1891.] TADPOLES OF THE EUROPEAN BATRACHIANS. 615 



fifth as long as deep, acutely pointed ; upper crest convex, slightly- 

 deeper than the lower, not extending far upon the back ; the depth 

 of the muscular portion, at its base, about half the greatest total 

 depth. 



Beak black. Lip bordered with papillse, which form two or 

 more rows on the sides ; the papillose border interrupted mesially by 

 a narrow toothed descending lobe, which appears at first sight as 

 continuous with the second upper series of teeth ^ ; this anterior 

 series is followed by three or four other series of teeth, which are all 

 widely interrupted in the middle and gradually decrease in length ; 

 the fourth, if at all present, being extremely short. On the lower 

 lip we see likewise a short outer series, followed by three or four 

 much longer ones, all of which, with the occasional exception of the 

 first, are interrupted in the middle and may be more or less broken 

 up on the sides. The series of labial teeth may therefore be formu- 

 lated as 2 or -g. Small isolated teeth may also be scattered on the 

 papillse at the angles of the mouth. 



I have not been able to distinguish lines of crypts beyond the two 

 series which run from the end of the snout to the upper border of 

 the eyes, passing between the nostrils. I am therefore unable to 

 judge whether the dorsal lines have been correctly figured by 

 Lessona (Atti Ace. Lincei, 3, i. 1877, pi. v. figs. 20 & 28), who 

 rightly regards the figure given by Corualia (Atti Soc. Ital. xvi. 

 1873, pi. iii. a.) as fanciful. From what I know of other tadpoles, 

 I can hardljr believe in the arrangement described by Lessona, espe- 

 cially as so great a difference from the allied P. cultripes, figured 

 by Lataste (Actes Soc. Linn. Bord. xxxiii. 1879, p. 313), appears 

 very improbable. 



The advanced tadpole oi P. fuscus is brown or olive-brown above, 

 with or without small darker spots, greyish white beneath ; sides 

 with roundish whitish or pale golden spots ; tail pale brown, with 

 small grey and whitish spots. 



The body usually reaches at least the size of a pigeon's egg, but 

 not unfrequently exceeds that size. The largest specimen in the 

 British Museum, from Prague, measures 125millim.: body 38, 

 width of body 25 ; tail 87, depth of tail 27. The largest specimen 



^ And is so figured by Heron Royer and Van Bambeke (Arch, de Biol. ix. 

 1889, pi. xix. fig. 1) as characteristic of P. fuscus, such as it occurs in France. 

 But specimens from Paris, which I received from M. Heron "Royer himself, show- 

 exactly the same arrangement as desciibed and figured {I. c. pi. sviii. fig. 7) in 

 Pelobates from Belgium, Grermany, and Italy. Had the difference been a real 

 one, M. Heron Eoyer might hare reflected on my remarks (Bull. Soc. Zool. 

 France, 1888, p. 115) to the effect that if there exist two distinct forms con- 

 founded under the name of P. fuscus, it is the French form that is to be 

 distinguished and not the Italian, which agrees best with the typical P. fuscus 

 of Germany. On reading Heron Eoyer and Van Bambeke's account, one 

 might feel inclined, on the evidence of the differences shown by their figures, to 

 accept such a distinction ; but, considering that the Parisian tadpoles do not 

 in any way differ in their labial characters from the G-erman, as figured by 

 F. B. Schulze and Grutzeit, nor from the specimens from Prague, Basle, and 

 Denmark, with which I have compared them, I feel justified in regarding 

 Heron Eoyer's figure {I. v. pi. xix. fig. 1) as incorrect. 



