Vol. 35, pp. 221-222 October 17, 1922 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



NOTES ON SOME TROPICAL RANAE. 

 BY E. R. DUNN. 



The notes hereinafter to be presented are supplementary 

 to Boulenger's monograph of American Ranae (Proc. Amer. 

 Acad. 55, 9, 1920). 



Rana vibicaria (Cope). 

 I took five adults, fifteen young and a tadpole of this little known frog 

 while in Costa Rica in 1920. All the specimens came from small ponds in an 

 old crater of Poas. This is now occupied by the tumble-down "lecheria" 

 miscalled the "Hotel de Poas," and is at an altitude of about 7000-7500 

 feet. 



(a) Comparison with the type of Levirana vibicaria Cope (Proc. Ac. 

 Phila. 1894, p. 141) makes it apparent that these are the same. It is also 

 quite evident that Boulenger was right in considering Levirana vibicaria 

 identical with Rana godmani Guenther (Biol. Cent. Amer. Rept. p. 204, 

 pi. 63, f. A, 1900). 



(b) Boulenger says "lower parts white." In life the under surface of 

 the hind legs was red. 



(c) The young diflier markedly in color being bright green above; sides 

 shiny black; a white line along upper jaw; under surfaces of legs and con- 

 cealed parts of hind legs red. 



The grass around the small ponds was alive with these very beautiful 

 little frogs, evidently recently transformed. The adult were rather shy 

 and remained in the pond. 



(d) The color of the young is strikingly similar to that of R. caeruleo- 

 punctata. Direct comparison of my specimens with some of caeruleopunc- 

 tata which I caught at Navarro, Costa Rica, shows that the two are more 

 closely allied than would appear from the arrangement in Boulenger, 1920. 

 There the two are each left rather isolated and each compared with Old 

 World species. R. vibicaria is the more aquatic of the two and has much 

 the more restricted range as it is known only from three places in the high 

 volcanoes of Costa Rica, while caeruleopunctata ranges over Costa Rica and 

 Nicaragua. 



The dorso-lateral glandular fold which is very wide in adult vibicaria is 

 narrow in caeruleopunctata and in young vibicaria. 



38— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 35, 1922. (221) 



