1306 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



"pink-eyed lilacs." The former is a pale brown 

 mouse, with the gleaming pink eyes of the per- 

 fect albino, while the latter is a purplish-maltese 

 animal. To the average visitor the most inter- 

 esting among the domestic breeds are the so- 

 called "waltzing" mice. This animal has been 

 bred with a view to the deterioration of that 

 part of the brain that relates to equilibrium and 

 direction. They spin or "waltz" in such in- 

 cessant and rapid gyrations that sawdust and 

 hay particles ily from the scene of action, and 

 the animal "dances" in a perfectly cleared 

 space. 



AQUARIUM PATHOLOGIST. 



Dr. George A. MacCallum, of the College of 

 Physicians and Surgeons, has been appointed 

 Pathologist to the Aquarium. 



BOARD OF MANAGERS' MEETING. 



The Annual Meeting of the Board of Man- 

 agers will be held at the Down Town Associa- 

 tion on Tviesday, January 18, 1916, at 3 o'clock 

 P. M. 



ALBINO FROG 



Photographed with common color phase to sliow the 



marked ditTerence. 



AN ALBINO FROG. 

 By Richard Deckert. 



ALBINOS, or animals lacking color pig- 

 ment in their structure, are not rare. An- 

 imals like the rabbit, guinea pig, rat and 

 mouse have been deliberately bred to albinism 

 for hundreds of years. Occasionly an albino 

 horse, dog, raccoon or opossum is met with. 



and among birds, geese, ducks, pea- fowl, guinea- 

 fowl, crows and sparrows there often are true 

 albinos. 



Among reptiles, albino specimens of the milk 

 snake, garter snake and alligator have been ex- 

 hibited in the Zoological Park Reptile House. 

 This year we are able to exhibit, for the first 

 time in the United States, an albino frog. This 

 interesting rarity, for such it surely is, was 

 captured by Llenry Snyder, the son of our Head 

 Keeper of Reptiles, at Scarsdale, Westchester 

 County, New York, and by him was presented 

 to the Zoological Park. 



When this specimen first was seen with some 

 normally colored green frogs, it was thought 

 to be a diseased specimen, but the young collec- 

 tor wisely considered it worth while to take home 

 the specimen and show it to his father. Mr. 

 Snyder immediatly realized the rarity and im- 

 portance of the find. Out of the thousands of 

 frogs that .during the past fifteen years have 

 been caught for our reptile collection, no one 

 who has caught and otherwise handled many 

 thousands of frogs for quite a number of years, 

 ever previously has secured an albino specimen. 

 The writer has recently examined all available 

 records, and has failed to find any mention of 

 an albino frog having been caught in the United 

 States. Europe can show records of several 

 species of frogs and toads in which albinism 

 occurs from time to time, but this is the first 

 specimen recorded for America. 



The specimen referred to is a common pond 

 frog, {liana claviitans) such as may be found 

 in almost any brook, ditch, pool or freshwater 

 swamp. Its color is a waxy yellowish white on 

 all upper surfaces, and milky- white underneath ; 

 the eyes are brilliant red, with a narrow gold 

 rim around the pupil. Our specimen is a 

 a female about two and three quarter inches in 

 length of head and body, and therefore not 

 quite adult. At first it was very timid, darting 

 around its cage with nervous agility, bruising 

 its head against the screen top and glass sides 

 whenever anyone came near it. After nearly 

 three months of captivity, however, it has lost 

 its nervous fear, and will come from its hiding 

 place under the moss provided for it and hunt 

 the roaches, mealworms and earthworms which 

 form its food. It will also sit for hours on a 

 large flat stone in the center of its cage, ap- 

 23arently quite content with its surroundings. 



Of course this frog is enjoying special care, 

 and we look forward to keeping it for a reason- 

 ably long time. 



