1909. J Miscellanea. 283 



do not develop nuptial excrescences on the fore limbs at the breed- 

 ing season and are devoid of vocal sacs; (3) by its stouter habit; 

 and (4) by its darker and more purple coloration. 



From the type of R. vicina it differs in exactl}' the same char- 

 acters so far as can be seen, for this specimen, not being a breeding 

 male, provides no information as regards the nuptial excrescences. 

 The t3'pe of R. vicina measures 60 mm. in length, but it agrees in 

 all other respects with the specimen from Simla measuring 77 mm. 

 in length. I can detect no difference between it and typical speci- 

 mens of R. liebigii from the Eastern Himala\'as. 



The synonymy of R. hlanjordii , which must be considered a 

 '' good " species, is as follows : — 



R. blanfordii, Boulenger, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., p. 23 (1882). 

 (?) R. vicina, id., Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, [j), xvi, p. 640 (1903). 

 R. vicina, id. (nee Stoliczka), Rec. hid. Mus., i, p. 150 (1907) ; 

 Annandale, ibid., ii, p. 304, and (tadpole), ii, p. 346. 



The type of R. blanfordii came either from Arabia or from 

 Darjiling, but the species is common in Kumaon, Garhwal and the 

 Simla district at altitudes of between 6,000 and 9,000 feet. In wet 

 weather and in places where there is a plentiful water-supply it is 

 aquatic in habits. In the neighbourhood of Simla, however, it con- 

 ceals itself during the dr}- season. If it occurs in the Eastern Hima- 

 la5^as, it must be very rare. Large- tadpoles are common in the W. 

 Himalaj^as in mountain streamlets and in wells both in Ma^^ and 

 vSeptember. 



R. vicina, on the other hand, must be regarded as a synon^^m 

 of R. liebigii. This species is very common in the Darjiling district 

 at altitudes of 5,000 — 8,000 feet Living in a much damper climate 

 than that of the Western Himalayas, it is not so essentially aquatic 

 in its habits but is found in damp jungle. It also occurs in the 

 Punjab Himala^'as, but is there ver^^ rare. 



2. Bti/o stoniatic'us, Lutken. — During the last few 5^ears I 

 have had the opportunity^ of examining large numbers of living and 

 preserved toads from i>engal, the Eastern Himalayas, the United 

 Provinces and the Punjab. A species that has puzzled me much 

 is the form described in 1862 by Professor Liitken, and redes- 

 cribed by Mr. Boulenger in 1891 {Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), vii, 

 p. 463) as Bufo stomaticus. This form was not described in the 

 latter author's volume on the Reptiles and Batrachia in the Fauna 

 of British India (1890), because in the original description the 

 habitat of the species was not given. :Mr. Boulenger, however, 

 in 1891 recognized B. stomaticus as distinct from B. andersomi, 

 while Mr. W. L. Sclater (P. Z. S., 1892, p. 347) wrote that B. stoma- 

 ticus had hitherto been confounded with B. andersonii. B. andcr- 

 sonii is recorded from Arabia and North-Western India (Boulenger) 

 and from Purneah in Northern Bengal (Sclater) ; B. stomaticus from 

 Lower Bengal, the DarjiUng Himalayas up to 5,000 feet (Annan- 

 dale), Assam and Burma (vSclater). 



