with at any time of the year 

 on the borders of tanks and ponds, or floating on the surface of the water. 

 When disturbed on the banks they jump into the water and skim along 

 the top of it in a succession of leaps for ten or twelve yards. They 

 can do this oven when floating, but only for a yard or two. I agree 

 with Captain Flower that Rana tigrina has not this habit but invariably 



