Scaphiopus holhrookii 105 



crouching posture I mention its assuming in confinement. I have since been 

 told that the Spadefoot has been found at a depth of six feet, but this I 

 cannot vouch for. 



"When the weather is not too severe, even while the last snow is on the 

 ground, the Scaphiopus often makes its appearance, but then it only roams 

 aimlessly round, hiding under dead leaves and taking little food. The usual 

 time of awakening to renewed spring-life is the end of April or beginning of 

 May, and if the weather is unfavorable, not till June or even July." 



Dr. G. Clyde Fisher (1920, pp. 76-78) says that "On August 14, 1918, 

 I captured a Spadefoot ... in the basement of my house in Douglaston, 

 Long Island, which is inside Greater New York. It was taken in a small 

 cavity in the damp earth, which it had probably made, in a break in the con- 

 crete on a level with the floor. It was in excellent condition, and apparently 

 it was fully grown. We had seen it hopping about at night several days pre- 

 vious to this, but we do not know how long it had been in the cellar or how it 

 got there. 



"For several weeks we kept it in a large box of earth. At night it was gen- 

 erally out on top and active, but in the day time it was usually underneath 

 the soil. It would always dig in backwards, making good use of the horny 

 processes or spades on the hind feet. It was surprising how quickly it could 

 burrow out of sight. 



"On the night of October 12 it sang a few times without being disturbed. 

 . . . It would usually sing or squawk when tickled on the throat or 

 breast. 



"This specimen dug in on October 13 and stayed in so far as we could tell, 

 until dug out by us on October 21. It dug in on October 21, on which date 

 it ate an earthworm. On October 27, in order to make an experiment upon 

 its hibernation, it was placed out of doors, but unfortunately it escaped the 

 first night and was not seen again." 



AFFINITIES 



Holbrook's "General Remarks" (1842, p. m) are: "This animal is per- 

 haps somewhat allied to the Ceratophris of South America, which has teeth, 

 the posterior extremities short, and the hind feet furnished with a movable 

 unarmed tubercle. The Rana cultripes of Cuvier (Regne Animale Tom. II, 

 p. 105) would seem to be furnished with a process more nearly resembhng 

 that of our animal. 



"The animals of the family Ranoidea deHght in the sun, and may at all 

 times be seen sitting half emersed in water, even when his days are the most 

 intense. They are all diurnal, or seek their food in the day time, with one 

 exception omy, the Scaphiopus solitarius, which passes its days in holes pre- 

 pared by itself, and feeds on such insects as may unwarily enter its dwelling." 

 Harlan (1835, p. 106) notes its likeness to Rana cultripes Cuvier. Dumeril 

 and Bibron, 1841, recognize its relation to Pelobates cultripes in their arrange- 

 ment. DeKay (1842, p. 66) holds that "With the teeth of a frog and parotid 

 glands of a toad, its natural place is between the.se two genera." 



