288 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



Eleutherodactylus martinicensis (Peters). 

 Hylodes martinicensis Peters, Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1876, p. 709, pi. 1. 



The distinctness of this species from E. auriculatus (Cope), found in Cuba, San 

 Domingo, and Porto Rico, has been discussed by Stejueger (Rept. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus. for 1902, 1904, p. 583-584). During a recent visit to Washington he 

 showed me a number of specimens from Hope Gardens near Kingston, Jamaica. 

 These were accompanied by collector's notes, which said that the frogs had been 

 brought to Jamaica by Lady Blake during the incumbency of her husband, Sir 

 Henry Blake, as Governor of Jamaica. This statement seems the more probable 

 as the species has been very widely carried from island to island among the Lesser 

 Antilles. 



I think it doubtful whether the original habitat of this species will ever be 

 known. 



Hyla brunnea Gosse. 

 Gosse, Nat. Sojourn in Jamaica, 1851, p. 361. 



Heretofore it has been stated by Boulenger that both Hyla ovata (Cope) and 

 Hyla dominicensis (Tschudi) occurred in Jamaica as well as in San Domiugo. 

 An examination of the type of H. ovata (M. C Z., No. 1518), as well as other ex- 

 amples here and in the National Museum, convinced both Dr. Stejueger and myself 

 that this species is a synonym of H. dominicensis. The types of this species came 

 from San Domingo to the Paris Museum, taken by Mr. Alex. Ricord. The Ja- 

 maican tree frogs being different from the San Domingau ones, as a very large 

 number show, it becomes necessary to use Gosse's name for these specimens. In 

 all examples of Hyla brunnea the snout is abruptly truncate in profile, with the 

 nostril near the apex. In H. dominicensis the nostril is much nearer to the eye, 

 and the snout profile is a gentle slant-curve. This species also grows half as large 

 again as H. brunnea. This Jamaican tree frog has also been confounded with and 

 recorded as H. septentrionalis, which is a form quite distinct and not found in 

 Jamaica. 



The young of this species show a peculiar dichromatic condition. They may be 

 generally dark in color, i. e. rather like the adults ; or they may be light yellow, 

 almost transparent, amber-like, with a broad white-edged, golden metallic band 

 between the eyes. When I first took six or seven of these, I was convinced that 

 they represented a new species, but the large series shows that this is not the case. 



Gosse, loc. cit., p. 358-361, has a number of interesting notes on tree frogs, 

 remarking on the calls so often heard at night. He says that he is informed that 

 the frogs spend their time sitting in the small amount of water held " by the large 

 ventricose leaves of the greater wild pines, especially that fine one, Tillandsia 

 lingulata." This is quite true, and about Mandeville in an afternoon by cutting 

 down bunches of these epiphytes and shaking them, more than thirty specimens 

 were obtained. Mr- A. E. Wight took six examples from the wild pines near 

 Port Antonio, and has since sent in others from Mandeville. The characteristic 



