72 NEW- YORK FAUNA. 



THE SaUIRREL TREE-TOAD. 



HyLA saCIRELLA. 



PLATE XXI. FIG. 53. — (CABINET OF THE LYCEUM.) 



Hyla squirdla. Bosc, Nouv. Diet. Sc. Naturelles, Vol. 29, p. 543. 



Raincttc squirdle. Daddin, Hist. Nat. Rept. Vol. 8, p. 34, pi. 93, fig. 2. 



H. squirdla. Le Conte, Ann. Lye. Vol. 1, p. 279. Harlan, Med. and Phys. Res. p. 109. 



H. id. HoLBROOK, N. Am. Herpetology, Vol. 1, p. 105, pi. 18. 



Characteristics. Brown or ash. A dusky band from the nostrils to the eyes. The white of 

 the upper hp reaches almost to the insertion of the fore legs. Length one 

 inch and a quarter. 



Description. Body symmetrical, somewhat elongated. Skin smooth, or at the most with 

 slightly elevated papilla. Head conic. Snout acute ; its sides vertical, and giving it a pyra- 

 midal form. Orbits somewhat elevated. Anterior feet short, four-toed. Hind legs long, 

 five-toed, semi-palmate ; all with rounded pellets at their extremities. 



Color. Brownish or light ash above, changing to light green ; blotched, andJined with dusky 

 stripes on the surface of the body in a very irregular manner. On the anterior part, more 

 usually abbreviated longitudinal lines, and unequal sized blotches on its posterior portions. A 

 dusky stripe extends from the nostrils to the eyes ; occasionally a large triangular dusky blotch 

 between and behind the eyes. Thighs and legs barred with dusky. Beneath whitish. 



I have met with this species in the neighborhood of New- York, and supposed it at first to 

 be distinct from the southern sqmrella. From a careful comparison of our specimens with 

 those in the Cabinet of the Lyceum deposited by Major Le Conte, the only observable dis- 

 tinction was in the smaller size of the northern animal. After a rigorous comparison. Major 

 Le Conte decided it to be identical with the southern species. I am under obligations to him 

 for the drawing which illustrates this pretty little tree-toad. 



According to Major Le Conte, it inhabits under logs and bark of decaying trees. 



While these pages are passing through the press, Dr. Holbrook is engaged in pubhshing a 

 second edition of his Herpetology. He is still of the opinion that the squirella is exclusively 

 a southern species. 



{EXTRA-LmiTAL.) 



H. femoralis. (Holbrook, Vol. 4, pi. 31.) Dark ash, with a few dusky blotches between the eyes; 



a black line from the eyes to the hind legs, and another to those in front. Length li inches. 



Carolina and Georgia. 

 H. delitescens. (Id. Vol. 4, pi. 32.) Ash, irregularly speckled with darker: lips whitish, speckled 



with brown; vent varied with cineropus. Length 1^ inches. Georgia and South-Carolina. 

 H. viridis. (Id. Vol. 3, pi. 20; and Vol. 4, pi. 29 of 2d Ed.) Bright green, with a yellow line on 



each side from the snout to the posterior extremities. Length 1 J inches. From Lat. 30" N. to 



Mississippi. 



