The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 08 (of 10)Gadow, Hans
Science
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 08 (of 10)
Gadow, Hans
Animals
_Triprion petasatus_ of Yucatan has parasphenoid and vomerine teeth. The
head is a bony casque, with strong superciliary ridges, the skin being
extensively ossified. The mouth forms a flat snout, owing to the long
projection of the upper over the lower jaw. The skin of the back is smooth
brown with darker spots; the under parts are uniform whitish. The male has
a subgular vocal sac. Like _Diaglena_ and _Corythomantis_ they possess
adhesive discs on the fingers and toes, and climb trees. The total length
of this curious creature is 2 inches.
_Corythomantis greeningi_ of Brazil has a similar head. The vomers alone
carry teeth, besides of course the maxillae. The pupil is rhomboid. The
tongue, as in the two previous genera, is roundish, scarcely free. General
colour above olive, with darker freckles; the sides are studded with
whitish tubercles; the under parts are whitish. The male is devoid of vocal
sacs. Total length 3 inches.
_Pternohyla fodiens_ of Mexico approaches the previous three genera by the
curious shape of the head and prominent upper jaw, although these features
are not so exaggerated. The dentition agrees with that of _Corythomantis_
and other normal tree-frogs. The fingers and toes are not provided with
discs, in conformity with the burrowing, not climbing, habits of this
creature. The next following three genera connect the Hylidae with the
Cystignathidae. The sacral vertebrae are but slightly dilated.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.–Head of _Corythomantis greeningi_. × 1. (After
Boulenger, _Cat. Batrach._)]
_Acris._–The adhesive discs are very small, the tympanum is indistinct. _A.
gryllus_, the only species, inhabits the greater part of Eastern and
Central North America, extending northwards into Canada. It attains a
length of 1½ inch. The coloration is very changeable, in adaptation to the
surroundings. As {208}a rule it is brown, with a more or less reddish or
grey ground-tone, ornamented with dark brown or blackish irregular,
longitudinal patches,one of which is bordered with light green,and there is
often a light vertebral streak. The legs are cross-barred, the under parts
are whitish brown and yellowish. The male has a subgular vocal sac, and its
most remarkable feature is the voice, which closely resembles the noise of
a cricket or of certain grasshoppers. Holbrook describes it as a merry
little frog, constantly chirping like a cricket, even in confinement. It
frequents the borders of pools, and is often found on the leaves of aquatic
plants, rarely on the branches of such low shrubs as overhang or dip into
the water. When disturbed it takes long jumps, and hides at the bottom of
the pond. Insects are secured by leaps. It can easily be domesticated, and
takes food readily from the hand. Sprinkling them with water never fails to
make them more lively and noisy. Appearing in April in great numbers, they
are said to vanish early in the autumn for hibernation. The tadpoles are
metamorphosed by the end of August.
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