ZOOLOGICAI, SOCIKT'i HLLLI.riN 



233 



MAR INK Toad. 

 A New World species, i>f large size. 



OIR SKRIKS Ol- 15ArkAC-||l ANS. 



D\' llu' addilidii of jars containing tail])i)lcs of 

 '-^ tlu' \ariou> species of fro.ns, lluis illuslratini; 



the transformation" of the Ecaudtila or tailless Am- 

 phibians, the re])resentative series of Batrachians 



in the Reptile House is now very conijilctc. To 



further increase the value of this collection for 



study, charts of classificatit)n, 



descriptive labels, and colored 



maps showing distribution, arc 



now in course of ])re])aration. 

 The collection now embraces 



representatives of most of the 



im])ortant families comprising 



the Batrachians, among which 



the series of frogs is possibly 



the greatest source of ])opular 



interest. The various local 



species, some of which are very 



striking in their coloration, 



are e.xhibited in a series of 



table cases. Accom]}anying 



each case is a jar containing 



tadpoles of the species in- 

 volved, and a desscriptive label 



giving the life history, general 



habits and distribution. Of 



the Family Raiiidae, the frogs 



generally, the following species 



are on exhibition: 

 Bull-Frog (Runnrnleshituhi); 



Common Frog (R. dnmilans); 



Leopard Frog (A', paluslris); Salt.Marsh Frog (/?. 

 virescens), and the Wood-Frog (A', syhat'ua). The 

 Hull-Frogs are among the few noisy inmates of the 

 Reptile House. Their loud bellowing is a frequent 

 and cheerful •sound, and in alternation witii the 

 thunderous voices of the big Crocorlilians, Ijreaks 

 the monotony of silence that reigns among the five 

 hundred scaly inmates of the building. 



The Tree-Frog Family, Ilyliiluc, is repre.sented 

 by four species, two of which are not generally seen 

 by the average visitor, owing to tiie remarkable 

 similarity of the Batrachians to the bark or vegeta- 

 tion upon which they may be resting. These are 

 local species, the Gray Tree-Frog {Ilyla versi- 

 color) and Pickering's Tree-Frog (//. pkkerhigii). 

 It is the latter sjiccies that heralds the first warm 

 days of spring with a vociferous ])iping call from 

 the marshes, in sounds which are cjuite out of |)ro- 

 portion to the diminutive cause, .\nother interest- 

 ing species on exhibition is the California Tree-Toad 

 (//. res^i/hi). a creature of most variable color and 

 paticni. ( )ur specimens occasionally chatter harsh- 

 ly, and their cries resemble the scolding of a red 

 S([uirrel. 



Of the Toads, Family Biijonidiic, the Re|>lile 

 House possesses a fine colony of a giant species 

 known as Bujo agiia — a species of semi-tropical and 

 tropical latitudes of the New World. Some of the 

 s|)ccimens are as large as bull-frogs. Their verv 



Al.IFURNlA NKW 1. 

 large and showy species. 



