420 Frogs of the Okefinokee Swamp 



Honey Id. Prairie, mainland east of Chesser's Island. In 1922 we took it 

 along St. Mary's River, Chesser Island and mainland between the swamp and 

 St. Mary's River. 



GENERAL APPEARANCE 



We are provisionally keeping this form as a separate species. If this were 

 a taxonomic paper we would make more measurements and studies to solve it. 

 The southern meadow frog is an alert, active, long-legged and long-snouted 

 spotted frog. 



Miss Dickerson chose the long head, circular white tympanic spot and 

 dorsal spots not outlined by white as distinctive of this species in contrast 

 with Rana jnqnens, the northern meadow frog. Boulenger, G. A. (1920, pp. 

 438, 439) points out that these characters are not constant and does not 

 recognize R. sphe?iocephala as separate. Of it Miss Dickerson writes (1906, 

 p. 187): '"The head is long and pointed, with the eyes set far back. This 

 characteristic and the usual length of the hind legs distinguish this frog at 

 once from Rana pipiens, the Common Leopard Frog. It is peculiar also in 

 possessing a circular white spot at the center of the ear. This spot is never 

 lacking, no matter what the coloration of the frog may be at the time. Ra7ia 

 pipiens has sometimes a light blotch at or near the centre of the ear, but never 

 this clean-cut circle of white." 



COLORATION OF SPIRIT SPECIMENS (19 1 2) 

 In 191 2 we made these distinctions between R. pipiens and R. spheno- 

 cephala on the basis of coloration of spirit specimens. On the back the color 

 may be deep olive to green or purplish brown. On the inner portion of the 

 upper eyelid the blackish brown spot is smaller than in Raiia pipiens and not 

 so constant. Two or three of the specimens have these two spots absent. 

 In most R. pipiens there is a median spot ahead of these two orbital spots 

 and in all these R. sphenocephala this is absent. The dark line from snout 

 through the nostril to the front of the eye is possibly more constant and 

 prominent than in R. pipiens. Between the lateral folds are two rows of 

 spots more widely separated than in R. pipiens and less regularly placed. 

 Below the lateral folds in R. pipiens there are two or three irregular rows of 

 smaller spots but in R. sphenocephala there is usually one row followed by a 

 more or less vermiculated area, the black sometimes forming more or less 

 horizontal hues. On the fore-arm of R. pipiens there are two or three separate 

 spots on the posterior edge of the brachium while in R. sphenocephala these 

 are united into one broad brown band; in both there is a brown band on the 

 anterior side of the brachium, in R. sphenocephala averaging larger than in 

 R. pipiens. In both there is usually a prominent spot on the front of the 

 forearm and usually a band on the posterior edge. These rarely may be ab- 

 sent. The bars of the hind limbs are farther apart and less developed in R. 

 sphenocephala than in R. pipiens and the small spot below and in front of the 

 anterior femoral bars are more or less separate in R. pipiens but generally 

 unite to form a prominent antefemoral dark stripe, particularly in the adults 

 of R. sphenocephala. This femoral band often unites with the dark vermicula- 



