MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 101 



[ = Nayarit], form the basis for the following notes: Tarsal fold absent; 

 tarsal-metatarsal joint to tip of fourth toe, 28 mm.; inner and outer 

 metatarsal tubercles large, the inner elongated and swollen, the outer 

 broad and flattened; large subarticular tubercles at ends of metapo- 

 dials; feet with numerous supernumerary tubercles on plantar sur- 

 face; the hind limb being carried forward along the body, the tibio- 

 tarsal joint reaches to center or to anterior margin of eye; heels touch 

 but do not overlap when legs are placed transverse to axis of body; 

 first finger exceeds the second by length of its apical disk; can thus 

 rostralis fairly distinct; transverse diameter of tympanum occasion- 

 ally less than one-half, always less than two-thirds, diameter of eye, 

 and overhung by a dermal fold that extends from eye backward over 

 and behind tympanum to angle of mouth (transverse diameter of 

 tympanum, 3.7 mm.; transverse diameter of eye, 8.2 mmx.); distance 

 from eye to nostril equal to or less than diameter of eye ; tongue nar- 

 row, elongate; skin on abdomen smooth; circular abdominal disk 

 present; under surfaces of thighs granulated; a transverse intratym- 

 panic dorsal dermal fold; skin of upperparts and top of head either 

 shagreened or with small scattered tubercles; sides with light margined 

 large black blotches; hinder surface of thighs with closely approxi- 

 mated or with large coalesced black marldngs ; upper surface of tarsus 

 and foot with black blotches; lower fore limb with transverse black 

 bars; abdominal disk yellowish, with faint vermiculations; throat 

 black; head and body length, snout to vent, 75, 65.5, 65.5, 64.5, 67.5, 

 and 66.2 mm., respectively. 



Mocquard concluded that E. augusti was identical with Cope's 

 E. latrans from central Texas. Direct comparison of Mexican speci- 

 mens with the cotypes of E. latrans does not entirely confirm this 

 assumption. Though there are no constant structural features that 

 will distinguish specimens from these two areas, it was observed that 

 in E. latrans the fourth toe is relatively longer, the color pattern con- 

 sists of fairly closely aggregated large black blotches, the sides and 

 hinder half of the abdomen are faintly areolate, and the skin on the 

 upperparts of old adults is stiff, coarse, and areolate. These two 

 forms are unquestionably rather closely related. An immature indi- 

 vidual from Jalisco and an adult individual (with a body length of 75 

 mm.) collected by Ruthling, which unfortunately is without any 

 definite locality, were used in these direct comparisons. The skin on 

 the upperparts of the immature individual from Jalisco is much 

 more tubercular and warty than that on the Texas specimens. 

 Juvenile characters, such as vestigial postcephalic intratympanic 

 dermal fold and vomerine teeth in minute clusters, are not unusual, 

 but the presence of an abdominal disk seems rather remarkable for 

 so young an individual. Mocquard ^^ has pubHshed some interesting 



" Mocquard, F., Reptiles et batraciens recueillis au Mexique par M. TAon Dlguet en 1896 et 1897. Bull. 

 Soc. Philom. Paris, ser. 9, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 160, 161, 1899. 



