Introduction 7 



To these forms there should be added the three following species from 

 localities southeast or northwest of the swamp, namely 



Rana aesopus Rana areolata areolata 



Hyla pickeringii 



This hypothetical list from three regions near the swamp probably is far in 

 excess of what will ever be found in the swamp or its immediate environs. 

 These 18 salamanders and 13 frogs and toads — 31 in all — emphasized in 1914 

 the need of further collecting in this region. No doubt some of them hke the 

 species of Pseudacris (Chorophilus) may be reduced in number and specimens 

 comparable to both Rana pipiens and R. sphenocephala may be found. We 

 were on the lookout for members of the Rana areolata group but none of the 

 three forms appeared. The natives maintain that the bullfrog of the outside 

 is different from the one of the swamp and the former may represent R. 

 catesheiana. The two great surprises are the lack of salamanders and the 

 absence of such forms as Hyla squirella. The author in 19 14 had the convic- 

 tion that exclusive or extensive collecting of amphibia in this region would 

 yield several more forms. 



In 187 1 and 1876 Paul Fountain visited this region and his amphibian 

 notes which follow may have enough pertinent historical interest to warrant 

 their inclusion in this paper .^ 



"Probably the next hving creature we notice will be the bull-frog, which 

 attracts us on account of its, to our eyes, huge size. There are at least four 

 species of frogs in these swamps, including the largest and smallest of American 

 frogs. The bull-frog is not, however, very abundant, and I have noticed that 

 this frog seems to prefer clear running streams to swamps. It grows to a very 

 great size in the Okefinoke swamp, and sitting up on a snag or mass of moss, 

 it looks like a large stone or boulder. As we approach, however, we notice 

 the exceedingly brilliant eye fixed steadily upon us, and on attempting to 

 touch it, it springs away with an alacrity for which we were quite unpre- 

 pared, considering its heavy, unwieldy build. It has an enormous head, a 

 thick-set body, and strongly formed hmbs, much thicker in proportion than 

 those of the common European frog. Its croak is spoken of as "Booming" 

 and is very loud. It can sometimes be heard appearing to come from every 

 part of an extensive district, and from a mile or more distant. / am not sure 

 that the Okefinoke frog is not a distinct variety of the cominon hull-frog. It is 

 larger than those which I have seen in streams running into the Mississippi 

 and its tributaries, and in other places, and seems to differ in colour, though 

 neither of these circumstances is of much importance. Size may depend on 

 locality and abundance of food, and coloration certainly does. The following 

 are the measurements of the largest specimen that I could find: Length of 

 body from nose to base, 8 inches; breadth across, nearly 5 inches; girth, 14 

 inches; length of hind-limb, 12^ inches; weight, within a fraction of three 

 pounds. The usual size is about seven inches in length, half as much more 



* Fountain, Paul. The Great Deserts and Forests of North America. London, 1901, 

 pp. 62-64, 67-68. 



