98 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



Genus bufo. 



20. Bufo lentiginosus ameeicanus LeConte. American 

 Toad. 



Bufo americanus, Bufo dorsalis, ChiJophnjne americana, Bufo lenti- 

 ginosus. 



Description. — Head short; snout obtuse; cranium with distinct 

 osseous crests, which are narrow, well marked, and not united in a 

 prefrontal callosity. Frontoparietal ridges divergent, not much pro- 

 duced and well distinguished behind, postorbital ones short, supra- 

 tympanic wanting or short. Profile of head shows a gradual descent 

 from behind, depressed between prefrontal bones; muzzle slightly de- 

 curved, not projecting; nostril a little nearer orbit than labial margin. 

 Eyes large. Tympanum distinct, equal to half the orbit, oval. Head 

 4 to 4.5 times in length of body. Parotoids quite elongate, vai-ying 

 a little in breadth. Body squat. Legs short and very stout. Fingers 

 a little depressed, with a few small tubercles beneath. First finger 

 projecting nearly at a right angle to the others, and more elongate at 

 the base: the third finger the longest. Palm with a large callosity. 

 Toes depressed, partly webbed, the first the shortest, the fourth the 

 longest. 



Skin tuberculate above, granulate below. Vocal sac of male opening 

 by two large slits in the floor of the mouth, one on each side, just 

 within the mandible. As in other Bufones the females are larger 

 than the males and the latter are usually less variegated in color. 



Color. — Variable; usually olive or brown, with irregular blotches and 

 spots of dark brown; middle of back with a light streak; below dirty 

 yellow. The upper surface is sometimes almost dark black; at other 

 times brick red, rust color, or ash-gray, showing the dusky spots with 

 great distinctness. Occasionally a specimen is found with the tubercles, 

 and even considerable portions of the skin, a pink color. Often the 

 belly is also spotted. (Hay.) 



Size. — The male is 65 mm. in length and the female 85 mm. 



Habitat. — The common toad, called by the earlier writ- 

 ers on American Herpetology ''Land Frog," Bufo lentigi- 

 nosus americanus , is found in the whole of eastern North 

 America and southern Canada, west and south through 

 Montana, Colorado, eastern Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, 

 Alabama, Kentucky, Iowa, and Missouri. 



Missouri localities: — St. Louis, Jefferson, FranWin, 

 Crawford, Phelps, Marion, Gasconade, Johnson, Jackson, 

 Pettis, Buchanan, Jasper, McDonald, Stone, Taney, Ozark, 



