1908.] Records of the Indian Museum. 345 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TADPOI^E OF RAN A 



PLESKII, WITH NOTES ON ALIvIED 



FORMS. 



By N, Annandale, D.Sc, Superintendent^ Indian Museum. 



The only species of Batrachian represented in Captain Stewart's 

 collection is Rana pleskii, Giinther^ which has already been recorded 

 from the neighbourhood of Gyantse by Boulenger (Ann. Mag. Nat. 

 Hist, iy), XV, p. 378, 1905). 



Rana pies kii^ Onnther. 

 R. Pleskii, Giinther, Ann. Mus. St. Petersh.^ 1896, p. 199. 



Several adult specimens of various sizes, and tadpoles in various 

 stages from the neighbourhood of Gyantse. 



Boulenger {op. cit.) records this species from an altitude of 

 15,000 feet, and Captain Stewart tells me that it is abundant all 

 about Gyantse, occurring even in small puddles of water and in 

 mountain streams. lyike its allies R. vicina and R. liehigii it 

 appears to be mainly aquatic in its habits. 



The fact that R. pleskii breeds at an altitude of 13,000 feet or 

 over is interesting. There is a full-grown tadpole in Captain 

 Stewart's collection which was taken in April at the height men- 

 tioned, and a very small frog taken in November at the same height. 

 There are also several smaller tadpoles, all of which are unusually 

 well preserved. The following description is drawn up from the 

 largest tadpole, which has the hind legs about 10 mm. long but no 

 signs of the fore limbs : — 



Tadpole of R. pleskii, Giinther — 



Total length 72 mm. ; length of tail 45 mm.; greatest breadth 

 of body 13 mm.; depth of body 9mm.; greatest depth of tail 

 12 mm. ; of caudal muscles 8 mm. Head and body flat ; eyes far 

 apart, dorsal ; nostril dorsal, a little nearer the tip of the snout 

 than the eye ; spiracle sinistral, pointing backwards and upwards ; 

 anus opening on the right side ; caudal fin commencing well behind 

 the level of the base of the hind limbs, continued round the tail 

 to the anus, bluntly pointed at the tip. Lips moderately well dev- 

 eloped, both with a fringe, which is only interrupted for a short dis- 

 tance in the middle of the upper lip ; both jaws serrated at the edge 

 and roughened on the external surface; the upper jaw bearing a 



couple of long, narrow teeth at either end ; lower jaw crescentic, 



1 



undivided; dental formula "7. Colour slate-grey, indistinctly 



1 

 marbled on the tail and fading to white on the belly. 



For the sake of comparison I give a description of a somewhat 

 similar tadpole which appears to be that of R. vicina, a frog found 



