G30 Mil. T. M. S. EXGLISII ON TASMANIAX FROGS. [^Pl'- ^j 



slmllow pools !iie diy. At tliis time of tlie year these frogs are 

 to be fouiid, almost always singly, under stones and in cracks in 

 the ground, into which their small size allows them to go deep 

 enough to tind a secure and comparatively moist retreat. 



They chirp to each other incessantly, by day ns well as in the 

 evening, and though the note of a single one is comparatively 

 weak the cond)ine<i efforts of the numbers which gather together 

 in any suitable 2'liice can be heard a long way off. 



On land these frogs are as active as crickets, and exceedingly 

 difficult to catch. In the water they swim well. 



The colour of Crinia signifera is as a rule dark bx-own or giey, 

 but it is most variable. The male is darker than the female and 

 may be almost black all over, though he is generally lighter under- 

 neath. The under surface of the female is usually wliite, with or 

 without dark spots. While breeding, the male seems always to 

 have a black throat. There is sometimes a tendency to bright 

 bi-own or orange mnrkings ; and in Februaiy, 1902, 1 found one of 

 these frogs at Westbury which was of a fairly blight oi-ange all 

 over {cf. colour variations of Lhmwdj/vastes ia^^miaiiienms and of 

 ////la etcinyii from tlie Siime place). The young and also the tad- 

 poles are intensely black. 



In January, 1901, I found that most of these frogs at Hobni't, 

 and at Zeehau in the west of the island, had the backs of their 

 thiglis and their hinder parts blood-red, giving them a tiuly 

 diabolical appearance. I did not, however, find any of them 

 coloured in this way except on these two occasions. 



This species has a continued chirp, hardly to be distinguished 

 f I'om that of the mole cricket, which is such a common Tasmanian 

 insect, or from that of l^seiidojjhryne hlbronii. 



Crinia sirjnifera has its main spawning senson dui'ing the 

 autumn and winter months, from May to August. At this time 

 of the year these frogs are not nearly so active as usual, though 

 of course this mny be owing to the colder weather. 



The m;de clasps the female round the waist. 



The eggs are in masses, spread over stones and weeds at the 

 l)ottom of shallow water, and the tadpoles are exceedingly small, 

 !is are the young frogs. These, at first, are less than a quarter of 

 an inch in length. 



4. (JiuxiA L^ivis. (Plate LI, fig. ().) 



I found this species abundantly on the north-west coast; ;dso, 

 when I had got to know where to look for it, at Westbury and near 

 Liiunceston. But as it .seems to be not only nocturn<d but silent, 

 it is very possibly far more common than it appears to be. 



All my specimens were under logs or stones lying on swampy 

 or at all events fairly moist ground, l)ut, in complete contrast to 

 (frinia sif/ni/i'ra, Crinia Icevis appeals to be altogether terrestrial, 

 not even going into the water to spawn. Indeed, in life-history 

 and habits these two frogs seem to have nothing in common, 

 while Crinia Icevis closely resembles Pseudophri/ne bibronii. It i.s 



