OUR COLLECTION OF AMPHIBIANS. 



By RAYMOND L. DITMARS, 



CURATOR OF REPTILES. 



IN preparing this article the writer has had two objects in 

 view: (i) to present a resume of the more important Am- 

 phibians or Batrachians exhibited in the Reptile House and (2) 

 to introduce a new and entirely successful line of animal pho- 

 tography developed by Mr. Elwin R. Sanborn, the Zoological 

 Society's official photographer. The photographing of Batra- 

 chians through the polished glass side of an aquarium tank is 

 certainly the most efficient method of reproducing the color values 

 and external anatomical details of these creatures. In justice 

 to Mr. Sanborn, the writer wishes to state that he considers this 

 review of the collection as but attendant to the illustrations. 



It is unfortunate that so many of the Batrachians constitute such 

 poor objects for purposes of exhibition. The terrestrial forms 

 require constant and abundant moisture. They must be pro- 

 vided with moss or damp sand ; but when their cages are thus 

 furnished the greater number of them utilize the soil as a burrow- 

 ing ground, venture forth only at night, and are never seen by the 

 visitor. Cage after cage in the lobby of the Reptile House con- 

 tains strikingly colored burrowing creatures that are occasionally 

 exhumed by the keepers for examination by specially interested 

 students. In these cages are many species of salamanders, bur- 

 rowing toads, and tree-frogs that cling to the under sides of 

 leaves in dense masses of foliage. 



The most satisfactory forms for exhibition are the truly aquatic 

 species and the frogs. The former may be displayed in aquaria 

 and the latter in shallow tanks. The larvae, or tadpoles, of all the 

 species are lively and attractive. Our aquaria are now occupied 

 by the American Congo " Snake " (Amphinina means), the Siren 

 {Siren laccrtina), the Mud Puppy (Necturus maculatns), the 

 Hellbender (Cryptobranchns allegheniensis), and the Japanese 

 Salamander (C. maximns) . The showy, larval form of the Tiger 

 Salamander (Amblysfoma tigrinum), often called the Axolotl, is 

 also an aquarium exhibit. These aquatic forms are now grouped 

 at the north end of the turtle crawl, and provided with large 

 labels. The frogs are arranged in a separate series, and above 



