Dusky Tree Toad. 



Hyla versicolor phaeocrypta (Cope). 



Range: Specimens from Nashville, Term., Olive Branch, 111., Mt. 

 Carmel, 111., Olney, 111., Gull Lake, Brainerd, Minn, and Springfield, 

 S. D. have been assigned to this form. 



Habitat: River valley and lake shore. 



Size: Adults, i 1/3— i 2/5 inches. (Males, as large as 23 mm. Fe- 

 males, as large as 36 mm.). 



General appearance: This is another of Cope's H. versicolor-H. 

 femoralis puzzles based on preserved material. It is yet unsolved. 

 Cope's original description follows: 



"A single specimen of a strongly marked variety of this species 

 was sent to the National Museum from Mt. Carmel, 111., byLucien M. 

 Turner, (No. 12074). It is smaller, having the average dimensions of 

 H. femoralis. The color is a dark brown, with three rows of large 

 approximinated darker brown spots. The groin and concealed faces of 

 the thigh are yellowish brown, with a very scanty speckling of darker 

 brown, very different from the usual coarse netted pattern. At first 

 sight one suspects this to be a specimen of Hyla femoralis, but it 

 possesses all the essential characters of the integument and feet of the 

 H. versicolor, as pointed out in the analytical table of the genus, in- 

 cluding also the light spot under the eye. It may be called H. v. 

 phaeocrypta" (Cope, 1889, p. 375). 



Notes: In hurried visits to three of its localities, we have not met 

 this form. Live material from Wabash valley is our greatest need. 

 Viosca now pronounces the type of Hyla phaeocrypta as a poorly pre- 

 served Hyla versicolor. What is this form? 



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