1 THE AMPHIBIA IN GENERAL 21 



blotches edged with whitish. The legs are crossed above 

 with black bars which may or may not be interrupted in the 

 middle. There are usually two irregular rows of black spots 

 on the back, between the prominent dermal plicae ; the 

 lower side of the body is pale. The tympani are smaller 

 than the eyes and there is no black ear patch. The vomer- 

 ine teeth lie between the posterior nares. The legs are 

 long, so that when the heel is brought forward it extends in 

 front of the tip of the snout. 



Cope distinguishes four varieties of this species, for a 

 description of which the reader may be referred to this 

 author's " Batrachia of North America." 



Rana palustris, the pickerel frog. — This species re- 

 sembles the preceding one. It is usually brownish in color, 

 with two rows of large rectangular dark brown blotches 

 between the dermal plicae. There is a brown spot above 

 each eye and a dark line between the eye and the nostril. 

 The body is whitish below, but the lower side of the hind 

 legs is yellow. External vocal sacs are absent. 



This species is quite common in the eastern part of the 

 United States. It is said by Cope to prefer " cold springs 

 and streamlets, but is of all our frogs the most frequently 

 seen in the grass." 



REFERENCES 



Abbott, C. C. A Naturalist's Rambles about Home, 2d ed., 1894. 



Allen, G. M. Notes on the Reptiles and Amphibians of Intervale, 

 New Hampshire. Proc. Bos. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. 29, 1901. 



Boulenger, G. A. The Tailless Batrachians of Europe, 1897. 



Brehm, A. C. Thierleben, Bd. 7. 



Cope, E. D. Batrachia of North America. Art. "Amphibia " in the 

 Riverside Natural History. 



Dumeril et Bibron. Erpetologie Generale ou Histoire complete des 

 Reptiles. 



Diirigen, B. Deutschlands Amphibien und Reptilien, 1897. 



