24 ENGYSTOMA CAROLINENSE. 



exceedingly minute, and but slightly prominent; the pupil is black, the iris very 

 dark grey. 



The body is round, somewhat flattened in the living animal, and smooth; dark 

 brown along the vertebral line, and chestnut on either side of it; the sides of the 

 head and neck below the orbits, and the flanks, are greyish; the throat and 

 abdomen lighter, all thickly sprinkled with blackish specks. 



The anterior extremities are chestnut-brown above and yellowish-brown 

 beneath; the fingers are five in number, short, and distinct. The posterior 

 extremities are short and thick, chestnut-brown above, with a few dark spots; 

 the toes are five in number, short, and not palmated. 



Dimensions. Length of body, 1 inch; of thighs, f of an inch; of leg, | of an 

 inch; of tarsus and toes, | of an inch. 



Geographical Distribution. Hitherto this animal has never been found north 

 of Charleston; its range extending westward to the Lower Mississippi, where it 

 has been observed by Lesueur. 



Habits. The Engystoma Carolinense passes most of its days in concealment, 

 near old fences, or under the bark of fallen and decaying trees, emerging only 

 towards evening and after heavy rains. They are frequently seen with myriads 

 of the young of the Bufo lentiginosus, apparently washed from their places of 

 concealment by summer showers, which has led many to suppose that they 

 descended with the rain. It makes a feeble chirp at night, and at times when 

 captured; and being but a clumsy swimmer, if thrown into water it repeats this 

 chirp frequently in its endeavours to escape. 



General Remarks. This is the only species hitherto observed in the United 

 States, and must not be confounded with those of South America. The Engystoma 

 ovale is nearly twice the size of our animal, is uniformly dusky on the back, and 



