niV. UATUACIIIA or NOUTII AMKKIC'A. 



397 



the vomoriiie teeth in liana teiiiporaria itnfiosa iiro not apiniMiiably 

 iiiorc posti'rior in position tiian in h'aiia scpttnhionalis, in wiiicii case 

 tlio spi'cirs api>r()acli cacli oilier xciy eiosely. The Hand scptcntrionaliH 

 violati'S tiie (;Iiaiaeter.s wliieh (li.slin;;ni.sli the li. clamata and R. cutes 

 h'utua IVoin eaeii otiiei', ami "-ouhl alVoid aitoniph'fe eonnection between 

 tliein were it notfi.rit-i inlc rior size; l>nt even tiiis point does not in. 

 vai'ialtly hoM f;<><"l> '^^ 'i '''\^ sin-eiincns of R. cltnnata tlo not exceed it 

 in tliuiensions, Tliree specriiiiens liave heen found which rehire very 

 eiosely tlie R. sili'atica und U. ranlahrificnsifi^twty of whieli are referred 

 to llio foruu'r and one to I lie latter specMes on o'her characters, which 

 are not nnnierons. A snbspeeies latireiiiis of R. cantabrUjensh, froai 

 Alaska, approaches the R. temporaria in its wide palniation ; and there 

 is a specimen (".)l'J(l) which is (piite intermediate between the R. agilis 

 and the/i'. (hai/toni. The chain of allinities indicated by these intenne- 

 diuto specimens may be sketched as follows: 



Hrpionfrioniilis.' 



Ti'mjjpr!mii pn'tiosa. 

 Canta1)ri(;('iiNi.s. 



SUvatic 



Those series are not probably };eneti(% as some of the species have 

 been nu>st likely derived troiii the Old Woild, The R. ficptentrionalis, 

 however, may lie very j)robal)ly ancestral to the forms of the (Jates- 

 biana series, and perhaps of others. 



The species of Kaiia are well protected from enemies by an extremely 

 aciid secretion of the skin. An animal of nuich snperticial sensitivci- 

 iicss is not likely to take a tVojj: into the month a second time. Do- 

 iiiesticated doj^s and cats avoid them, but snakes evidently have no such 

 scruiiles against feeding on them. 



KANA VIHESCEXS Kalm.* 



Rosa til Nnrra AmcMicii, iii. l''t)l, ]>. 41! : SchrobiT, iIim- Nutiirforscher, xviii, 

 1782, p. H.') ; I'l. IV. (tai'iii.iii, Uiiil. lOssi-x: Inst., xvi, p. 11. 



liciui iidliriiin " Kiilm," Schrclur, /. t'., ncchdlmii : Diuiilii) (Ktiliii), Hist. Nut., Uoptil., 

 VIII (1S0:{), l-.i2,4:W; i U. llist. Nat. Kiiiii.,i't<-. (180:{\ (i;? ; Harlan. Sillim. Aiiier. 

 Jour. Sci., x (Ir'-Jo), 1>. 1. ; .Iinini. Ac. ^ar.!^'.•i. I'liila., v (l-^-JT), :i;i7; 1 li. Med. 

 and I'liyw. Ki'i>t.(lf;;{r)), 10-,'--Jv!4 ; .Sloicr. Kciit. Ma^s. IJcpi:!. (l-^:{lt), -2:57 ; Ilolb., N. 

 Ani.T. lliip., l8t cil., I (Hliti), 81»,xiii; L l).-i(l »•«!, iv (IsJJ), Dl, xci ; Dmn. «& 

 iJil)r.,Erp. (Jon., VIII (1-<41), :!.Vi; TliDinpson, Nat. Hist. Vt. (lS4-.>), 120 ; Do Kay, 

 N. Y. Zool., Ill J842), XX, tig. 49; Flalli.w., rrocccd. Ac. Pliila. (ISo)!), 111. 



/i'((»(i iniiKttim (water iVoy), Catcwliy, (-'arcil.. II (174:i). 70; Klein, Quadruped, p. 119. 



Jiduit itipiiiii Gni., eil. I., .Syst. Nat. (17-''\ lO.Vi, 2'^; lionnaterre, Eneyclop. Meth. 

 Eipel.('17.-''.t), .5, IX, lig. 2; Sebueider, Hist. Aiiipli. fase, I (171)1)), 15:5; Shaw.Gon. 

 Ziu)!., iiirAni(pli.(H02\ KT). 



Rana ntiiciil'iriit Harlan, Sillirn. .Joiirn., x (1825), (JO; Jonrn. Ac. Nat. Sc.,V (1827), 

 ■ 337; 111. Med. and Thys. Kept. (1835), 102, 223. 



Plates 50, ligs. 1, 2; 51, tigs. 1, 9. 



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