Structure: High projecting crests on crown of broad head; these 

 are canthal, preorbital, supraorbital, postorbital, parietal, and 

 orbitotympanic ridges; parotoids rather small, round or triangular; 

 snout obtuse; toes 1/2 webbed; interorbital space wide; internasal 

 space narrow; upper eyelid much less than interorbital space; male 

 with a subgular vocal sac not revealed by wrinkles on the throat; 

 body flat; mouth large; excrescences on two fingers of male prominent. 



Voice: The vocal sac is a large round, subgular pouch. The call is 

 louder, harsher, and lower in pitch than Bufo americanus. The croak 

 lasts 3-4 seconds. Often the males take stands several feet up from 

 the pond's edge. 



Breeding: They breed from March to August. The eggs are often 

 in double rows in long strings of jelly with the wall of the inner tube 

 close to outer. This jelly grows looser with age, so that there may be 

 a double row of 25-27 eggs in 1 1/5 inches (3 cm.) or a single row of 

 7-10 eggs in 1 1/5 inches (3 cm.). The outer tube is 1/8 inch (3 mm.), 

 the inner tube 1/10 inch (2.6 mm.) and the vitellus 1/20 inch (1.2 

 mm.). The eggs are purplish black and hatch in 1 1/2-2 days. The 

 small blackish tadpole has 8-10 black bars with intervening pale buff 

 areas on the dorsum of the tail musculature. The tooth ridges are 

 2/3. After a tadpole period of 20 to 30 days, they transform, April to 

 September, at 5/16-1/2 inch (7.5-12 mm.). 



Notes: May 6, 1925. Helotes, Texas. Tonight at 9 p. m., as we 

 approached the pond, we espied a small head of Thamnophis proximo,. 

 A few moments later two larger water snakes were close together. 

 They were after a nearby croaking toad. A little farther on we 

 heard two male B. valliceps. Presently we saw something rolling over 

 and over in the water. It was a water snake. In the semi-darkness, 

 I scooped up the snake and all. The snake dropped a toad. The toad 

 hopped limply away. Farther on we found a young Natrix rhombifera 

 beside another pair. 



May 13, 1925. Helotes, Texas. We found B. valliceps egg strings 

 widely spread out. These were long strings in mid-water and buoyant 

 in mid-plane of the water. . . . One bow of two strings three feet 

 long was attached only at the ends. These eggs covered an area of 

 6 feet square. 



April 22, 1925. San Benito, Texas. Pond in a mesquite region. 

 On the east side of this beautiful blue water lily pond we found 

 B. valliceps on the moist earth, transforming. Soon after transforma- 

 tion the toads show the light line of tubercles on the side and the 

 white spot below the eye. They do not show the furrowed interorbital 

 at this small size. 



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