ART. 25 CHINESE AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES STEJNEGER 3 



Class AMPHIBIA 



Order CAUDATA 



Family CRYPTOBRANCHIDAE 



MEGALOBATRACHUS JAPONICUS Temminck 



Synonymy, Herpetology of Japan, J907, p. 6, to which acid : 



Megalobatrachus maximus Boulenger, Cat. Batr. Grad. Brit. Miis., 1882, 

 p. 80 (Japan, China). — Boettger, Offenbach. Ver. Naturk., 24-25 Ber., 

 1885, p. 166 (Mupiu).— GuENTHER, in Pratt's To Snows of Tibet, 1892, 

 p. 243 (Kia-ting-fu, Szechwan, 1,070 feet altitude). — Werner. Abh. 

 Bayer, Akad. Wiss., II Kl., vol. 22, pt. 2, 1903, p. 371.— Wolterstouff, 

 Abh. Mus. Magdeburg, vol. 1, 1906, p. 132 (Canton, probably from in- 

 terior). — VoGT, Sitz. Ber. Ges. Naturf. E'reunde, Berlin, 1914, p. 102 

 (northern Kwangsi). — Dunn, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 62, 1918, ix 

 134 (Japan; Szechwan). 

 Cryptobranchus maximus Stanley, Journ. N. China Asiat. Soc, vol. 46, 



1915, p. xiv (Yachow, Szechwan). 

 Megalobatrachus japonicus Barboxjb, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 40, no. 4, 



1912, p. 125 (Yachow and Hang-ya-hsien, Szechwan). 

 Megalobatrachus species Despax, Bull. Soc. Zool. France, vol. 38, 1913, p. 



134 (Prov. Kweichow; Shensi) ; Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, vol. 19, 



1913, p. 183 (Kweichow). 



While the material at hand can not be considered as conclusive, 

 consisting as it does of only two Chinese specimens, one adult and 

 one young, and eight Japanese specimens, adult and young, never- 

 theless I have come to the conclusion that Boulenger and Barbour 

 may be correct in considering Sieholdia davidiana^ as a synonym 

 of M. japonicus. It should be noted, hov^ever, that in our large 

 Chinese specimen the tubercles on top of the head are smaller and 

 leave a wider smooth space between the eyes. The tubercles also 

 have a tendency to go in pairs. In all our five large Japanese speci- 

 mens the top of the head is much rougher with much larger and more 

 numerous tubercles. The Chinese example also has slightly larger 

 fingers and toes, and the nostrils appear to be a trifle farther apart. 



Both of our Chinese specimens are from Yachow, Szechwan. The 

 adult one (No. 52409) we owe to the kindness of E. F. Shields, and 

 the young (No. 65454) to L. A. Lovegren. 



Family SALAMANDRIDAE 



TRITURUS* ORIENTALIS (David) 



1875. Triton orientalis David, Journ. Trois. Voy. Chinois, vol. 1, p. 32 (type- 

 locality, Tche-san [near Chiichow fu], Chekiang Prov., China; type^ 

 in Paris Mus. ; A. David, collector) ; vol. 2, 1875, p. 215 (Tsitou, southern 

 Kiangsi) ; pp. 233, 238 (Mi-Ouan, Kiangsi). 



' See Herp. Japan, p. 7. 



* I have accepted, at least provisionally, Doctor Dunn's dictum (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 

 vol. 62, no. 9, 1918, p. 448) with regard to the nomenclature of these salamanders in 

 place of Diemictyhts employed in Herp. Japan, 1907, p. 15. 



