178 ANURA 



CHAP. 



B. I entiginosus s. americanus is the common toad of North 

 America, from IMexico to the Great Bear Lake. It is worth 

 noting that this species resembles in its coloration the Eastern 

 races of B. vulgaris, in so far as they generally have a light 

 vertebral line, and frequently dark spots on the under surface. 

 The upper parts are brown and olive, with darker spots, two of 

 which form a chevron behind the eyes. But the tympanum is 

 large, and the male has a su.bgular vocal sac ; the inner metatarsal 

 tubercle is very large, and is used as a kind of digging spur. 

 During tlie pairing time they take to the pools in great numl^ers, 

 uttering their music, which consists of a prolonged trill, continued 

 by different individuals, both day and night. Holbrook knew 

 an individual which was kept for a long time, and became per- 

 fectly tame. During the summer months it retired to a corner 

 of the room into a habitation which it had prepared for itself in 

 a small quantity of earth placed there for its convenience. 

 Towards the evening it wandered about in search of food. Some 

 water having been squeezed from a sponge upon its head one hot 

 day in July, it returned the next day to the spot, and seemed 

 well pleased with the repetition, nor did it fail during the extreme 

 heat of tlie summer to repair to it frequently in search of its 

 shower-bath. 



Several varieties of this widely distributed species, whose 

 average length is 2|- inches, have been described. The prettiest 

 was called B. quercums by Holbrook — according to whom it is 

 mostly found in sandy places covered with a small species of 

 oak — which springs up abundantly where pine-forests have been 

 destroyed. It is called the " oak-frog," as it spends most of its 

 time in concealment under fallen oak-leaves, or partially buried 

 in the sand. 



B. viarimis s. agiia is the giant among toads, and is one of the 

 commonest species of the Neotropical region, ranging from the 

 Antilles and Mexico to Argentina. It frequently reaches a 

 length of 6 inches, with a width of 4 inches when squatting 

 down in its favourite attitude. Tlie upper parts are rough, owing 

 to the prominent warty glands, of wliich the parotoid complex is 

 enormous. The general colour above is dark brown, with sooty 

 dark patches ; below whitish, often with l)lackish patches. This 

 creature appears at dusk, often in large numbers, especially during 

 the rainy season, hopping about, not crawling, with surprising 



