REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS FROM LIBERIA — LOVERIDGE 133 



third Avith one-half a phalange free, or webbed to disk like fifth; 

 tibiotarsal articulation of the adpressed hind limb reaches the eye or 

 nostril. A light dorsolateral line almost always present. Every 

 specimen has a more or less conspicuous, dark-edged, silvery, naso- 

 lateral stripe ; the density of pigmentation on the dorsum varies con- 

 siderably, reaching its maximum in U. S. N. M. No. 109469, in wliich 

 even the gular disk and throat are stippled, though as colorless as 

 the belly in most of the series. Seven males (U.S.N.M. Nos. 109454, 

 109456, 109459, 109461, 109481, 109610, 109612), though indistinguish- 

 able as to color and pattern, may be males of some other dimorphic 

 and slightly larger species, possibly picturatus, for they measure 

 24-29 mm., average 26 mm. Length of 50 $ $ ^ 19-23 mm., average 

 22 mm., length of 18 presumed $ $ (assumed to be so as without 

 gular disks, but certainly young, and possibly including some young 

 males among them) 16-23 mm., average 19 mm. 



These frogs are conspecific with the 143 $ $ and 5 $ 9 previously 

 reported upon, which I (1938, p. 69) treated in the same way for 

 reasons stated at that time. In view of the preponderance of male 

 aderaetzi in both collections, paralleled by the predominance of female 

 fusciventris, one might be tempted to assume that we were dealing 

 with a single species exhibiting sexual dichromatism. A careful ex- 

 amination of the earlier material, however, lends no weight to such 

 an assumption, and one must conclude that the ademetzi males are 

 assembling to summon their females at a time when the fusciventris 

 females are ovulating. The majority of fuscwentris females collected 

 by Dr. Mann are distended with ova, but none of the ademetzi 

 females appears gravid. 



HYPEROLIUS 7 FESTIVUS Barbour and Lovcridge 



1927. Hyperolius festivus Barbottr and Loveridge, Proc. New England Zool. 

 Club, vol. 10, p. 17 (Firestone Plantation No. 3, Du River, Republic of 

 Liberia ) . 



? $ (U.S.N.M. No. 109052), Gibi 



Above, brown, but lips and flanks white, instead of dark; the 

 absence of the dark hourglass pattern on the dorsum is of no im- 

 portance, as it is absent in a 5 paratype of festivus. This rather 

 dried specimen has no gular disk but a baggy singing pouch. Length, 

 26 mm. It seems probable that festivus^ as well as haumanni Ahl, 

 of which we have a Togo cotype, will probably have to be synonymized 

 with acutirostris Peters, of Cameroons, of which we have no typical 

 material. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES OF RANA IN LIBERIA 



In connection with this work I came across a specimen (M.C.Z. No. 

 24461) of Rana longirostris Peters that constitutes the first Liberian 



