80 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



According to Ruthven ^^ — 



The colors of this species have not been accurately described, probably because 

 the red fades rapidly in alcohol. The ground color above is gray, relieved by 

 irregular black blotches. Most of the warts on the head and nape and a few on 

 the body are dull orange (142) 29 or red orange (78c or 78d), as are also the light 

 coccygeal line, the broad light area on the fore limbs, and more or less of the light 

 cross bands on the hind limbs, particularly on the feet. The light spot in the 

 interscapular region and the one on either side of the back are present in all speci- 

 mens, and, with the line of enlarged warts behind the angle of the mouth, are 

 usually very pale 3'ellow, but occasional!}^ red. The line in the coccygeal region 

 is usually well defined only to the pair of large blotches in the lumbar region. It 

 is occasionally continued narrowly to the broad black margin of the interscapular 

 spot, and occasionally bej'ond this to the snout, in which case it is interrupted by 

 the supraocular band. In the single very young example these three light ver- 

 tebral marks form a narrow line from snout to anus, that is narrowly interrupted 

 in the same places as in the adults. With the exception of a median line, the 

 chin, throat, and breast are gray, generally profusely spotted with black or brown 

 and generally somewhat speckled with pale yellow. The median line, which is 

 present even in very young specimens, is whitish, or pale yellow, which is the dom- 

 inant color of tlie abdomen, the dark color of the chin, throat, and breast being 

 broken up into large spots on the posterior part of the ventral surface. 



This little toad was found in about the same places as B. valUceps, but seemed 

 to prefer the wetter places and was more secretive. It was most numerous under 

 logs and decaying vegetation in a low partially cleared area along La Laja Creek, 

 but it was also found under logs on the shore of the prairie ponds, and in the banana 

 grove at San Juan. During the rains it was found at night in the pools, and an 

 immature specimen that had but recently emerged from the tadpole stage was 

 found on the shores of a temporary pool on La Laja Creek, August 14. The note 

 is a low chirp that is repeated regularly at intervals of one second. 



The species that occurs in Mexico may be recognized by the fol- 

 lowing combination of characters : A diamond-shaped area inclosed by 

 glandular dermal ridges, with black outer border and brown, orange, 

 or vermilion center in interscapular region ; a short light-colored sacral 

 stripe; coloration of remainder of upperparts grayish olive or blackish 

 brown with scattered darker markings; fore and hind limbs and feet 

 broadly banded with pinkish gray or brownish; under surfaces of 

 limbs yellowish; underparts yellowish or white, marbled or spotted 

 with black; throat and breast heavily mottled with grayish or brown- 

 ish, frequently bisected by longitudinal pin stripe and occasionally by 

 transverse stripe of same color; neither vomerine nor maxillary teeth; 

 tympanum minute and distinct, or for the most part hidden by 

 tubercles; fingers slender and free; first finger not extending beyond 

 second; no subarticular tubercle on penultimate finger joint; small 

 supernumerary tubercles continued backward on palmar surface; two 

 palmar callosities; no prominent terminal disks; toes not unusually 

 long, free, and with lateral dermal ridges extending to distal phalanx ; 



28 Ruthven, A. G., The amphibians and reptiles collected by the University of Michigan-Walker Expe- 

 dition in southern Vera Cruz, Mexico. Zool. Jahrb. (Syst. Abt.), vol. 32, pt. 4, pp. 308, 309, 1912. 

 " The numbers refer to the "Code des Couleurs," by Klincksiek and Vallete. 



