PELODYTES. 191 



lines of crypts whitish ; caudal crests greyish, with 

 blackish spots and white dots, and pale metallic spots. 

 Some specimens, however, have the tail almost spot- 

 less ; in others, on the contrary, it is very closely 

 spotted, but always less abundantly on the lower crest 

 than on the upper. Lower parts pale grey with silvery 

 spots. Tail and the greater part of the body with fine 

 black decussating lines. I have observed at St. Eno- 

 gat, in Brittany, a colony of abnormal tadpoles, not 

 exceeding 40 mm. in length when fully developed, 

 which were nearly black on the back, the tail dark 

 brown with the black decussating lines very crowded, 

 the belly of a beautiful steel-blue, and the lines of 

 crypts quite indistinct (see PI. I, fig. 8). 



The largest tadpole obtained by me in Brittany 

 measures 57 mm., body 21, width of body 15, tail 36, 

 depth of tail 14. One from Nice measures 65 mm. 



Habitat. — Pelodytes punctatus inhabits nearly the 

 whole of France, from the coasts of Brittany, Nor- 

 mandy, and the Pas-de-Calais to the foot of the 

 Pyrenees and the Mediterranean littoral. It has not 

 been found in the North-eastern Departments Nord, 

 Ardennes, and Lorraine, which seem to be outside the 

 eastern limit of its distribution. The only localities 

 east of Prance whence this species has as yet been 

 recorded are Castino in Southern Piedmont, and Loano 

 in Eastern Liguria. In the Pyrenean peninsula it is 

 on record from the Portuguese provinces Minho, 

 Douro, Alemtejo, and Algarve, and the Spanish pro- 

 vinces New Castille, Valencia, and Andalusia. In no 

 part of its habitat does this species extend to any 

 considerable altitude ; in France it avoids the central 

 plateau, and has not been found on the Pyrenees, 

 although inhabiting Spain. The highest recorded 

 altitude is 1450 feet at Castino, Piedmont. 



The specimens, male and female, figured on PI. VIII, 

 are from Nice, received from Dr. J. de Bedriaga. 



