The Narrow-Mouthed Toad 



Members of the Salientia, popularly called frogs and toads, 

 look remarkably alike; so much alike, that it requires fme dis- 

 crimination to distinguish them one from another. Engystoma 

 carolinense looks very different from the typical frog or toad. Its 

 tiny head with dark bead-like eyes seems wholly out of proportion 

 to its relatively large, squat body. (Figs. 189 to 192.) At first 

 sight the creature is grotesque. It seems especially so when we 

 take it up in our hands and fmd that the loose skin of the shoulders 

 and body back of the head-fold pushes forward far over the head, 

 making the creature resemble a turtle for the moment. 



Engystoma is very alert and active, and although its legs are 

 short, it is very difficult to catch. It proceeds by short jumps, 

 given in surprisingly rapid succession. 



It has been heard in September calling from ditches border- 

 ing the streets of Houston and San Antonio, Texas.* It has been 

 found under old logs and under leaves in moist places in Florida.' 

 At Raleigh, North Carolina, it begins the breeding season in May 

 and continues it until August.' During this time it is found in 

 pools of stagnant water, temporary or otherwise. It floats at the 

 surface, with only the tip of its pointed head out of the water, so 

 that on the approach of danger it can disappear beneath without 

 leaving a ripple on the surface. 



Engystoma is wholly nocturnal in habit. The Engystoma 

 chorus is loudest at the time when the choruses of the American 

 Toad and Spring Peeper (Pickering's Hyla) are diminishing some- 

 what in intensity — when these latter are singing at night only, 

 instead of both day and night. Outside of the breeding season, 

 Engystoma is seldom found, although one is occasionally discovered 

 by chance under a dead log or a stone. 



The isolated call sounds remarkably like the sound made by 

 an electric buzzer. It is short, unmusical, and is vibrated very 

 rapidly. It has been compared to the song of the American Toad, 

 but when heard near at hand, seems as different as possible. In- 

 stead of being a sweet, tremulous note, it is a decided buzz, harsh 

 and metallic in quality. Engystoma carolinense, when kept in 



1 Bulletin 20, U. S. Nat. Museum. " On the Zoological Position of Texas." E. D. Cope, i88o. 



2 Notes on Reptiles and Batrachians Collected in Florida in 1892 and 1893. E. Loennberg. 

 Proc. Nat. Museum, Vol. XVII. 



Also N. A. Herpetology, Holbrook. 



' C. S. Brimley, Raleigh, N. C, 1905. 



167 



