THE BATRACHIA OF NOKTII AMERICA. 169 



liiud and on a Hue with the inner border of inner iiares, and curves in- 

 wards and backwards for a short distance. The paraspbenoid teeth 

 begiu a short distance behind their termination (with a decided interval, 

 however), and form in patches, in contact along the median line. 



The body is elongated, the distance from snout to axilla contained 2§ 

 times in that to the groin. There are twelve lateral costal grooves; the 

 posterior bifurcated above and anterior to the groin. If the furrow here 

 be counted there would be thirteen grooves. The anterior is one inter- 

 space distant from the axilla. 



The tail is very long, generally 1^ times longer than the rest of the 

 animal. It is much compressed from the base to the much-attenuated 

 ti]), but IS nowhere as high as the body. 



The limbs are much developed; the digits lengthened, narrow, linear, 

 cylindrical, depressed, and swollen slightly into bulbs at the ends. 

 There is no basal connecting membrane. The third and fourth toes are 

 longest, the latter perhaps longer of the two; the second and fifth are 

 nearly equal. The first finger and toe are very short, though not rudi- 

 mentary. 



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Pig. 41. Spelerpcs longicaudus. No. 4085, Lancaster, Obio; \. 



The ground color of this species is of a clear bright yellow, paler be- 

 neath, the back and sides irregularly sprinkled with black specks look- 

 ing like grains of rather coarse gunpowder. These are generally (but 

 not always) more thickly crowded along the sides, sometimes almost 

 forming a distinct spotted baud on the sides of the tail; these black 

 spots are generally aggregated into a series of vertical bands. In 

 younger specimens, and many older ones, the spots above are arranged 

 in three rather irregular lines, one median and two lateral larger ones. 

 The muzzle and entire under parts are immaculate. 



In old individuals there is sometimes a suffusion of reddish-brown 

 among the spots on the sides, obscuring their outlines. The shade of 

 yellow varies sometimes to a reddish tinge. Sometimes the black spots 

 on the sides are arranged in a somewhat reticulated manner. 



This beautiful animal is not very active in its habits, and is almost 

 always found in rocky ground and in fissures and caves in cliffs. I 

 have never seen it in the water. It was described by Eafinesque from 

 a specimen from a cavern in Kentucky. Its distribution is throughout 

 the middle latitudes, rather representing the S. guttolmeatus of the far 

 Southern States. 



I have recorded a specimen of this species from Tennessee (American 

 Naturalist, 1871, p. 401), in which the balancers were persistent, as in 

 the cirrigera form of iSpeler]}cs hilincatus. 



