Hijla gratiosa 303 



On the back they are much reduced in prominence. The upper hind legs and 

 sides have practically none. Our largest female is 68 mm., largest male 68 

 mm. The smallest male we took is 52 mm. They must show male coloration 

 much smaller than 52 mm. Doubtless the males and females begin breeding 

 three years from transformation. After we had started to measure the two 

 largest frogs each 68 mm. we noted that the male had a tympanal diameter of 

 7 mm., the female 5 mm. This is the first instance of decided tympanal 

 difference we have noted in Hylas. In the same specimens the male has the 

 two outer fingers of the hand thicker and broader than the similar fingers of 

 the female. 



Our first record of mating came the evening of July 16, 1921. "We went 

 out 8:30-10:00 p.m. south of camp to a pond (Coat Bet Pond). Immense 

 deafening choruses of Hyla gratiosa, Pseudacris ocularis, Hyla femoralis, 

 Biijo quercicus and Acris gryllus. We looked for Coat Bets {Hyla gratiosa). 

 One male was on a cypress limb touching the water; another on a tussock 

 of sedges; another on water amongst grass. We caught 9 or 10 males. The 

 pond is generally shallow but water was generally 8 inches-i 1/2 feet deep in 

 places." Found the eggs next morning. In the evening July 17, 1921, 

 "Coat Bets were calling loudly and presently on a log next to the water's sur- 

 face saw a mated pair of Hyla gratiosa. I held my breath but caught them 

 very easily in my can. Thought I never would get the can out of my pocket. 

 When I returned to camp the pair had broken and we put another male with 

 her. One of the Chesser boys presently found a mated pair of Coat Bets on a 

 log. We set up the camera and they leaped away but swam no more than 

 three feet and hid under a fern leaf. I caught them and put them back on the 

 log. Held my hand partially over them while Harper focussed. Then I raised 

 my hand one foot above them ready to seize if need be. Harper trigged the 

 flash a dozen or two times before it went off. The pair remained just as before. 

 When we put them in a can they did not separate." 



On August 16, 1922, after a severe rainy period in one of the shallow, 

 temporary spadefoot pools "were several pairs of Hyla gratiosa." 



All our records of mating came at night. 



Amplexation. The amplexation of every pair caught was axillary. So 

 also with the pairs secured from laboratory (camp) mating. Those taken 

 July 16 and 17, 192 1, and August 16, 1922, always revealed this type of em- 

 brace. Our notes record that in one of the spadefoot pools a male spadefoot 

 had a ripe female Hyla gratiosa in the embrace. The male was the larger in 

 size. Unfortunately we have no memory of whether the amplexation was 

 inguinal or abnormal. 



OVULATION 



Habitat. We have found the eggs or tadpoles in open ponds of cut-over 

 pine lands, in cypress ponds open at one end and shaded on the other or in 

 dense cypress and gum ponds. At times in preference to nearby cypress ponds 

 we have found them in temporary grassy pools (after hard storms of 2-4 or 

 5 inches) such as spadefoots frequent or open tussocky transient pools beside 



