HERPETOLOGY OF JAPAN. 95 



1868. Tomoptcrna purusa Cope, Proc. Phila. Acad., 1868, p. 139 (typt'-loeality, 

 Kanagawa; type in Mus. Comp. Zool. Cambr. No. 305; Dr. Gulick, collec- 

 tor). — Rana porosa Boulenger, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., 1882, p. 40. 



1880. Rana esculenta viarmorata Lataste, Bull. Soc. Zool. France, V, 1880, p. 61 

 (Peking); Le Natural., 1880 (p. 210) (not of Massalongo, 1854). 



1891. Rana esculenta var. nigromaculata Boulenger, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 

 1891, pp. 376, 377, 383. (Yokohama; Hakone Lake; Okinawa shima, 

 Riu Kiu). — BoETTGER, Kat. Batr. Mus. Senckenberg, 1892, p. 6 (China 

 and Japan).— Bedriaga, Przewalski Reise, Zool., Ill, Pt. 1, 1899 (p. 11).— 

 Werner, Abh. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. (Muenchen), II, Klasse, Pt. 2, 1904, 

 p. 358 (Shanghai and Hankow, China). 



1897. Rana esculenta var. chinensis Boulenger, Tailless Batr. Eur., II, p. 272; 

 fig. D, p. 273 (Korea and Japan to southern China and Siani). — Mehely, 

 Zichy's Dritte Asiat. Forschungsr., II, 1901, p. 62 (Peking). 



1899. Rana chinensis Stone, Proc. Phila. Acad., 1899, p. 183 (Khingan moun- 

 tains and Lama-mio, eastern Mongolia). 



In an article on "The names of animals, published by Osbeck in 

 1765,"°^ Mr. W. J. Fox states that Osbeck's Rana chinensis is "with- 

 out doubt a Bitfo," and that "Boulenger has erred in referring it to 

 Rana, as Osbeck says in his description, 'the body above warty/ 

 which sufficiently indicates that the species is not a Rana." Now, 

 if Mr. Fox had known R. tigerina and R. rugosa, he would not have 

 said this, since they are a great deal more warty than many a Bufo. 

 There are points in Osbeck's description which show that the animal 

 was "without doubt" a Rana and that Boulenger did not err in so 

 referring it. 



Wliether Boulenger was right, however, in referring Rana chi- 

 nensis Osbeck to the eastern representative of R. esculenta is another 

 question, and as I have grave doubts as to the correctness of this 

 view I prefer to leave the name with a ? as unidentifiable. The 

 expression "the body is warty at the top" (to use the English trans- 

 lation of 1771) might be applied to the frog in question, but it applies 

 much better to Rana tigerina, which is also sold in the markets of 

 Hongkong and Canton. With this agrees also the character: 

 "The throat is white, speckled with black." On the other hand, 

 Osbeck's allusion to the "sixth or innermost" finger seems to fit 

 better the larger metatarsal tubercle of R. nigromaculata. As the 

 name can not therefore be applied with absolute certainty to either 

 of these species I think it is better to dispense with it altogether. 



Mr. Fox's plea for Rana marmorata Hallowell, 1860, as the proper 

 name for the eastern frog can not be entertained either, as that 

 name was disposed of by Massalongo six years earlier '' for one of 

 the European forms of Ranxi esculenta. 



a Science (n. s.), XII, Nov. 9, 1900, pp. 716-718. 



b Rana esculenta var. marmorata Massalongo, Saggio di un' erpetol. popol. Verones., 

 1854 (p. 47). 



