Hurter's Solitary Spadefoot. 



Scaphiopus holbrookii hurterii (Strecker). 



Range: Eastern half of Texas. Records exist from Houston and 

 Edna to Cameron County. 



Habitat: Like other spadefoots, they come out of their burrows 

 to breed in temporary pools. 



Size: Medium. Type 67 mm. from Waco. Refugio specimen 63 

 mm. The range of size of ten breeding adults from Lytle, Texas, (col- 

 lected by A. J. Kirn, June 28, 1931) is 66-78 mm. Adults, 1 3/4- 

 3 1/8 inches. (Males, 73 mm. Females, 44-78 mm.). 



General appearance: "Head short, length about equal to width. 

 (In holbrookii the head at angle of mouth is much wider than long). 

 Snout heavy and blunt, not extending beyond the mouth. Parotoids 

 nearly round, higher and even more conspicuous than in the eastern 

 species. Tympanum distinct but rather smaller than in holbrookii. 

 (In type hardly more than half the diameter of the parotoid). Crown 

 distinctly rugose. No black granules in space between and in front of 

 the eyes. Upper surfaces with small, closely set tubercles, very uni- 

 form in size and distribution. Many tubercles on sides, buttocks, and 

 posterior portion of the abdomen. 



"Color above, pale greenish, with a pale yellowish line from each 

 orbit; these converge again in the coccyx. Upper surface of head and 

 area between the light lines, dark plumbeous, parotoids olive. Sides of 

 head and under surfaces yellowish-white." (Strecker, 1910, p. 116- 



117). 



Structure: "Many pustules on upper surface of tibia. Glands on 

 thorax present, conspicuous. Enlargements resembling glands on 

 inferior surface of femur (present in both specimens). Spade-like 

 process of foot narrowly margined with black. Palmar tubercles rather 

 small. Fingers slender. Tibia about equal to that of S. holbrookii but 

 femur and foot much shorter." (Strecker, 1910, p. 117). 



Distinguished from S. holbrookii by "its more compact form, 

 narrow head, blunt muzzle, unusually high parotoids, smaller palmar 

 tubercles and shorter hind limbs. The sides, buttocks, tibia and 

 posterior portion of the abdomen are covered with tubercles instead 

 of being almost perfectly smooth. The tubercles on the upper sur- 

 faces are more uniform in size." (Strecker, 1910, p. 116). 



Mr. Kirn's (June 28-29, 1931) material when compared with 

 male S. holbrookii of the same size, has smaller measurements. The 

 head to angle of mouth, the width of head, the tympanum (equal in 

 one), the snout (greater in one) were less than in S. holbrookii. The 

 hind limbs were equal in the two species. This subspecies is still a 

 debatable form. 



Breeding: April 13, 1910. June 1904 (Strecker). See Notes. 



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