200 Strecker — Notes on Life History of Scaphiopus couehii Baird. 



Texas, is about 410 feet, Burnet, 1300 feet, and El Paso, 3700 

 feet. In southeastern Texas (Refugio) its range overlaps that 

 of the eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrooMi Harlan) and in 

 the western part of the State (El Paso) it has been found breed- 

 ing in company with >?. hammondii Baird. 



At Waco I have found the following species of Salientia in 

 pools occupied by Scaphiopus couehii: Bnfo compart His Wieg., 

 Bufo punctatus B. & G., Bufo valliceps Wieg. , Bufo debUis Girard, 

 Bufo americanus Le Conte (var.), Engystoma carolinense Hol- 

 brook. The first four of these are typical Sonoran species; the 

 last two are Austroriparian forms. 



In the following pages the descriptions arc based on specimens 

 from Waco, Texas, and the northern part of the State of Chi- 

 huahua, Mexico. It was not possible to examine fresh material 

 from Lower California, and I am therefore unable to make 

 comparisons between examples from the northern and southern 

 limits of its range. The specimens from Miraflores and San 

 Jose del Cabo in the collection of the California Academy of 

 Sciences were destroyed in the great fire, while the La Paz and 

 Cape St. Lucas specimens in the United States National Museum 

 have been in spirits for many years and are therefore worthless 

 for purposes of comparison, when color characteristics are taken 

 into consideration. In living specimens the coloration is very 

 variable, and a series will show several very distinct types. 

 The general color of the upper parts, in all specimens examined 

 by me, was of some shade of green. 



Life Coloration of Adults. 



Type A. — Above, uniformly light yellowish-green to dark green 

 with traces of darker markings in the dorsal region, but pre- 

 senting no distinct pattern. Under parts, white. One speci- 

 men was dark ochre-yellow above with darker areas on the 

 back. Under parts white, excepting on the belly, which was 

 rusty yellow. Inner surfaces of limbs, light rust color. 



Type B. — General coloration as in A, but there are numerous 

 small black spots scattered all over the dorsal area. In speci- 

 mens preserved in spirits these spots persist after the bright 

 colors have faded out. 



Type C. — This is the banded or cross-barred type described by 

 Cope. I here repeat his description: ' Color above, yellow- 



