FROGS OF SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL — COCHRAN HI 



on the tympanum, darkening above the shoulder, and finally diminish- 

 ing to a number of small round dots towards the groin ; a very narrow, 

 pale line bordering it above, widening on the outer part of the upper 

 ej^elid and blending with the drab dorsal tone behind the tympanum. 

 Femur above and below immaculate pale cream-buff. Upper parts 

 of tibia, as well as forearm, pale clay color, with several diagonal 

 chocolate crossbars; outer surface of tarsus and foot with a few dark 

 bro\vn dots. Entire ventral surface immaculate olive buff. Anal 

 region with a dark patch bordered above by a lighter crescentic mark. 



Color in life. — On a series of eight living examples from Manguinhos, 

 collected on January 23, 1935, the following color notes were taken: 

 Dorsum maize yellow. Upper tibia chrome yellow. A few gray spots 

 and stripes on back. Tliroat deep chrome; belly pale sulphiu- yellow; 

 limbs below cream color, deepening on digits to pale buff-yellow. 

 Tibia and tarsus pale pinldsh cream. Iris chrome yellow at pe- 

 riphery, minutely flecked with brown centrally. Pupil horizontally 

 elliptic. 



Variations. — The females appear to attain a larger size than males, 

 as is the case in most species of frogs; USNM 97300, one of the largest 

 females, is 23 mm. long. The heel occasionally reaches the tip of the 

 snout. In color there is not much variability, the same characteristic 

 narrow | ')-shaped dark lines appearing on the back of every unfaded 

 specimen. In addition to this pattern, a few of the specimens have a 

 trace of a median light stripe edged by dark markings or spots on the 

 sacral region, and sometimes a fine powdering of dark dots occurs aU 

 over the dorsal ground color. 



In the series of over 40 individuals of this rather common species 

 taken near or in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the structural variation is 

 not very great. The relatively large eye and short snout is noticeable 

 in every specimen, although in a few the tip of the snout is a little 

 more pointed than is generally the rule. The fourth toe is rather long, 

 and projects far beyond the rather weak web, while the fingers are 

 likewise long and slender. The heel in most cases reaches to the center 

 or anterior corner of the eye, but in the large adult female, USNM 

 97298, it comes no further than the tympanum. A fully developed 

 male measures 20 mm., and smaller ones have vocal pouches well in 

 evidence. The color pattern differs in intensity, but is always essen- 

 tially the same in its elements: A pair of narrow dark lines beginning 

 at each side of the interorbital region, often continued outward onto 

 the upper eyelid, continuing backwards and parallel to the occiput, 

 and then gradually diverging and usually fading out at the dorsolateral 

 region about at midbody; behind these lines, a pair of short longi- 

 tudinal lines near the center of the back at the sacral region; a nan'ow 

 brown stripe from the nostrils extending along the sides nearly to the 



