128 Frogs of the Okefinokee Swamp 



breeding pools". No species suffers more badly than the oak toad from its 

 choice of breeding places yet it is an abundant form. Two to six or eight 

 inches are its usual depths for egg deposition. Often we made such remarks 

 as these in regard to eggs "The loss must be frightful". "How does this species 

 keep itself at abundance"? "The eggs in these furrows cannot escape dry- 

 ing". "The development must be rapid or the eggs or tadpoles will get 

 caught". 



HATCHING PERIOD 



Our first record of ovulation in 192 1 came June 4 at 10:00 p.m. Some of 

 these in petri dishes hatched June 8 before 6:00 a.m. when we arose. This 

 means from 72-80 hours from ovulation to hatching or 3-3 1/3 days. 



MATURE TADPOLE 



Color description from life (July 7, 1921). General coloration of the body 

 is grayish olive, olive lake, grape green or ecru olive produced by close set dots 

 of lighter color over a blackish background. Very few small black spots on the 

 back. In one two legged specimen general color quaker drab or of the vinace- 

 ous group. There is a black spot over the nostril and one over each eye. The 

 belly is pale purplish vinaceous; the throat and mentum with no bright color. 

 Gill region with clusters of deep olive buff or the general colors above. 



Tail. The upper crest much more heavily marked than in Bufo terrestris. 

 Lower crest is also more or less marked with black. Along the dorsum of the 

 muscular part of the tail are 6 or 7 black saddles. Along the ventral edge of 

 muscular part are small black clusters but not so prominent as dorsal 

 saddles. In a two-legged specimen alternation of dark and light on tail 

 musculature for 8 or 9 spots. Along the back of body proper the charac- 

 teristic paired spots (4 or 5 of them) appear. 



Iris black and general colors above. 



General remarks. In 1923 (a, p. 406) Wright and Wright has ''Bufo 

 quercicus — gray tadpoles, six or seven black saddles on musculature, heavily 

 marked upper crest, venter one mass of color". There are plenty of oak toads 

 in the Okefinokee region. We had difficulty getting mated pairs at first. 

 Then when the developmental series of check pairs in the camp were fairly 

 well advanced, a severe rain came, overflowed the pans and some Bufo 

 quercicus tadpoles and Bufo terrestris tadpoles became mixed and our checks 

 for Bufo quercicus were never brought to mature tadpoles in the camp there- 

 after. There is a possibility of uncertainty in some of our Bufo quercicus 

 tadpoles, hence the unequal treatment given the tadpoles of this species. 



LARVAL PERIOD 



Deckert (1914 b, No. 9, p. 2) holds "the metamorphosis is very rapid". 

 In 1 92 1 we have the journal note July 7 that ''Bufo quercicus eggs laid June 4 

 are approaching transformation. One with four legs today." This implies 33 

 days. In 1922 we took mature tadpoles on June 27 implying egg laying before 

 our entrance to the swamp June 13-14. In 1922 we recorded transformation 



