188 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 206 



Variations.— Some individuals show a less squarely transverse ter- 

 mination of the lower Hp. All, however, have the snout peculiarly 

 unhke other hyhds, and the heavy vomerine teeth behind the posterior 

 level of the choanae. The large air-sacs on the sides of the body and 

 the extremely distensible throat sacs are still to be seen in some of the 

 preserved examples. The lack of color pattern is evident in the 

 entire preserved series. 



Remarks. — A peculiar muscular contraction after death causes all 

 the specimens to assume a curiously bent and cramped position that 

 makes it difficult to straighten them out so that their true proportions 

 can be observed. The unusual waxy quality of the flesh is clearly 

 apparent even after several months of preservation lq alcohol. 



The length of the upper arm is another interesting feature of this 

 species. In few frogs do the limbs more than touch the knee and 

 elbow when they are normally placed against the sides of the body, 

 but in this species the overlapping is conspicuous. 



The frogs of this species were all caught at night in the stagnant 

 water of a swamp. The male floats while calling for the females. At 

 this time the frog can be hfted out of the water on the open palm of 

 the hand and transferred to the collecting bag without closing the 

 fingers. 



The mating call begins with a tang, followed by a chirping like a 

 cicada. In calling, the vocal sac gets so large that the rest of the 

 small body almost disappears behind it. 



Specimens examined 

 BRAZIL: 



DisTRicTO Federal: Recreio dos Bandeirantes, USNM 97619-21, B. Lutz, 

 Cochran, and Venancio, February 1935. Swamp at Km. 40 on road to SSo 

 Paulo, USNM 97563-9, A. Lutz, Cochran, and Venancio, Feb. 20, 1935. 



10. anceps — group 



This unusual hylid anceps at present has no known close relatives 

 in the genus in southeastern Brazil. 



Hyla anceps A. Lutz 



Plate 17, Figures a, b 



1929. Hyla anceps A. Lutz, 1929b, p. 943 (type locality, Estrella, Districto 

 Federal).— Myers, 1946, pp. 15, 30. 



Description. — Adult male, USNM 96441 (cotype), EstreUa, Rio de 

 Janeiro. Vomerine teeth in two very heavy, short, narrowly separated, 

 transverse patches lying between the posterior borders of the choanae ; 

 tongue three-fourths as wide as mouth-opening, cordiform, deeply 

 notched and free behind; snout moderate in length, obtusely angulate 



