4 University of Michigan 



crayfish. After excavating for some distance we were able 

 to determine holes occupied by frogs by the slightly smoother 

 appearance of the walls and by the presence of beetle frag- 

 ments adhering to them. At the bottom of the frog burrows, 

 which usually terminated at a distance of about three feet, was 

 a mass of foul smelling clayey material containing quantities 

 of beetle remains and considerable dead grass, the latter prob- 

 ably having been washed in or accidentally carried down by the 

 frog. 



The crayfish in keeping their holes free from debris and 

 open to the water level roughen the walls in the journeys to 

 and from the surface. The frogs of course do not clean their 

 burrows and so the latter tend to fill with soil washed in by 

 the heavy rains. The frogs so nearly approximate the size 

 of the holes that the rubbing of their soft bodies probably 

 tends to smooth the walls, and the longer a burrow has 

 been occupied by a frog the more shallow it becomes by reason 

 of accumulated debris and the less liable it is to contain water. 

 During the spring months, however, the water stands at the 

 ver}' surface of the ground and all the holes are practically 

 filled at that time. 



Mode of Life: The frogs were sought in the meadows and 

 fields during the day and at night, and many burrows were 

 opened. The species is so secretive, however, that our observa- 

 tions on the habits are meager. Hurter suggests that the frog 

 comes out in the early morning, "preferring dawn to full day- 

 light", and again that it watches for its prey on the clearing 

 and "as soon as it hears an unusual noise or sees someone 

 creeps back in the hole." These suggestions are supported by 

 our observations. The species is apparently not distinctly noc- 

 turnal as repeated search for it at all hours of the night with 

 an acetylene lamp only discovered one specimen and this not 



