CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QuITO. 693 
and the day’s work, was adjudged simply upon the merits of her 
reports aud work to the one lady among the thirty-nine students 
who formed the class. On the other hand, this fact will probably 
stimulate that unavowed feeling, akin to the trades-unions’ hostil- 
ity to competition, which is the cause of the arbitrary exclusion 
of half of the community from our greatest educational institu- 
tions. — E. R. L., in Nature. 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE 
VALLEY OF QUITO. —II 
BY PROF. JAMES ORTON. 
REPTILES. 
Tur herpetology of mountain regions is very limited, for the 
number of species diminishes rapidly as we ascend in altitude or 
latitude. The reptilian life of any district, however, is highly in- 
teresting, as it is more natural and well defined than that of other 
vertebrates, because reptiles have a limited range* and are less 
likely to be forced out of their original habitats or introduced 
by man. It has been supposed that in order of altitudinal range, 
lizards go highest, snakes next; and batrachians and chelonians 
last. There are no chelonians in the valley as far as we know; 
but we found frogs as high up as Antisana Hacienda, and no liz- 
ards there. Gibbon found no snakes at La à 
The only reptiles which we know to exist in the valley are as 
follows: Batrachians— Atelopus longirostris Cope (a new species 
found by the writer at Antisana Hacienda, thirteen thousand three 
hundred feet above the sea), A. levis Giinth., Hylodes conspicil- 
latus Günth., Bufo intermedius Gunth. ; Ophidicnie -ioari 
carinatus Boie, Streptophorus Drozii D. B. An active little lizard 
(a Pleurodont) occurs in the warm, dry parts of the valley ; but 
we failed to secure a specimen. 
FISHES. 
—— the size of the Machangara and Pastassa Rivers 
Ab elydra ser- 
ki k 
pentina Linn., which we found at Guayaquil on the Pacific coa EE ae equator. 
