408 bulletin: museum of compakative zoology. 



The species of Telmatobius are so little known that it is advisable 

 to redescribe the type-specimens of several of the species and to 

 append a key of all those considered distinct. In reviewing the species 

 the fact has presented itself very forcibly that Telmatobius within 

 itself represents various stages in the reduction of both maxillary and 

 vomerine teeth. This reduction of teeth is associated with aquatic 

 life. In the Lake Titicaca region T. acmaricus is found along the 

 ■edges of the small streams and ponds, while T. culeus occurs only in 

 the deep waters of Lake Titicaca where according to Garman (Bull. 

 M. C. Z., 1875, 3, p. 277) it is able to remain for hours without coming 

 up to breathe. Garman (Loc. cit.) says "As might be expected from 

 the exclusively ac^uatic habits of culeus, its skeleton is weaker and 

 less perfectly ossified than that of marmoratus [= our aemaricus]. 

 In the latter the skull and its processes are strong and the foramina 

 :and fontanel very small." 



Garman pointed out that the vomerine teeth were very reduced, 

 sometimes absent on one side or the other. We have found that the 

 maxillary teeth of T. culeus are also much reduced in size. 



As association exactly similar to that of T. culeus and T. aeviaricu^ 

 is found in the Lake Junin region where T. jclsJcii is the semiaquatic 

 and Batrachophyrnus microphthalmu^ the lake-form. The latter species 

 although currently placed in a different genus and family from T. 

 culeus agrees entirely with it in most of its internal and external char- 

 acters. Peters (Monatsber. Akad. wiss. Berlin, 1873, p. 413) and 

 Werner (Abh. Zool.-anthro. mus. Dresden, 1901, 9, no. 2, p. 13, fig.) 

 have shown that Batrachophrynus is a Telmatobius in every particular 

 except that it lacks the maxillary and vomerine teeth. A comparison 

 of Batrachophrynus wuth T. culeus suggests that this difference is not 

 fundamental or of any real significance. 



In the appended descriptions we have included Philippi's T. mon- 

 tanus and T. laevis. We are strongly inclined to follow Boulenger's 

 suggestion (Zool. record. Rept., 1902, p. 14) and disregard these 

 names as well as those of the other utterly uni'ecognizable species 

 which he has proposed (Supplementa a los Batraquios Chilenos 

 descritos en la Historia fisica y politica de Chile de don Claudio Gay. 

 Santiago, 1902). Nevertheless it seems highly probable that Philippi 

 had some species of Telmatobius before him when he wrote his paper, 

 so for the present it may be better to consider his proposed species 

 vahd. 



Andersson's record (Ark. zool., 1906, 3, no. 12, p. 4) of T. jelskii 

 from the Andes of western Argentina and Werner's report (Zool. 



