62 PAPERS ON ZOOLOGY OF MICHIGAN. 



frogs and snakes in a season; many of the amphibians taken are badly 

 mutilated. The frogs are hunted incessantly by fishermen for bait and 

 food and all snakes are considered harmful and killed at sight. Prac- 

 tically the same conditions prevail up the river. The farmers are 

 especially zealous in their attack on snakes. The country is thickly 

 settled — has been cultivated for years and at the present time there is 

 very little land that remains undisturbed for more than a season. 

 Raccoons are common in the country west of Monroe and the small 

 streams are bordered with paths made by them in their search for food 

 which consists partly of amphibians. The .fact that there are prac- 

 tically no permanent ponds, those formed in the spring existing only 

 for a very short time, means that breeding conditions are unfavorable 

 for forms which congregate in such places to breed. 



LIST OF SPECIES. 



Amphibia. 



1. Necturus maculosus Rafinesque. — A single specimen was found 

 dead on the beach after a hard storm. The fishermen report that 

 this species is commonly taken in the spring in their nets in the 

 lake and that it is also frequently caught in dip nets in the river 

 at that season. 



2. Bufo americanus LeConte. — Nine specimens were taken, eight of 

 which were collected along the sand beach, where they seem to be 

 common. Only one was seen up the river. The numerous in- 

 sects on the beach furnish an abundance of food. 



3. Acris gryllus LeConte.^ — ^The call of the cricket frog was heard in 

 the swamp back of the sand beach at the Piers but none were ob- 

 served there. Seven specimens were collected from the grass at 

 the edge of the ponds in the quarry at Grape. 



4. Chorophilus nigritis (LeConte). — A single specimen was taken 

 under the bark of a fallen tree in a damp woods one-half mile 

 north of the river and about four miles west of Monroe. 



5. Rana pipiens Shreber. — The leopard frog is the most common 

 amphibian of the region, although it is not present in large numbers. 

 Thirty specimens were taken of which seventeen were collected 

 in the marshes and along the shore of Lake Erie in the immediate 

 vicinity of Monroe Piers. In this region they seemed to prefer 

 the marshes and railroad embankment and were found in smaller 

 numbers on the sand beach. West of Monroe they were collected 

 in all of the habitats examined. 



6. Rana clamitans Latreille. — A single specimen was taken at night 



