HERPETOLOGY OF JAPAN. 



155 



POLYPEDATES JAPONICUS (Hallowell;. 



1860. I.ralus japonicus Hallowell, Proc. Phila. Acad., 1860, p. 501 (type-locality, 

 Oshima, northern Riu Kius; type, U.S.N.M. No. 7313; Stimpson, col- 

 lector).— Okada, Cat. Vert. Japan, 1891, p. 66 (Okinawa shima). — 

 Fritze, Zool. Jahrb. Syst., VII, 1894, p. 865; author's separate, p. 16. 



1886. Rana macro-pus Boulenger, Proc. Zool. Soc, London, 188G, p. 414 (su'osti- 

 tute name; "Oho shima"); Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), X, Oct., 1892, 

 p. 302 (Okinawa; Hoist, collector).— Fritze, Zool. Jahrb. Syst., Vll, 

 1894, p. 865; author's separate, p. 16. — Boettger, Offenbach. Ver. Naturk. 

 33-36 Ber., 1895, p. 103 ("Ohoshima or Okinawa.") 



I have convinced myself by a careful dissection of the fingers of oive 

 of Hallowell's cotypes of Ixalus japonicus that there is an intercalated 

 bone between the penultimate and the ultimate phalanges, and th.at 

 this species, therefore, belongs to the genus Polypedates and not to 

 Rana. This arrangement of tlie tip of the digits is also quite easily 



148 150 



151 



149 



153 



Figs. 148-153.— Polypedates JAPONICUS. IJ X NAT. size. 148, top of head; 149, side of head; 150, 

 OPEN mouth; 151, underside of hand; 152, underside of foot; 1.51?, tip of digit. No. 7313, 

 U.S.N.M. 



discernible from the outside, the peculiar notch between the disk and 

 the penultimate phalanx being very conspicuous. 



The vomerine teeth are so insignificant that at a first inspection 

 they seem to be absent. Under a very powerful lens, however, a 

 transverse series of very minute teeth is discovered close to the ante- 

 rior border of the choanse. This justifies the reference of this species 

 to Polypedates rather than to Ixalus, or PMlautus^ Gistel, as the name 

 should stand, Ixalus Dumeril and Bibron, 1841, being preoccupied by 

 Ixalus Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1836, p. 119. 



Description. — Adult female; U.S.N.M. No. 7313 a; Amami-o-shima, 

 Riu Kiu; May, 1855; W. Stimpson, collector (figs. 148-153). Vome- 

 rine teeth in two oblique, very indistinct series between and ver}" 



"■Philautus Gistel, Naturg.Thierr., 1848, p. x (substitute name for Orchestes Tschudi, 

 1838, which is al.'^o preoccupied by Illiger, 1807). See Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., XXVllI, 1905, p. 346. 



