General Account^ 



In the treatment of each species, the topical outline is as follows: 

 Common names General appearance 



Scientific name Structure 



Range Voice 



Habitat Breeding 



Size Notes 



Common names. We of the United States and Canada have con- 

 cerned ourselves little with distinctive names for the amphibians. 

 Most of the common names of the salamanders and frogs are col- 

 lective. Just as all salamanders are generally called water dogs or 

 lizards, so also the frogs are known by few common names, (toads, 

 frogs or tree frogs). For example, people use the word "peeper" in- 

 discriminately for several small frogs that call in the early spring. 

 Others call peepers lizards. 



Normally we expect common names to come from the people at 

 large, but with amphibians and reptiles, most of the common names 

 in literature are really bookish names. Many are translations of the 

 scientific names. The names may come from widely different sources 

 of which the following are a few: 



(i) The person after whom the species is named. Example: 

 Couch's spadefoot. Scaphiopus couchii Baird. 



(2) The person who named the species. Example: Viosca's tree 

 frog. Hyla avivoca Viosca. 



(3) The person who first collected it. Example: Taylor's toad. 

 Hypopachus cuneus Cope. 



(4) A country. Examples: Canadian toad, American bell toad, 

 Mexican toad. 



(5) A state or province. Examples: Sonora hyla, Winnipeg toad, 

 California red-legged frog. 



(6) Habitats. Examples: River-swamp frog, pond frog, house 

 frog, salt marsh frog, canyon tree toad, desert tree toad, crayfish 

 frog, gopher frog, wood frog, savanna cricket, cliff frog. 



(7) Habits. Examples: Chameleon tree frog, solitary spadefoot, 

 grasshopper frog. 



(8) Structural characters. Examples: Ribbed toad, narrow- 

 mouthed toad, toothless frog, femoral hyla, thick skinned frog. 



(9) Voice. Examples: Bell frog, screaming frog, pig frog, rattler, 

 chorus frog, cricket frog. 



