76 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



Head depressed, a little longer than broad, the greatest widt^ at 

 the angle of the jaws. Snout broad, rounded. Eyes moderate. The 

 gular fold rises high on the side of the neck. A slight vertical fold 

 behind the angle of the jaws and a horizontal one running back from 

 the jaws to the gular fold. Body plump. Eleven costal furrows. 

 Specimens preserved in strong alcohol show a dorsal groove, which 

 cannot be seen in the living specimens. Distance from snout to axilla 

 in distance from snout to groin 2.5 times. Limbs moderately devel- 

 oped; when appressed along the sides, the fingers and toes meet in 

 the male and remain separated generally in the female. Toes rather 

 short and depressed. Carpal and tarsal tubercles generally indistinct. 

 Tail thick at the base, becoming compressed toward the end. A well- 

 marked depression along each side of the tail, which is usually shorter 

 than the head and the body. Skin smooth, but well supplied with 

 pores. A row of enlarged pores along the upper jaw, another inside 

 the orbit, and one on each side of the upper edge of the lateral groove 

 of the tail. 



Color. — The color varies in live specimens from slate-blue to deep 

 black; in alcoholic specimens a dark liver brown above, abruptly oliva- 

 ceous beneath. On each side of the back is a series of nearly circular 

 spots, about the size of the orbit, usually three on each side of the 

 head, eight or nine on the body, and as many on the tail, where they 

 are sometimes confluent. These spots are white in alcoholic specimens, 

 but orange yellow in life. Along the sides and the upper parts of the 

 legs are scattered some quite small whitish spots. (Cope.) 



The animal, when alive, is perfectly smooth and lustrous, and 

 readily exudes a large quantity of a white milky juice from the upper 

 side of the head, body, and tail. This is due to the presence of glands 

 closely implanted in the skin, the pores of which are sometimes quite 

 conspicuous. On the tail they are much the largest and deepest, and 

 the lateral groove marks their inferior boundary, the glands being 

 implanted vertically. (Cope.) 



Size. — Largest specimen from snout to posterior end of vent 88 mm.; 

 from vent to end of tail 62 mm.; total length 150 mm. 



Habitat. — It is distributed from Halifax. N. S., to Wis- 

 consin and south to Georgia and Texas. Missouri local- 

 ities: — Butler, Crawford, Jackson, Johnson, Oregon, 

 Shannon, Stoddard, Stone, and St. Louis counties. 



Habits. — Like its kindred, this species resorts in early 

 spring- to stagnant ponds for the purpose of depositing 

 its spawn. As early as March 6th I found them in low 

 marshy places under rotten logs, which were partly lying 

 in the water. April 16th I captured some in a cypress 



