THE BATRACIIIA OF NORTH AMERICA. 57 



the tail. Of these there is a patch of hirger ones on the parotoid region, 

 and another on the top of the head inside of the orbits and extending 

 anterior! 3^ in a straight line towards the nostrils and passing backwards 

 semicircularly behind the eye. A donble row around the edge of the 

 lower jaw ; a pair on each outer costal space along the side of the body, 

 and a row on each side of the top of the tail; the latter indicated gen- 

 erally by a whitish dot. 



Head broad ; depressed 5 width nearly equal to distaiice from snout to 

 gular fold, and nearly one-fourth the distance to insertion of hind legs. 

 Length of mouth along axis of body half distance from snout to gular 

 fold, which is nearly continuous across the nape. There is a constriction 

 behind the angle of the jaws, interrupted above and below, and a fur- 

 row connecting the two along the parotoid region and extended in a 

 lateral line to the orbit. Distance from snout to gulnr fold contained 3.J 

 times in distance to insertion of hind legs (four tinies in another speci- 

 men). 



Theeyes are moderately large ; the length of the orbit contained ik times 

 in distance from snout to gular fold; about once in distance from the nos- 

 trils, and about once in the distance between the two nostrils ; nearly 

 twice in distance between the anterior extremities of the orbits. 



Body nearly cylindrical, perhaps slightly depressed, and swollen a 

 little in the middle ; on each side are eleven costal grooves, including in- 

 guinal and axillary ones ; all strongly marked and nearly continuous 

 above and below ; the axillary is, however, usually quite inconspicuous; 

 four more of these furrows to behind the anus, where the last is conflu- 

 ent with the first caudal furrow; these become less and less distinct to 

 near the middle of the tail. There is a slight groove down the middle 

 of the back. 



The tail is oval in sectiou, the larger end of the oval below ; becom- 

 ing more and more compressed to the tip, without indication of any 

 ridge. There is a lateral indentation along the whole length, which is 

 about equal to the distance from the base to the snout. In alcoholic 

 specimens the tail is bent or curved, sometimes upwards, sometimes 

 down, sometimes laterally. 



The digits are nearly cylindrical, or slightly depressed, without web 

 or margin. The third or longest finger is contained about 2h times in 

 the distance to the elbow. The second finger reaches to the last artic- 

 ulation ; the fourth to the penultimate. 



The fourth toe is longest, contained 2J times in the distance to the 

 knee; the third, second, fifth, and first successively shorter. The dis- 

 tance between the outstretched hind toes is rather more than 1^ the 

 length to behind anus. 



The tongue is thick, fleshy, and attached, although free at the edges 

 except behind; it is about two-thirds the width of the upper jaw, nearly 

 orbicular, though the outline of the papillose portion is a little emar- 

 ginate behind. It almost seems as if tlie tongue were capable of closing 

 round an object in its center, as in the hollow of the hand. 



