BY J. J. FLETCHER. 369 



characters. The tadpoles of E. aurea and H. ccerulea, at any 

 rate in their later stages, are green, in the case of the former the 

 larval frogs acquiring golden streaks before leaving the water. I 

 have no definite information as to the length of time which elapses 

 under favourable conditions between the hatching and the com- 

 pletion of the metamorphosis in the case of any species. 



For some three months commencing about May, or for a period 

 longer or shorter, or commencing or ending earlier or later, 

 according as the weather is very mild and the season favourable 

 or otherwise, the frogs, like the snakes and lizards, resort to the 

 shelter of logs and stones, under which they are then to be met 

 with in a more or less sleepy condition. It is also noticeable 

 how frequently frogs which at other seasons frequent gullies or 

 swamps, are at this time found on high ground, on the slopes or 

 summits of the ridges, and long distances from water. In this 

 mild climate where the ground is never frozen the hibernation 

 does not seem to be of the thorough-going character exhibited 

 by frogs in Europe and America, which are said to bury them- 

 selves in the mud at the bottom of pools, lying clustered together 

 in a state of complete torpidity.* Australian frogs may also 

 hibernate in this way (L. dorsalis possibly; Mr. Krefft says 

 also many individuals of H. aurea) ; but seeing how abundant they 

 are in the situations indicated during this period as compared 

 with other seasons of the year, it is evident at least that 

 the habit is by no means universal; and moreover some 

 species like Hyperolia marmorata one rarely sees during the rest 

 of the year. Semper in his "Animal Life" (p. 426, Note 36) 

 quotes Forel's view "that winter-sleep does not depend at all on 

 the diminished temperature in winter, but rather on influences 

 determined by food." How far the hibernation of our frogs is 

 due to chill-coma, and how far to scarcity of food I am not 



♦Article "Frog," Encyclo. Britann. ix, 794. On the subject of the 

 hibernation of American frogs vide Butler in Report Amer. Assoc. Advanc. 

 of Sc. xxxiiL p. 545, and Amer. Nat. 1885, p. 37. 

 24 



