BY J. J. FLETCHER. 271 



Mr. Boulenger gives as a generic character of Chiroleptes "pupil 

 vertical." In the six specimens of C. platycephalus already referred 

 to, and in one of C. australis, from Herberton, Queensland — some 

 of which were exhibited at the Meetings of this Society in March 

 and April of this year — all examined alive and in a strong light, the 

 pupil was certainly horizontal and not vertical. My determina- 

 tion of the species may of course be incorrect, though taking the 

 other characters into consideration I do not think so. 



No doubt most, if not all our frogs, under stress of droughts can 

 or do betake themselves to burrowing when activating. This is 

 the case for example with Pseudophryne bibronii, a feeble little 

 toad, and one which is certainly not habitually a burrower. But 

 Limnodynastes dorsalis, Notaden bennettii, Chiroleptes platycephalic 

 and Heleioporus pictus are habitual burrowers. I have seen speci- 

 mens of each of these species either actually burrow in earth, or 

 go through the burrowing motions in a dish when I have had them 

 under observation, in this case evidently a little surprised at the 

 futility of their efforts; the hind legs in burrowing are moved 

 outwards and downwards, either alternately or simultaneously, the 

 shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercle evidently coming into play. All 

 these species have the metatarsal tubercles of this character, the 

 presence of which may I think be taken as prima facie evidence of 

 the burro wing propensity of their possessor. I have not seen Limno- 

 dynastes ornatus and Heleioporus albopunctatus alive, but from 

 analogy these will also probably turn out to be burrowers. 



L. dorsalis, judging from the abundance of croakers, must be 

 one of our most abundant Sydney frogs ; yet it is precisely one of 

 the species of which under ordinary circumstances it is most 

 difficult to procure specimens; a condition which is probably 

 largely due to its nocturnal and burrowing habits. Once and only 

 once I found a specimen under a stone ; the only other way in 

 which I have obtained specimens about Sydney is by going into 

 the water after them when breeding, individuals at such times 

 often allowing themselves to be caught without much difficulty. 

 On the other hand, except in very dry weather, L. tasmaniensis 

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