372 OVIPOSITION AND HABITS OF CERTAIN BATRACHIANS, 



moist shelter during very dry periods than could be found under 

 loose bark, &c., on trees. On the other hand, Hijla aurea which 

 is pre-eminently a swamp frog, may often be seen basking on the 

 trunks or branches of trees which have fallen into or across ponds ; 

 while in other situations it is still more arboreal. In Mr. 

 Macleay's bush-house there are generally some of these frogs, 

 v/hich may often be seen perched on the tree-ferns or plants. 

 In March, 1887, Mr. Masters called my attention to a still 

 better instance in which several of the frogs were, perched in the 

 asparagus plants preying on the caterpillars and grasshoppers with 

 which at this time of year the asparagus is much infested. 



MixoPHYES FASCIOLATUS, Gthr., is not yet recorded from the 

 County of Cumberland, but it may still be looked for on the 

 side adjoining Illawarra. I am able to record its occurrence at 

 Springwood, and Mt. Wilson, Blue Mts., whereas it was previously 

 known from Clarence River, and Illawarra N.S.W., and Pine Mt. 

 Queensland. From the observation of a single specimen living in 

 captivity Mr. KrefFt supposed " that this frog is remarkably fond 

 of lying buried under moss in water, never making its appearance 

 before dark."* Where I have seen it, it is a diurnal frog haunting 

 the banks of creeks in deep shady gullies. It takes readily to 

 the water on being pursued. With an exception or two all my 

 specimens wei-e met with in the open in this way. Two males 

 taken in December, and one in the beginning of April show a large 

 brownish rugosity on the first finger of each hand together with 

 a slight modification on the inner half of each second finger. At 

 the end of December at Mt. Wilson large dark-coloured tadpoles 

 were very numerous in the creeks in the gullies where the frogs 

 were abundant ; one of these in spirit with the hind legs about half 

 developed is 61 mm. long including the tail (which is 41 mm.), the 

 breadth of the body being 14 mm. In the beginning of Novem- 

 ber in the succeeding year the tadpoles were nothing like so 

 noticeably numerous. On April 2, 1888, on opening the tin in 

 which three living specimens of the frogs were brought down alive 



* Monthly Notices of Paper and Proceedings Roy. Soc. Tasm. 1S65, p. 19. 



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