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ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



ively as the Abary, the Goosway and the Goom- 

 asaka. The principal distinguishing charac- 

 ters between the three are the black dorsal 

 markings. Between the front and hind legs there 

 are four, rarely five, transverse black bands. In 

 the Abary most of these bands are interrupted 

 in the middle line of the back ; in the Goosway, 

 they form solid, continuous transverse zones of 

 pigment ; while in the Goomasaka, the bands on 

 each side of the back line alternate, the lateral 

 halves of one side being opposite the lighter in- 

 terspace of the opposite side. Every individ- 

 ual 'gator of any one brood always conforms to 

 one or the other of the types, but breeds of in- 

 termediate tj'pes are occasionally found, and 

 these are considered as the result of inter- 

 breeding of two of the forms. 



The Abary and Goosway are the common 

 forms and found over most of the coastal area, 

 while the Goomasaka is very much rarer and 

 confined chiefly to Berbice. These are also re- 

 puted much fiercer than the others, more ready 

 to attack any intruder, and to be able to stay 

 for a much longer time under the water. When 

 adult there are four long teeth in the lower 

 jaw which project through the bone and skin 

 of the upper. The Abary and Goosway on the 

 contrary, have teeth which are much more even. 



Few living alligators are sold. The eggs are 

 gathered, sorted as to degree of development, 

 and kept until hatched in boxes filled with vege- 

 table debris. The alligators are confined in 

 tubs of water and within a day or two are killed 

 and stuffed, standing in absurd postures, erect 

 on their hind legs. Forever after they gaze 

 through shoebutton eyes, and hold their little 

 fore arms stiffly out to receive the card tray for 

 which their future destiny intends them. Tour- 

 ists, with unbelievable eagerness, purchase 

 these atrocities at a shilling each, doubtless to 

 repose beside wax flowers or to share some 

 dusty northern shelf with a conch shell or a 

 sandalwood box. In spite of this the 'gators 

 of Guiana are holding their own. The toll of 

 infants to be metamorphosed into ornaments is 

 less hurtful to the race than the sacrificing of 

 the skins of the adults for satchels. 



THE OVAL ANT FROG 



By EicHARD Deckert, 

 JDepartment of Reptiles. 



THE Reptile House in the Zoological Park 

 harbors many interesting creatures, espe- 

 cially among the amphibians, which the 

 average visitor scarcely honors with a casual 



glance, or, owing to their burrowing and noc- 

 turnal habits, does not see at all. 



It is the purpose of the writer to direct the 

 attention of the readers of the Bulletin to 

 some of the peculiar habits of these strange 

 members of an order of vertebrates that is little 

 known, and in consequence is but slightly ap- 

 preciated. 



All of these creatures are insectivorous, and 

 many, like the common toad, are of great use 

 to man. A little enlightenment, therefore, re- 

 garding their modes of life and their appear- 

 ance should be desirable, if it were only to 

 serve the purpose of doing away with age-long 

 superstition and prejudice against these harm- 

 less members of the animal kingdoto. 



Every one with a mental picture of the out- 

 line of a frog expects when such a creature is 

 mentioned to behold an animal with short, squat 

 body, long limbs, large, wide head and propor- 

 tionately large eyes. The Ant Frogs, however, 

 are quite different in structure. The body is 

 large and oval, the legs are short in proportion, 

 and the head is very small, with a sharply- 

 pointed snout, small mouth and tiny, bead-like 

 eyes. 



These characteristics in frogs always denote 

 nocturnal, burrowing and ant-eating habits. 

 The mouth, instead of possessing the regular 

 dentition along the edges of the upper jaw as 

 in true frogs, has several curved, transverse 

 ridges on the palate, which are faintly ser- 

 rated, but do not bear teeth. This peculiar 

 structure is usually associated with a diet of 

 ants. 



The habitat of these frogs, which are also 

 called narrow-mouth frogs, is southern North 

 America, Mexico, Central and South America, 

 southern Asia and many of the islands in the 

 Pacific and Indian Oceans, Australia and Af- 

 rica. The three known North American spe- 

 cies inhabit most of the states south of Virginia. 

 They are dull of color, usually some shade of 

 gray or brown. 



The Oval Ant frog {Engy stoma ovale) is a 

 native of South America, the specimens in the 

 Reptile House having been collected on the 

 Island of Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela. 

 They are small, the adult frog attaining a 

 length of but one and one-eighth inches. Over 

 the neck region there is a distinct transverse 

 fold of skin, giving a turtle-like appearance. 

 The color is leaden gray, with minute black 

 specks on all the upper surfaces, while the 

 abdomen bears a pattern of large and small 

 bright yellow spots of irregular shape, inter- 

 spaced with black. On the inner side of the 



