68 BULLETIN 160, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



BUFO VALLICEPS Wiegmann 



Nebulous Toad 

 Figure 15 



1833. Bufo valUceps Wiegmann, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, pp. 657-659. — 



Peters, 1863, Monatsber. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 81. — Cope, 



1889, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 34, p. 292, fig. 73.— Dickerson, 1906, The 



frog book, pp. 108-110, figs 112-115, col. pi. 5, fig. 3.— Nieden, 1923, Das 



Tierreich, Lief. 46, Amphibia, Anura I, pp. 76, 128. 

 1833. Bufo trachypus MS. Wiegmann, Isis von Oken, vol. 26, pt. 7, pp. 657, 658, 



footnote. (Nomen nudum.) 

 1852. Bufo granulosus Baird and Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 



vol. 6, p. 173, Oct. [Nee Bufo granulosus Spix, 1824.) 

 1854. Bufo nebulifer Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 7, p. 87, 



May. — Baird, 1859, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary 



Survey, vol. 2, Reptiles, pp. 25, 35, pi. 40, figs. 1-4. 

 1858. Bufo sternosignatus [part] Gunther, Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia 



in the collection of the British Museum, pp. 68, 69, pi. 5, fig. C (Cordova 



and Mexico). 

 1896. Bufo valliceps microtis Werner, Verhandl. k. k. zool.-bot. Gesell. Wien, 



vol. 46, no. 8, p. 350. (Honduras.) 



Type locality. — Mexico. 



Range. — From the Rio Grande, below the mouth of Pecos River, 

 southwest through Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Durango 

 to southern Sinaloa (Mazatlan) and Nayarit (Acaponeta), and thence 

 southward along both coasts as well as in the interior of Mexico to 

 southern Costa Rica (Buenos Aires). Reported from Sinaloa, Pre- 

 sidio de Mazatlan (Forrer); Vera Cruz, Tampico (Richardson), Ja- 

 lapa (Hoege), Atoyac (H. H. Smith), Cuatotolapam (Ruthven), and 

 Presidio, Tetela, and Agua Fria (Gadow). 



The range of this toad in the United States extends from the east- 

 ern boundary of Louisiana (Como, Franklin Parish) west to Bosque, 

 Llano, Kendall, and Val Verde Counties in Texas, and along the Gulf 

 coast from the mouth of Pearl River, La., to the mouth of the Rio 

 Grande, Tex. 



Remarks. — The so-called nebulous toad occurs in the vicinity of 

 coastal marshes in southern Louisiana. In eastern Texas it has been 

 found along the edges of pine forests. Along the western border of 

 its range in central Texas on the grand prairie region, this toad seems 

 to prefer small streams with rocky banks, and hides in fissures and 

 niches in the rocks. In Guatemala, it occurs in considerable num- 

 bers along the margins of forests, in the clearings around villages, and 

 in lesser numbers in the savannas. No published information is 

 available in regard to its breeding habits. 



It has very high cranial crests and a dark interorbital cross band. 

 The coloration of the upperparts is quite variable; the lighter-colored 

 individuals are generally yellowish or light gray, and the darker ones 

 have the color pattern subdued or obliterated by a dark slate or black 



