ART. 11 NORTH AMERICAN TADPOLES — WRIGHT 31 



RANA PALUSTRIS LeConte 



Plate 7, figure 2 



Color description from life {not Ridgway). — Backgi-oiind of body 

 olive green, shading through yellowish on the sides and front of head 

 to cream on the venter, the back being marked with fine black and 

 yellow spots. The yellow is more marked at the base of the tail and 

 in the region of the mouth. Blotches of white pigment occur on the 

 belly. From the gill region forward, black as well as white pigment 

 is prominent. The whole venter is conspicuously iridescent. The 

 tail is very dark, particularly toward the tip the whole marked with 

 fine black and golden-^ycllow punctulations, the yellow ones usually 

 aggregate; these groups of yellow spots are more numerous toward 

 the base of tail. In some specimens the dark punctulations are so 

 numerous as to make the tnil j^urplisJi Hack, a condition (when present) 

 making these tadpoles almost as distinctive as the vermilion-tailed 

 tadpoles of Hyla versicolor class. 



General appearance. — Tadpole large (76 mm.), full, and deep bodied. 

 Venter not strongly pigmented so that viscera show through, at least 

 in preserved specimens. Tail medium, tip obtuse or acute. Dorsal 

 crest not equal in depth to musculature depth, and extending on to 

 body somewhat ahead of the vertical through the buds of the liind 

 legs. Spiracle sinistral, directed upward and backward, slightly 

 below the lateral axis. Eye on or just above the lateral axis and near 

 the lateral outline in dorsal aspect than the mid dorsal Ime. Anus 

 dextral, the opening on a level with the edge of the ventral crest. 

 Muciferous crypts present. 



MovtJi parts. — Teeth -|, rarely ^. Edge of upper labium longer 

 than beak and fringed with teeth. In either corner a row of teeth 

 one-fifth to 1.7 of the upper fringe, the outer end of this lateral 

 row not extending beyond the end of the upper fringe. The median 

 space between lateral rows two to four times the length of the lateral 

 row. The second upper labial row or the lateral one, so called, is 

 sometimes absent or faint on both sides or on one side. The first 

 lower labial row sometimes subdivided. The third lower row slightly 

 shorter than the single row of lower papillae, two-thirds to one-third 

 .(usually about one-half) shorter than the first or second rows, which 

 arc about equal and which are about equal to or slightly larger than 

 the beak. 



Measurements. — Length of body (19.2-25.6 mm.) 1.4-1.9 in tail, 

 average 1.6. Width (11.8-18.0 mm.) of body in its ovm length 1.4- 

 1.85, average 1.6. Depth (10-14.2 mm.) of body 1.07-1.26 in body 

 width, average 1.15. Depth of body 1.69-1.92 in length of body, 

 average 1.83. Depth of tail in length of tail 2.3-3.2, average 2.7. 



