MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 



115 



Dr. Hans Gadow ^ contributes the following notes on this species: 



Of tailless amphibians only one kind exists, but this is rather plentiful, Hylodes 

 rhodopis, a small Cystignalhid, which leads the life of a tree frog. It seems to 

 be a southerner, which, although not extending onto the plateau itself, ascends 

 the high mountains on its eastern, southern and western borders. On Citlalte- 

 petl, for instance, it occurs well up to 10,000 feet, whilst it also inhabits the 

 "hot lands" in the State of Vera Cruz. Most of the specimens were dark 

 brown, with reddish tints, and lived on or near the ground amongst the dark 

 masses of rotten leaves; others had made their home in the tillandsia clusters, 

 or on the green shrubs at the edge of the forest; these frogs were quite green, 

 but when caught soon changed to reddish yellow, and ultimately assumed the 

 natural coloration, which is also that of specimens preserved in spirit. None of 

 these frogs in the forest itself, upon the ground, showed a trace of green. The 

 genus Hylodes comprises the H. mariinicensis, the "coqui" of the West Indies, 

 which has become famous as the first frog known to lay a few large eggs only, 

 from which within a few days the young are hatched, as almost perfect little 

 frogs, they having hurried through the gilled and tailed tadpole stage in a dia- 

 grammatically precipitate fashion. Most kinds of Hylodes seem to go through 

 such a "condensed" process of babyhood; the eggs are laid in a foaming lather 

 or spume wrapped between leaves. Suitable places upon the mountain, shady 

 places with decaying leaves, were swarming with these little baby frogs, but our 

 search for nests was without result, ■'ince the proper breeding season was already 

 passed, and the adults kept quite mute. In any case, the presence of these 

 peculiar frogs was significant, they, with the newts, being the sole representatives 

 of amphibia. There were no other frogs or toads whatever, nor were any known 

 to occur. Both toads and frogs require standing water in which to deposit 

 their eggs, and there is no standing water anywhere near the Xometla level. 

 The streams were quick running and very cold; some were fed by melting snow, 

 or became rapid torrents when it rained, and for these reasons they contained 

 no fish either. 



Specimens examined. — Eleven, as follows: 

 Eleutherodadylus rhodopis 



Museum 



B.M 



U.S.N.M 

 Do---. 



Do---. 



Do— . 



B.M 



Catalogue 

 No. 



1901. 12. 19. 



38 

 7091 



16558 

 / 16557 

 I 59-61 



47199 



{57^7.31.} 



Num- 

 ber of 

 speci- 

 mens 



Locality collected 



Vera Cruz: 

 Jalapa 



Orizaba, alpine region - 

 Vicinity of Orizaba — 



Date collected 



1864 (7) 



-do- 



Chiapas: Chicharras, 3,400 ft. 

 altitude. 



Feb. 17, 1896 

 ?State: No definite locality...! 1855 



By whom collected or 

 from whom received 



F. D. Godman. 



Francis Sumichrast. 

 Do. 



Do. 

 Nelson and Goldman. 

 Auguste Sall6. 



1 Type of Hylodes plicatus. 

 * Type of LUhodytes rhodopis. 



' Paratypes of LUhodytes rhodopis. 

 * Type of Hylodes sallaei. 



*• Gadow, H., Through southern Mexico: Being an account of the travels of a naturalist, London, pp. 55, 

 66. 1903. 



