272 BUfONID^E. 



region vertical ; interorbital space broader than tlie upper eyelid; 

 tympanum distinct, g diameter of eye. First finger not extending 

 beyond second ; toes entirely webbed, with single siibarticular 

 tubercles ; two moderate metatarsal tubercles ; a tarsal fold. The 

 tarso-metatarsal articulation reaches the tip of tlie snout or beyond. 

 Upper parts with very prominent, conical, spinose tubercles ; 

 parotoids very prominent, usually small, subtriangular or roundish. 

 Uniform brown or blackish above, at certain seasons spotted with 

 crimson; whitish beneath, uniform or spotted with black. Iris 

 golden yellow, very finely speckled and vermiculated with very 

 dark bronze. 



From snout to vent 215 millim. 



Tenasserim, Mergui, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java. 



Widely but locally distributed in the Malay Peninsula, this toad, 

 one of the largest Batrachians, is found in abundance in caves and 

 in the neighbourhood of waterfalls, but seldom away from these 

 particular haunts. It occurs at 4500 feet elevation in the Larut 

 Hills, Perak, and on the Semangko Pass between Selangor and 

 Pahang, at 2000 feet on Penang Hill. Abundant in the Batu Caves, 

 Selangor, in places wiiere no daylight ever penetrates, half a mile 

 underground. Also known from Legeh, Jalor, Telubin, and 

 Malacca. According to Annandale and Eobinson, it is common 

 at Bukit Besar, generally near human dwellings or in secondary 

 iuugle, occasionally penetrating into thick forest country. Young 

 specimens, which are much lightei' in colour than adults, are often 

 found in large numbers on the banks of rapid mountain-streams, 

 whei'e they harmonize so well with the sand that they are difficult 

 to detect except when in motion. According to Flower, this toad 

 smells strongly of musk. 



291. Bufo melanostictus. 



Schneid. Hist. Amph. i, p. 216 (1801) ; Cantor, Journ. Asiat. Soc. 

 Bengal, xvi, p. 1063 (1817); Giinth. Rept. Brit. Ind. p. 422 

 (1864); Bouleng. Cat. Batr. Ecaud. p. 306 (1882); id. Faun. 

 Brit, lud., Rept. p. 505, fig. (1890); S. Flower, P. Z. S. 1896, 

 p. 911, pi. xliv, fig. 3, and 1899, p. 910. 



Head with more or less prominent bony ridges, viz. a canthal, a 

 prseorbital, a supraorbital, a postorbital, and a short orbito-tym- 

 pauie; snout short, blunt ; interorbital space much broader than the 

 upper eyelid ; tympanum very distinct, at least | diameter of eye. 

 First finger usually extending beyond second. Toes at least half- 

 webbed, w^ith single subarticular tubercles ; two moderate meta- 

 tarsal tubercles ; no tarsal fold. Tarso-metatarsal articulation 

 reaching tympanum or eye. Upper parts with more or less pro- 

 minent, often spiny, warts ; parotoids very prominent, reniform 

 or elliptical, more or less elongate. Yellowish or brownish above, 

 the spines of the warts and the ridges of the head usually black ; 

 beneath whitish, immaculate or more or less spotted. Male with 



