Rana septentrionalis 407 



OVULATION 



Habitat. The normal habitat for the non-ovulation period is retained for 

 ovulation. We clearly beHeved the eggs would be found in connection with 

 water Hlies, hence our choice of habitat for the mink frog in "Frogs: Their 

 Natural History and Utihzation" U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Report 1920, 

 App. Plate VIII, p. 17. Our experience at Onekio, N. Y., Hellgate Pond, 

 July 13 and 14 tended at first to lead us to believe Garnier's observed habitat 

 the preferred one but the records of S. C. Bishop and S. E. R. Simpson to 

 be related later prove the water lily habitat as best. Garnier (pp. 950) 

 writes: "Today is the 30th of July. . . . There is plenty of spawn in the 

 streams." On July 14, 1923, Mrs. Wright and I found plenty of frogs below 

 a beaver dam where the outlet of a pond flowed. Just below the dam was a 

 large area in which were the tadpoles of Rana clamitans and Rana septen- 

 trionalis, redbelhed dace {Chrosomus erythr eg aster), common shiner {Luxilus 

 cornutus), horned dace {Semotilus atromaculatus) , fall fish (Leucosomus corpo- 

 ralis), cutHps (Exoglossum maxillingua) and blacknosed dace {Rkinichthijs 

 atronasus). Below this pool came an area with cobblestones with water 

 between and under, evidently usually covered with water and normally swift. 

 The cobblestone area was succeeded by a broad deep area of water 21/2 feet, 

 brown in color, more or less clear and with sediment in the bottom which 

 might be easily stirred up. About this area are granite boulders amongst 

 which are regal's fern, deciduous holly, Mt. holly, red maple, meadow sweet, 

 toothed haw, tall meadow rue, Mt. maple, clematis and polypody. Here we 

 had the bullfrog, greenfrog and mink frogs in areas. The bullfrogs were call- 

 ing above the dam in the pond proper. In this broad area below the dam 

 on the west side was an open sunlight edge of grasses, sedges, Joe Pye weed, 

 and monkey flowers. Here beneath the shades of Myrica Gale bushes were 

 fresh masses of greenfrog eggs. On the east side near a boulder and fringe of 

 overhanging alders {Alnus incanus) was a group of six or eight male mink 

 frogs floating among some scattered, broad-leaved sedges in deep water. 

 Farther under the alders and all along the stream under the alders at their 

 bases were R. septentrionalis males. Sometimes where a mass of driftwood 

 might be we would find five or six gathered or they would be floating on royal 

 fern leaves which were on the surface. Just beneath the five or six males first 

 discovered we found in the sedges a mass 21/2 inches below the surface. 

 It was so covered with sediment we thought it farther along in development 

 than it proved to be. The tips of the sedges were floating in the water. We 

 photographed the mass in place, picked the sedge on which it was attached 

 and returned fifteen minutes later and searched the whole spot over again. 

 Here directly beneath the first mass some 3 or 4 inches was a second mass. 

 How we missed it is hard to understand except that the sediment so obscured 

 it. When we at last saw it, it looked like a brown stone encircling a sedge, 

 an impossibility. The mass reminded me very much of R. virgatipes eggs 

 of the Okefinokee Swamp or R. palustris eggs not so brown and yellow. 

 The first mass was a plinth 2 or 2 1/2x1 1/2 inches. The second one was no 



