nisi. Hi v-;lfli MEW am ;.:;..■■ 10 ft NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE A JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY Founded by LIONEL WALTER, LORD ROTHSCHILD and continued by THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM Vol. 42, 1940-1948 LONDON : PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) CROMWELL ROM), IONDON, S.W.7 I94O I948 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE Vol. 42, 1940-1948 Tin.' parts of Volume 4? were issued as follows : — Part I, containing pages i-2i(> and 13 plates, issued 26 April. 1940. Pari II, containing pages 217-396, issued 251 1 1 October, 1940, Part III, containing pages 397-508 and 4 plates, issued 20th March, 1948, ERRATUM. Page 93. "METRACRINIA gen. nov." should read "METACRINIA gen. nov. CONTENTS OF VOLUME 42 (i 940-1948) PART I. PAGJ - The Australasian Frogs of the Family Leptodactylidae. By II. \V. Parker. (Plate I) i— 106 Neotropical Neoempheria (Diptera, Mycetophilidae). By F. W. Edwards. (Plates I-II) . . . . . . . . . 107—130 Sour- Sapromyzid«e (Diptera) from the Solomon Islands and New 1 aledonia. By J. R. Malum h. (Plate I) .... 131 — 146 Studies on Diopsidae (Diptera). By J. F. Shillito. (Plate I) . . 147 — 1(>4 A Revision oi the Osmylid Subfamilies Stenosmylinae and Kalosmylinae (Neuroptera). By D. E. Kimmins. (Plates I VIII) . . . 165- 202 On Australian Pamborini, Ozaenini and Scaritini (Coleoptera, Carabid te). By M. Banningek ......... 203—214 Cercaria imbricata Looss 1S96, nee 1893 \ Note on Nomenclature. By Miriam Rothschild ......... 215- 216 PART II. A Monographic Revision of the Mexican Water Beetles of the Family Elmidae. By H. E. Hinton ....... '217 — 396 PARI III. Entomological Results from the Swedish Expedition, 10.54. to Burma and British India — Coleoptera: Curculionidae. By Sir G. A. K. Marshall . . . . . . . . . -397—473 A Synopsis of the Genus Mecedanum Erichson (Coleoptera. I olydiidae). By H. E. "Hinton i; i Is 1 Notes on the Asteroids in the British Museum (Natural llistoi\ I. The Species of Astropecten. By I). Dilwyn John. (Plates 1 IV) (.85 508 NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE A JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY hounded by LIONEL WALTER, LORD ROTHSCHILD and continued by THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM l* ^ \9*0 ^ Vol. 42 PART I, pp. 1-2 16 WITH THIRTLtH PLATES 26 April, 1940 LONDON : PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES BRITISH MUSEUM (NATURAL HISTORY) CROMWlill ROAD, LONDON, S.W. 7 1940 Price Fifteen Shillings NOTICE The Journal, Novitates £oologicae, was founded in 1894 by the late Lord Rothschild as the official publication of his Museum at Tring, and Lord Rothschild himself was joint editor until his death in 1937. In September, 1938, the Trustees of the British Museum assumed control of the Tring Museum, which had been bequeathed to them by Lord Rothschild. In the meantime the Journal was carried on under the joint editorship of the Hon. Miriam Rothschild and Dr. K. Jordan until the close of Vol. 41. Beginning with this part, the first of Vol. 42, the Trustees of the British Museum have undertaken the publication of Novitates Zoologicae, and the Journal will be edited at the British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London, S.W. 7. C. FORSTER-COOPER, Director. British Museum (Natural History), London, S.W. 7 , 12 April, 1940. *•****« :>^° NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE Vol. 42 APRIL, 1940 No. 1 THE AUSTRALASIAN FROGS OF THE FAMILY LEPTODACTYLIDAE By H. W. PARKER, M.A., Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History). (With one plate and twenty text-figures.) THE first frog of this family to be named and described was the Rana australiaca of Shaw, which was renamed Rana spinipes by Schneider a few years later. The first to be referred to a definite family was Crinia georgiana Tschudi, described in 1838 and placed by its describer in the family Cystignathi. As additional species were discovered in later years they were referred to an ever-increasing number of families according to the views of the times, and it was not until 1865 and 1868 when Cope published his papers on the classification of the Anura that our present system began to take shape. Cope's disposition of the genera known to him (1865, 1866a and b) was : — Bufonidae Chelydobatrachus (=Myobatrachus). Pseudophryne Asterophrynidae Cryptotis (=Adelotus) Cystignathi Pseudes Mixophyes Ceratophydes Chiroleptes (=Cyclorana) Criniae Crinia Hyperolia ( = Uperoleia) Helioporus Neobatrachus ( =He!ioporus) Borborocaetes (inc. Limnodynastes) Boulenger's classification in the Catalogue (1882) differed but slightly from this ; the various subfamilies of Cystignathi were dropped and Cryptotis was also included in this family, renamed Cystignathidae ; Notaden was added to the Bufonidae and the newly described Batrachopsis ( = Lechriodus) was referred to the family Pelobatidae. The propriety of retaining the toothless forms in a family (Bufonidae) distinct from the toothed genera (Cystignathidae) was criticized from time to time, but Boulenger's arrangement persisted until 1922 when Noble, following up an earlier piece of work by Nicholls (1916), advocated the union of the Cystignathidae and Bufonidae under the latter name and the transference of Lechriodus to this family from the Pelobatidae. Later (iq.ji) the same author modified this arrangement by subdividing the Bufonidae into a number of sub- families, to one of which, the Criniinae, all the Australasian genera were referred. NOVIT. ZOOL., 42, I I - 2 H. \V. PARKER It was admitted that this subfamily was but poorly defined, and could hardly be satisfactorily differentiated from some of the Neotropical groups of the same family. Noble's conception of the " Bufonidae " has not met with universal approval, and herpetologists in general have shown a tendency to subdivide it into two, Bufonidae (corresponding to Noble's subfamily Bufoninae) and Leptodactylidae (s. Cystignathidae or Ceratophryidae), containing his subfamilies Criniinae, Heleophryninae, Rhinophryninae, Pseudinae (= Ceratophyinae Parker, 1935), Elosiinae and Leptodactylinae. But the principle of brigading the Australasian genera with others from the Neotropical region and from South Africa as one large family has not been seriously criticized. It has long been realized that the limits and mutual relationships of the Australian genera were very inadequately understood, and the present work is an attempt to remedy this deficiency in so far as it is at present possible. More and larger collections are still required and much more detailed anatomical work is still necessary. But a larger amount of material has been available to the present author than to any other previous worker (nearly 1300 specimens, including types of 59 names) , and its study has emphasized the necessity for a reconsideration •of a number of previously accepted beliefs. As far as the family and subfamily status is concerned, it has become clear that the Australasian genera fall into two groups, not absolutely differentiated, but tending to grade into one another and confined to that zoogeographical region. They have been given subfamily status and are referred to in the following notes as the Cycloraninae and Myobatrachinae. These names have been selected in accordance with the principles laid down in Articles 4 and 5 of the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature (cf. Parker, 1934 : 15). The first genus of the former subfamily whose name was made the basis of a family or subfamily name was Chiroleptes (Chiroleptina Mivart, 1869) ; this generic name unfortunately has to be displaced by Cyclorana and the subfamily name must be changed accordingly (Art. 5). The name Myobatrachinae, from Myiobatrachina Bonaparte, 1850, long antedates the name Criniinae used by Noble (from Criniae Cope, 1866). The relationships of these two Australian subfamilies to the South African and Neotropical members of the Leptodactylidae cannot be satisfactorily discussed until a comparative survey of the whole family has been completed. Their mutual relationships can best be considered after a brief survey of the various anatomical and morphological characters by which they are characterized Internal Cranial Morphology.— This has only been studied in a single species, Crinia georgiana (du Toit, 1934). During recent years a good deal of attention has been directed by morphologists and anatomists to the cranial morphology of the Anura and attempts have been made to modify the existing scheme of classification on their findings. But it must be stressed that far too few species have yet been examined for any satisfactory generalizations to be possible and the variability of many of the characters has not been investigated. Du Toit gives the following summary of characters noticed in Crinia georgiana : — (1) The alary forms the lateral support of the entire lateral wall of the apertura externa and vestibulum. (2) The crista subnasalis is absent. (3) The anterior undivided part of the crista intermedia is much bigger than in Rana. (4) The posterior vestibular " wulst " is absent. (5) The plica obliqua is suspended from the tectum nasi. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 3 (6) The infundibulum possesses an extra antero-ventral extension. (7) A well developed recessus sacciformis is present. (8) The cavum medium, being more posteriorly situated than in tin- European Rana, does not share in the formation of the recessus sacciformis. (9) The ductus nasolacrimalis opens into the roof of the horizontal part of the infundibulum. (10) The recessus lateralis attains an enormous size. (11) The plica isthmi is absent. (12) The intermaxillary gland opens into the buccal cavity by two main ducts only. (13) The septomaxillary consists of an anterior unpaired portion which has two posteriorly-directed processes. (14) The connective tissue between the latter bone and the lamina inferior tends to disappear. (15) The vomer (prevomer) is divided, consisting of an anterior edentulous and a posterior dentigerous portion. (16) The os en ceinture is paired. (17) The foramen for the IVth nerve is situated in front of the foramen opticum. (18) The arteria carotis cerebralis enters the skull through a separate foramen. (19) The foramen perilymphaticum superius does not communicate with the jugular foramen. (20) The fronto-parietal fontanelle is large. (21) There is only one dorsal fenestra in the chondocranium. (22) The annulus tympanicus is sickle shaped. (23) The hyomandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve is ventrally situated to the plectrum. (24) The posterior part of the operculum is weakly perichondrally ossified. (25) The articular region differs from that of Rana. (26) Crinia possesses a bursa angularis oris. (27) The hyale is confluent with the otic capsule. Many of these characters are of widespread occurrence throughout the Anura and can have little or no taxonomic importance, but others again (e.g. 23) may be peculiar to the species or genus. Those which have been investigated in more than one species of the subfamilies under consideration will be considered separately. Premaxillae. — These show no great diversity of structure ; they are denti- gerous in the Cycloraninae except Notaden, but are edentulous in Uperoleia (part), Metacrinia, Glauertia(past), Pseudophryne and Myobatrachus of the other subfamily. In males of Adelotus the teeth are somewhat enlarged. Maxilla.^ -This bom- is usually deeper than normal in the Cycloraninae where it is dentigerous except in Notaden ; in some species of Cyclorana, notably ( austraiis, its outer face is heavily sculptured. In the Myobatrachinae the bone is relatively less deep and is toothless in those genera where the premaxilla is also edentulous (q.v.), Septomaxillary. — Apparently present in all genera of both subfamilies ; its variation has not been investigated. Prevomer. — In the Cycloraninae this bone is large and entire with a strong posterior portion bearing teeth (text-figs. 4-9). In the Myobatrachinae, however, H. W. PARKER — pr.br. -prces. Text-fig. i. — Hyoid and larynx of Heleioporns albopunctatus (after Trewavas). ar. = arytaenoid; ca.cv. = cartilage of vocal chord ; c.l.p. = posterior constrictor laryngis ; cr. = cricoid ; g.hy. = genio-hyoid muscle ; hgl. = hyoglossus muscle; mem.h.a. = hyo-arytaenoid membrane ; o.hy. = omohyoideus muscle ; pet.hy.a. = anterior petrohyoid muscle ; pr.br. = bronchial process ; pr.oes. = oesophageal process ; p.v. = pulvinar vocale ; st.hy. = sternohyoid muscle ; tend.c.l.p. = tendon of posterior constrictor laryngis. -pr.ces. Text-fig. 2. — Hyoid and larynx of Limnodynastes peronii (?) (after Trewavas). = cardiac process. Other abbreviations as in text-fig. I. pr.card. AUSTRALASIAN LEPT0DACTYL1DAE it is greatly reduced in size, is often divided into two, with the posterior, primitively dentigerous, portion disappearing and teeth vestigial or entirely absent (text-figs. 13-15). In this latter subfamily a transitional series can be traced from species such as Crinia laevis, in which vomerine teeth are still present and the bone is entire (text-fig. 14), to forms such as Pseudophryne, in which both the anterior and posterior portions may be completely lost. But in no member of this subfamily is the bone as large, or the teeth as numerous, as in any member of the Cycloraninae. There is no absolute correlation between loss of maxillary and vomerine teeth. In the Cycloraninae maxillary teeth are lost only by Notaden, where vomerine ^pr.ces. Text-fig. 3'. — Hyoid and larynx of Crinia signifera J. Membranous wall of larynx removed, but vocal chords left in place. (After Trewavas.) cv. = vocal chord ; g.hy.med. = median geniohyoid muscle ; st.hy.d. = dorsal part of sternohyoid muscle. Other abbreviations as in text-fig. 1. teeth persist ; in the Myobatrachinae vomerine teeth are absent in Uperoleia rugosa whilst maxillaries still persist. There does appear, however, to be a correlation between the vomerine condition and the tongue, with which also the hyoid and intermaxillary glands are related (q.v.). Teeth, in order to function, need a firm surface to bite on. In the case of the vomers this surface is the tongue, and consequently it is not surprising to find that where the tongue is large and broad, as in the Cycloraninae, the vomers are well developed, whereas in the Myobatrachinae, which all have a much smaller, narrow tongue, the vomerine teeth are obsolescent. It has been noticed in the Microhylidae (Parker, 1934 : 6) that there is a similar correlation between the presence of a large broad tongue and an unreduced prevomer. Palatine. — This bone is present throughout both subfamilies and shows no important variation. Ethmoid. — This bone is entire in the Cycloraninae, but may be divided, as in 1 Text-figs. 1-3 reproduced by permission of the Royal Society of London. b H. W. PARKER the family Microhylidae, in some members of the Myobatrachinae, e. g. Uperoleia, Pseudophryne and Crinia. Not infrequently it is continued forwards as a peri- chondral ossification in the tectum, solum and septum nasi (cf. Cyclorana australis, text-fig. 5). Fronto-parietals. — In the majority of the genera of both subfamilies these bones are very small, laterally disposed and widely separated from one another. In Cyclorana, Lechriodus, Mixophyes and Adelotus of the one subfamily they form a median suture, but in the Myobatrachinae the genus Uperoleia alone lacks a fronto-parietal foramen. The Lower Jaw. — Shows no important modifications except in the genus Adelotus where a pair of very large, tusk-like odontoids are developed anteriorly in the male sex. The function of these structures is not known, but it is interesting to note that a similar development has occurred in certain African Ranids (Dimorphognathus, Petropedetes and Phrynodon) and in some Asiatic species of the genus Rana. Hyoid and Larynx. — These structures have been fully investigated by Trewavas (1933), but in only a limited number of species — Heleioporus albo- punctatus, Limnodynastes peronii, Crinia signifera and Mixophyes fasciolatus. When due allowance is made for the fact that the only specimen of the latter species which was examined was a juvenile, it appears that these four species fall into two clearly-definable groups, corresponding to the two subfamilies, and characterized thus : A. Cycloraninae (Heleioporus, Limnodynastes and Mixophyes). (1) Alary process narrow proximally, but expanded distally (text-figs. 1 and 2). (2) Cricoid complete. (3) Oesophageal process of the cricoid more or less slender. (4) M. omohyoideus present. (5) Mm. sternohyoideus and petrohyoidei attached at the lateral edges of the hyoid plate. B. Myobatrachinae (Crinia). (1) Alary process of the hyoid a wing-like expansion of almost the whole lateral margin of the hyoid plate, without narrow stalk (text-fig. 3). (2) Cricoid incomplete. (3) Oesophageal process of the cricoid broad and short, or almost absent. (4) M. omohyoideus absent. (5) Mm. sternohyoideus and petrohyoideus anterior inserted on the ventral surface of the hyoid, reaching the middle line in the posterior part of this insertion. Certain of these characters, notably the loss of the omohyoideus and the division of the cricoid, are believed to have little taxonomic significance for they occur many times in the Anura in completely unrelated forms, but the shape of the alary processes and the attachment of the sternohyoideus and petrohyoidei appear to be correlated with other characters and may have considerable taxonomic value. Thus the broad wing-like, sessile alary process is found in all the Myo- batrachinae (Uperoleia, Crinia, Metacrinia, Glauertia, Pseudophryne and Myo- batrachus examined), whilst the pedunculate type is common to all the Cycloraninae (Cyclorana, Lechriodus, Mixophyes, Limnodynastes, Heleioporus, Philoria, Adelotus and Notaden examined). AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 7 All the genera appear to lack the apical cartilage which is a characteristic feature of most Ranids and Rhacophorids. Ear. — This organ is present and well developed in all the genera of both subfamilies except Pseudophryne, where the tympanum, annulus tympanicus, cavum tympani, columella (plectrum) and Eustachian tube are absent. This condition of the auditory apparatus occurs in many unrelated genera of the Anura so that too great reliance cannot be placed upon it as a guide to phylogeny. The facts that this condition is normal in the Urodela and that the fully-developed anuran ear passes through a similar stage in its ontogeny1 suggest that the condition may be a primitive one, and it is possible that its sporadic reappearance in so many unrelated Anuran genera is a manifestation of a neotenic tendency. The external and middle ear show some variations in different genera. The annulus tympanicus is generally incomplete dorsally ; in the highly modified burrowing genera there is a tendency for the extra-plectal (columellar) cartilage to increase in size, and in Myobatrachus it forms a large thickened pad, as large as, and closely apposed to, the whole of the tympanum. The size and distinct- ness externally (due to thinning of the overlying skin) of this latter organ are very variable, the general tendency being towards smaller tympana, more deeply seated (partly covered by the m. depressor max. inf.) and protected by thickened . skin in cryptozoic forms. Tongue. — This organ is either subcircular or very broadly oval in the Cyclo- raninae, or relatively long and narrow, sometimes quite small, in the Myobatra- chinae. These two types of tongue are associated with a different disposition of the openings of the intermaxillary glands (q.v.), and also with those differences in the hyoid and prevomer which have already been mentioned. It seems highly probable that all these differences are intimately correlated and that they are concerned with the method of feeding. There appear to be no essential differences in the nature of the food taken by the two subfamilies ; in fact the most specialized genera of each, Notaden and Myobatrachus respectively, parallel one another closely, for both are essentially myrmecophagous and specially adapted for life in termitaria. Yet Notaden has a broad, subcircular tongue, vomerine teeth, a long series of ducts from the intermaxillary gland, long, pedunculate alary processes of the hyoid and sternohyoideus and petrohyoideus muscles attached laterally to the hyoid plate, whereas in Myobatrachus the tongue is a small, narrow organ, and all the associated structures of the hyoid region and intermaxillary gland are concentrated towards the middle line, and vomerine teeth are wanting. The prey appears to be the same in both genera, yet the mechanism by which it is captured is very different. Intermaxillary Gland. — E. Miiller (1932) has given a general account of the disposition of these glands and their ducts in the Anura and has classified them into five main groups. Representatives of only three genera of the present subfamilies were examined by him, Pseudophryne, Limnodynastes and Uperoleia, and lie notes that these three fall into twogroups. In Uperoleia an.1 Pseudophryne the openings of the gland are concentrated near the centre line into two ducts, whereas in Limnodynastes the openings of the gland are numerous (14) and form an irregular, transversely oval patch, occupying a space almost equal to the inter-choanal width. A survey of the gland in almost every species of the two Australian subfamilies lends no support to Miiller's classification into five main categories, but shows that there is, as might have been expected, a distinct correlation between 1 (hi Toit and de Villiers, 1932, S. Afr. /. Si ('., 29 : 449-4115. 8 H. W. PARKER the disposition of the ducts and the shape of the tongue. The function of the gland being to furnish the sticky secretion which enables the tongue to pick up food, a broad tongue will need a widely spread series of ducts for the even distri- bution of the secretion over its tip, whilst with a narrow tongue a corresponding concentration of the ducts towards the centre-line is essential for efficiency. This is what obtains in fact. In the broad-tongued Cycloraninae there are numerous ducts arranged in a more or less regular transverse series over a width almost, or quite, equal to the interchoanal space. Sometimes they form a regular, continuous linear series which may even open under a single long fold of the mucous membrane ; more frequently, however, they are arranged in three groups on a transverse line, but every gradation between the two extremes can be found. In the Myobatrachinae there are never more than two ducts, opening close together near the middle line, and not infrequently the two open under a common fold which results in the opening appearing single ; both conditions may be found within the one species. Shoulder Girdle. — This structure is relatively stable in the arciferal families, as compared with the firmisternal, where reduction or loss of the clavicle and procoracoid has taken place on numerous occasions. In the Australian Lepto- dactylidae very few important structural differences have been noticed. Clavicles, procoracoids and coracoids are invariably present and well developed ; the omosternum may be absent, but when present is always small and cartilaginous; the sternum also is never ossified, though in old individuals of some of the larger forms there may be some degree of calcification. Myobatrachus alone shows any great divergence from the normal, and here there seems tohavebeen a strengthening of the girdle against lateral compression by a broadening of the clavicles and the procoracoid region, whilst the coracoids have assumed a more oblique position and are scarcely larger or stouter than the clavicles (text-fig. 20) . The modification recalls, though to a less extent, the conditions to be found in the African Ranid HemisHS which is also a cryptozoic genus. A secondary result of the widening of the mesial ends of the clavicles and procoracoids is that the epicoracoids meet edge to edge for about a third of their length and so approach an arcifero- firmisternal condition. In Crinia, and especially in Crinia haswelli (text-fig. 15a), the procoracoids extend anteriorly beyond the clavicles, and their form strongly suggests that the omosternum is homologous with the anterior portion of these cartilages. Anatomists cannot agree as to the homologies of this structure in the Anura (de Vos, 1938 : 56), but it seems highly improbable that they are correct in believing it to be of different origin in various species of the same genus. Vertebral Column. — As in most of the arcifera the vertebrae are pro-coelous, but a peculiar and primitive feature of both subfamilies is the incomplete fusion of the intervertebral condyle with the vertebra and the partial persistence of the notochord ; in Cyclorana and Lechriodus only is the notochord completely lost and the condyle firmly ankylosed to the vertebra. The normal number of 8 presacral vertebrae is found throughout the Myobatrachinae, but in the Cyclora- ninae fusion of the first and second vertebrae occurs in five genera — Limnodynastes, Heleioporus, Philoria, Adelotus and Notaden. The sacral diapophyses are some- what dilated in all the genera examined, except Mixophyes, and the urostyle articulates by two condyles. Thigh Muscles. — The disposition of the muscles of the thigh, and particularly the relation of the distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus to the mm. graciles, has been shown (Noble, 1922) to be of considerable assistance in elucidating AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE anuran relationships. In all the Procoela it has been claimed that the semi- tendinosus is separate from the sartorius and that its distal tendon is either ventral to, or very rarely pierces, the gracilis major and g. minor. It is within the present subfamilies that the rarer condition has been reported. In Limno- dynastes ornatus the tendon of the semitendinosus pierces the actual gracilis major and minor muscles, and in Pseudophryne australis a further stage in the inward migration of the tendon is found, where it perforates, not the muscles themselves, but their ligamentous head. The examination of further material reveals that the inward migration of the tendon of the semitendinosus progresses ever further, and that in the final stages it has passed dorsal to the gracilis entirely, and so attained the condition hitherto regarded as characteristic of the diplasiocoelous nrmisternia. In the two subfamilies a complete gradation from one extreme to the other can be traced, but the ventral, presumably more primitive, condition is only found in the Cycloraninae, whilst the dorsal condition is confined to the Myobatrachinae. The various conditions can be roughly subdivided and classed into four groups thus : II. III. IV. Genus. Species. Subfamily. Distal tendon of the Heleioporus pictus semitendinosus pass- australis ing ventral to the Mixophyes fasciolatus graciles Cy dor ana albopunctatiis australis platycephahis Limnodynastes dorsalis olivaceus peronii sal mini Cycloraninae. tasmaniensis Notaden bennetti nichollsi Distal tendon of the Limnodynastes ornatus semitendinosus per- Lechriodus melanopyga forating the gracilis platyceps complex fletcheri Adelotus1 brevis Uperoleia marmorata Crinia georgiana signifera laevis tasmaniensis Distal tendon of the Pseudophryne australis semitendinosus per- bibroni forating the liga- coriacea ■ Myobatrachinae. mentous head of the Glauertia orientalis graciles Distal tendon of the Glauertia russelli semitendinosus pass- Metacrinia nichollsi ing dorsal to the Myobatrachus goitldii graciles 1 Noble, 1922, classes this species under the following section, but the examples examined by the author show it to have a thigh-muscle complex very similar to that of Vpero'eia. 10 H. W. PARKER Pectoral Muscles. — Jones (1933) has investigated the pectoral musculature of Cyclorana aus traits, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, L. peronii and Uperoleia mar- morata in a survey of the pectoral myology of the Salientia. He finds that the supracoracoideus profundus, found in all these four species, is characteristic of the arcifera. The episternohumeralis, a variable muscle in the firmisternia, is also present in the four Australian species as well as in all the other arcifera except the genera Bufo and Rhinophrynus. The sternoepicoracoideus, a new muscle, is found in Cyclorana and Limnodynastes but is absent from Uperoleia. In Cyclorana it arises from the antero-lateral edge of the sternum and is inserted by a narrow tendon into the dorsal surface of the epicoracoid ; similar conditions are reported in the Discoglossidae and South American Leptodactylidae (Pleuro- dema). In the two species of Limnodynastes it arises partly from the first myocomma of the rectus abdominis as well as the sternum and so approaches the condition noted in the genus Hyla (H. arbor ea and H. rubra), where the muscle arises from the myocomma only. Pupil. — A good deal of confusion has been caused at various times through incorrect descriptions of pupil-shape. This is usually to be accounted for by preservation, the degree of contraction, or distortion having masked the true shape. In the majority of genera of both subfamilies the shape appears to be \y, but irregularities of contraction may result in either the ventral or lateral angles becoming unduly emphasized. In Mixophyes alone is it truly a vertical ellipse. Viscera. — Hoffman (1931) has described certain features of the viscera, e.g. disposition of lungs, liver-lobes, relations of stomach to duodenum, and the arrange- ment of the rugae of the lining of the intestinal canal in Crinia georgiana. An attempt is made to utilize some of these characters in distinguishing the South African genus Heleophryne from the Cystignathidae (Leptodactylidae), but too little is at present known of the variability of these organs for it to be possible to assess their taxonomic value. Consideration of these facts makes it evident that the two subfamilies are clearly differentiated by the tongue and the associated structures such as prevomers, vomerine teeth, the hyoid apparatus and intermaxillary glands. Other associated characters, such as the vertebral condition and the thigh muscles, also lend support to the view that the two groups represent different evolutionary lines. But in these latter characters and in others, there is a complete intergradation between the two, suggesting a not very remote common ancestry. It is, of course, conceivable that the Myobatrachinae are not a natural assemblage, but are a group of forms derived from the Cycloraninae by the evolution of the same type of feeding-mechanism on more than one occasion. If the feeding-mechanisms of the two were intimately associated with different foods such a view might have something to recommend it ; but in fact no such difference appears to exist and, as has already been pointed out, representatives of each group (Notaden and Myobatrachus) appear to live under very similar conditions. Unfortunately there is no evidence other than the morphological which will assist in elucidating the relationships of the two subfamilies to one another and to the rest of the Anura. The only fossils known which might throw any light on the subject are the Eocene frogs of the Intertrappean beds of Bombay which have been variously referred to Rana, Oxyglossus and Indobatrachus. If Noble's interpretation (1930) be correct, then Indobatrachus should be referred to the Myobatrachinae ; it appears to have 8 presacral vertebrae, with the notochord persistent, and vomerine teeth in very small groups, arguing a reduced prevomer. Unfortunately, as in most fossil frogs, AUSTRALASIAN I.EPTODACTYLIDAE II the difficulties of correct interpretation are very great, so that the reference of this fossil genus to the Myobatrachinae must be regarded as somewhat uncertain, and it provides no clue to the relationship of this subfamily with the Cycloraninae. If correctly referred it indicates that the subfamily persisted in the Oriental region long after the Australian members of the same group had become isolated, and provides additional evidence, if such be necessary, that the whole family Leptodactylidae at one time had a more northerly distribution. The descriptive methods and terminology used in the following pages conform to standard practice. The dimensions given are for the most part maxima, since, with animals which continue to grow after the attainment of sexual maturity, it is not practicable to give the actual range of adult size with any accuracy. Only when size has been invoked as a specific or subspecific criterion has an attempt been made to give ranges and means. In these instances the ranges are based on obvious adults, i.e. females with distended ovaries containing pigmented ova and males with secondary sex-characters. Such a series will naturally contain a greater proportion of old individuals than of those which have only just reached maturity, and consequently both the range and mean will err on the large side. Only very approximate geographical ranges are given, though no doubt much interesting information would be forthcoming were the geographical ranges of the various species to be plotted and compared with maps showing climatological, botanical, physiographical, geological and other data. But such maps, to be of value, must be accurate and reasonably complete — criteria which cannot at present be fulfilled even approximately. During the course of this work so many herpetologists have assisted with advice, information or material that to thank them all individually would need too great a space, whilst to select a few would be invidious. It is, however, essential to proffer thanks to Professor G. E. Nicholls, to whom modern amphibian taxonomy owes so much. The collections he made in West Australia and presented to the British Museum provided the focal point for much of the work, and arguments and discussions with him have given the author numerous pointers and saved him from many egregious errors. The bulk of the material, other than that in the British Museum, has been received from the Museums in Amsterdam, Harvard, Leiden, Perth (W.A.), Stockholm and Sydney; to the authorities in these institutions the author wishes to express his great indebtedness. REFERENCES. Boulenger. G. A. 1882 Cat. Batr. Sal. Br, I. Mus.. ed. 2. Cope, E. D. 1865 Nat. Hist. Rev., n.s., 5 : 97 -120. 1866 (a) J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philadelphia, (2), 6 : 67-97. 1866 (6) torn. cit. : 189—206. Hoffman, A. C, 1931 S. A fir. J. Sci., 28 : 399-407. Jones, E. J. 1933 Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (10), 12 : 403-420. Mivart, St. G. 1869 Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. : 288-294. Muller, E. 1932 Morph. Jb., 70 : 131-216. Nicholls, G. E. 1916 Proc. Linn. Soc. Loud.. 128 art. 1. : 80-92. Noble, G. K. 1922 Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist., 46, art. 1 : 1-88. 1930 Amer. Mus. Novit., 401 : 1 3. 1931 Biology of the Amphibia. New York. Parker, 11. W. 1934 Monogr. I-'am. Microhylidae. London. 1935 Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. : 511. du Toit, C. A. 1934 Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. : 1 eg -141. Trewavas, E. 1933 Phil. Trans, roy. Soc. Lond., 222, b : 401-527. Tschudi, J. J. von 1838 Mem. Soc. neuchdtel. Sci. nat. 1839, 2 : i-99- DeVos, C. M. 1938. Anal. Anz., 87 : y, iu 12 H. W. PARKER Subfamily CYCLORANINAE. Raniformes (part) Dumeril & Bibron, 1841, Erpe't. Gen., 8 : 317. Ranae (part) Fitzinger, 1843, Syst. Rept. : 31. Cvstignathidae (part) + Discoglossidae (part) + Alytidae (part) Giinther, 1858, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus. : 26, 34, 37. Asterophrydidae (part) + Scaphiopodidae (part) + Cystignathidae (part) Cope, 1865, Nat. Hist. Rev., n.s. 5 : 97-120. Asterophrydidae (part) + Cystignathidae, Pseudes (part) + Cystignathidae, Cera- tophrydes (part) + Cystignathidae, Criniae (part) Cope, 1866, J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., (2), 6 : 67-97. Ranidae (part) + Discoglossidae (part) + Alytidae (part) Steindachner, 1867, Reise Novara, Zool., Amph. : 7-34. Cystignathidae (part) Keferstein, 1867, Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Gbttingen, 18 : 343. Cystignathidae (part) + Discoglossidae + Alytidae (part) Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Naturgesch., 34 : 251-273. Alytidae, Uperoliina (part) + Ranidae, Cystignathina (part) + Discoglossidae, Chiroleptina (part) and Asterophrydina (part) Mivart, 1869, Proc. zool. Soc. Land. : 288-294. Cystignathidae (part) + Bufonidae (part) + Pelobatidae (part) Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 183-432. Bufonidae (part) Noble, 1922, Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist., 46 : 1-87. Ceratophriidae (part) + Bufonidae (part) Waite, 1929, Rept. Amph. S. Australia : 244-266. Bufonidae, Criniinae (part) Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. 1496. Leptodactylidae (part) Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 8. Tongue broadly oval or subcircular, large. Intermaxillary glands with numerous ducts arranged either in a long, transverse, linear series or in a trans- versely oval patch or in three groups on a transverse line. Prevomer always present, entire and well developed, with its posterior process bearing a long series of teeth (text-figs. 4-9). Alary processes of the hyoid pedunculate (text-figs. 1-2) ; sternohyoid and petrohyoid muscles attached to the lateral edges of the hyoid plate. Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus usually passing ventral to the mm. gracilis, more rarely perforating them. Sternoepicoracoideus present {Cyclorana, Limnodynastes) . First and second vertebrae fused in genera where the notochord is persistent, free where the notochord is lost. Key to Genera. Maxillary teeth present. A. Pupil vertical ; no fronto-parietal foramen ; 8 presacral vertebrae ; sacral diapophyses not dilated. Toes webbed, the membrane penetrating between the outer metatarsals . . Mixophyes. B. Pupil horizontal ; digital webbing not penetrating between the outer metatarsals. (1) No fronto-parietal foramen in adults. (a) First finger opposed to the remainder, the second very short ; vomerine teeth between the choanae ; 8 presacral vertebrae Cyclorana. (b) First finger not opposable to the remainder ; vomerine teeth behind the level of the choanae. (i) Toes with small terminal discs ; no dentary pseudo-teeth ; 8 presacral vertebrae .... Lechriodus. (ii) Toes without terminal discs ; male with 2 large, fang- like, dentary pseudo-teeth ; first and second vertebrae fused Adelotus. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 13 (2) A large fronto-parietal foramen ; 1st and 2nd vertebrae fused (a) Vomerine teeth between the choanae . . Heleioporus. (b) Vomerine teeth behind the level of the choanae (i) Vomerine series moderately extensive, extending laterally beyond the inner borders of the choanae . Limnodynastes . (ii) Vomerine series short and oblique, not extending laterally beyond the inner borders of the choanae . . Philoria. II. Maxillary teeth absent ; a large fronto-parietal foramen ; 1st and 2nd vertebrae fused ; vomerine teeth small .... Notaden. MIXOPHYES Gunther. Mixophyes Gunther, 1864, Proc. zool. Soc. Land. : 46 (Type species — Mixophyes fasciolatus); idem, 1864, Ann. Mag. not. Hist., (3), 14 : 311 ; Cope, 1866, /. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., (2), 6 : 89, 93 ; Steindachner, 1867, Reise Novara, Zool., Amph. : 10 ; Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Naturgesch., 34 : 254 ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Balr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 188 ; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. nat. Mus., 34 : 311 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 518 ; Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 497. Myxophyes Cope, 1863, Nat. Hist. Rev., n.s., 5 : m. Hyla de Vis, 1884, Proc. roy. Soc. Queensland, 1 : 128. Maxillary teeth present. Prevomer entire, bounding the choana anteriorly and laterally with an anterior projection towards the maxilla and a mesially- directed, dentigerous branch which does not reach the palatine ; fronto-parietals large, forming a median suture. Ear fully developed. Vertebrae procoelous ; 8 presacrals ; sacral diapophyses cylindrical ; coccyx articulating by two condyles. Text-kig. 4. — Anterior cranial elements of Mixophyes fasciolatus juv. X 5. (From beneath.) Omosternum cartilaginous ; sternum cartilaginous, entire posteriorly. Terminal phalanges simple. Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus passing ventral to the tendon of the m. gracilis. The hyolaryngeal apparatus has only been examined in a juvenile specimen and Trewavas (1933 : 512) considers such material unsuitable for comparison ; nevertheless it is apparent that the apparatus is Heleioporus-, rather than Crinia-kkc, with a complete cricoid, m. omohyoideus present, and the mm. sternohyoideus and petrohyoidei attached at, or close to, the lateral edges of the hyoid plate. Pupil vertical. Tongue subcircular, entire or emarginate, and scarcely free behind. Toes webbed, the membrane penetrating between the outer metatarsals. Mixophyes fasciolatus fasciolatus Gunther. Mixophyes fasciolatus Gunther, 1864, Proc. zool. Soc. Loud.: 46, pi. 7, 1 1 j-; . 1 (Type locality : — Clarence River, N.S.W.) ; idem, 1864, Ann. Mag. nut. Hist., mi. 14 : ^12 ; Krettt. 1867, Cat. Industr. Prod. N.S.W. , Add. : 107 ; Steindachner, 1867, Reise Novara, Zool., Amph.: 14 H. \V. PARKER 10 ; Giinther, 1868, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. : 479; Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Nalurgesch., 34 : 255. pl- 5. fig- 6 I Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 188 ; idem, 1885, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist.. (5), 16 : 387 ; Fletcher, 1889, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., (2), 4 : 372 ; idem, 1890, op. cit., (2), 5 : 669-671 ; idem, 1892, op. cit., (2), 7 : 18 ; idem, 1894, op. cit., (2), 8 : 529 ; Lucas and le Souef, 1909, Anim. Austral. : 267, fig. ; Harrison, 1922, Aitst. Zool., 3, 1 .'34; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura 1:518, fig. 350; Trewavas, 1933, Phil. Trans, roy Soc. London, 222, b : 438, fig. 28. Myxophyes fasciolatus Krefft, 1865, Pap. Proc. roy Soc. Tasmania: 16. Mixophyes fasciolatus fasciolatus Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 10. Hyla fenestrata de Vis, 1884, Proc. roy. Soc. Queensland, 1 : 128 (Type locality: — Tweed River). Head broader than long. Snout rounded, not prominent, 1-4 to 1-5 times as long as the eye with obtusely angular canthus rostralis and oblique, slightly concave loreal region ; nostril equidistant from the eye and the end of the snout ; interorbital space equal to, or a little broader than, the width of an upper eyelid ; tympanum very distinct, vertically oval, its horizontal diameter A to § that of the eye. Fingers slender, the first a trifle longer than the second, which is shorter than the fourth ; subarticular tubercles well developed on the metacarpo- phalangeal joints only, with a smaller supernumerary tubercle proximal to each ; two metacarpal tubercles. Toes two-thirds webbed, the edge of the membrane midway between the third and fourth toes being level with the distal subarticular tubercle of the third ; three phalanges of the fourth toe free from web ; sub- articular tubercles moderate ; an elongate, oval inner, but no outer, metatarsal tubercle. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the nostril or beyond the tip of the snout. Skin smooth above and beneath ; a curved supratympanic fold ; anal region feebly granular. Brown or olive above, the dorsum usually with scattered, irregular polygonal darker markings ; a curved dark line from the tip of the snout, through the nostril, along the canthus rostralis and along the supratympanic fold, often spreading over the tympanum ; a dark interorbital bar which may be prolonged backwards as a triangular or T-shaped marking. Flanks dark-spotted. Limbs with numerous narrow dark cross-bars which are most defined on the concealed surfaces ; hinder side of the thighs dark-mottled. Lower surfaces white, the gular region of the male dotted and stippled close to the lower jaw. Length from snout to vent : ray. 1842, Zool. Misc., 2 : 56. Chiroleptes (non Kirby, 1831) Gunther, 1858, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus. : 34 (Type species : — Alytes australis Gray); Cope, 1865, Nat. Hist. Rev., n.s., 5 : 108; idem, 1866, /. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., (2), 6 : 89, 93 ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 267 , Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. nat. Mus., 34 : 312 ; Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 497. Cheiroleptes (emend.) Spencer, 1901, Proc. roy Soc. Victoria, (2), 13 : 176. Cyclorana Steindachner, 1867, Reise Novara, Zool., Amph. : 29. (Type species : — Cyclorana novaehollandiae) . Phractops Peters, 1867, Mber. Akad. Berlin : 30 (Type species : — Phractops alutaceus) ; Ogilby, 1907, Proc. rov Soc. Queensland, 20 : 32 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 520 ; Waite, 1929, Rep. Amph. S. Austral. : 245. Mitrolysis Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. nat. Mus., 34 : 312 (Type species: — Chiroleptes alboguttatus Gunther) ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 524; Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 947- Maxillary teeth present. Prevomer large, bounding the choanae anteriorly, with an anterior process which may meet the premaxilla, and a short, posterior, dentigerous portion between the choanae, not overlying the palatine. Fronto- parietals forming a median suture, their lateral borders raised to form a distinct ridge. Ear fully developed. In adult individuals the dorsal surfaces of the skull are often somewhat rugose and in P. australis a considerable amount of secondary rugose bone is present on the nasals, premaxillae, maxillae, fronto-parietals and squamosals, the zygomatic process being greatly enlarged and forming a broad arcade across to the maxilla. Palatines with more or less distinctly raised ridges and prominences ventrally. Vertebrae procoelous, the condyle completely ankylosed and the notochord not persistent ; sacral diapophyses slightly dilated ; urostyle articulating by two condyles; 8 presacral vertebrae. Omosternum well developed ; sternum large, cartilaginous, bifid posteriorly ; clavicles strongly curved. Terminal phalanges simple. 1 As Ogilby (1907, loc. cit.) has pointed out, the name Chiroleptes, so frequently used i"i this genus, is a homonym and must be dropped. Hut his selection of Phractops to replace it cannot be maintained. This name was proposed by IVter.s at a sitting of the Prussian Academy of Science on January 10, 1867, and was not published until later 111 that year , the January I left of the Monatsbericht was actually not received at the library oi Gottingen 1 'mversity until .May. Hut Steindachner's account of the Amphibia of the Novara 1 ollection, in which appears the name Cyclorana, was actually published and laid on the table of the Vienna Academy on the same day that Peters read his paper (January 10) (ef. Ant. Akad. wiss. Wien, 4 : 11). 1 6 H. W. PARKER Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus passing ventral to the mm. graciles. Alary processes of the hyoid expanded distally, but arising as narrow stalks proximally, similar to those of Heleioporus. Pupil horizontal but with a downwardly-directed ventral angle. Tongue subcircular, partly free behind. Toes more or less webbed. Second finger short, the first opposable to the remainder. The species of this genus fall into two clearly-marked groups as regards their general habitus. First there are slender species with thin digital webbing of the type usually associated with " grass-frogs " or aquatic species. Of these inermis shows very little trace of the opposable inner digit and has two metatarsal tubercles ; dahlii has the digital characteristic of the genus well developed and has lost the outer metatarsal tubercle whilst alboguttatus has the inner metatarsal Text-fig. 5. — Anterior cranial elements of Cyclorana australis. x 2. (From beneath.) tubercle strongly compressed and so approaches the second group of species, which are all of more or less globose habitus, and are typical fossorial species with a shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercle and webbing, when present, of a thick fleshy nature. Synopsis of the Species. I. Inner metatarsal tubercle not shovel-shaped ; habitus slender. A. Toes f webbed ; two metatarsal tubercles ... C. inermis. B. Toes fully webbed ; a single metatarsal tubercle . . C. dahlii. II. Inner metatarsal tubercle shovel-shaped. A. A straight dorso-lateral fold on each side of the back (1) Zygomatic process of the squamosal heavily sculptured and forming a broad suture with the maxilla. Habitus stout C. australis. (2) Zygomatic process not sculptured and separated from the maxilla or only very narrowly in contact with it. Habitus slender C. alboguttatus. B. No definite dorso-lateral fold. (1) Toes less than half webbed. (a) Web midway between the 3rd and 4th toes not extending beyond the proximal subarticular tubercle of the fourth toe ; metatarsal tubercle shorter than its distance from the tip of the inner toe ; a strongly marked colour-pattern C. brevipes. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 17 {b) Web midway between the 3rd and 4th toes reaching nearly to the level of the distal subarticular tubercle of the third ; metatarsal tubercle as long as, or longer than its distance from the tip of the inner toe ; colour pattern indistinct C. cultripes. (2) Toes § webbed, or more . . . . . C. platycephalus. Cyclorana inermis (Peters). Chiroleples inermis Peters, 1867, Mber. Akad. Berlin : 30 (Type locality: — Rockhampton) ; Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Naturgesch., 34: 267 ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 271 ; Andersson, 1913, K. Svenska VetenshAkad. Hand!., 52, 4:16; idem, 1916, K. Svenska VetenshAkad. Handl., 52, 9:12. Phractops inermis Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 524. Habitus slender ; head as long as broad. Snout pointed, slightly prominent, 1-5 to 1-6 times as long as the eye, with rounded canthus rostralis and slightly oblique, feebly concave loreal region ; nostril midway between the eye and the end of the snout ; interorbital space as broad as, or a little narrower than the upper eyelid; tympanum very distinct, f to § the diameter of the eye. Fingers moderately long, free, the first distinctly longer than the second, but the latter is better developed than in the other members of the genus, and the opposition of the first digit to the remainder is not well marked ; subarticular tubercles very prominent ; two large metacarpal tubercles and rows of smaller tubercles on the palm. Toes f webbed, the membrane midway between the third and fourth extending beyond the distal tubercle of the third but not to the middle tubercle of the fourth ; subarticular tubercles prominent ; a prominent oval inner, and a smaller rounded outer, metatarsal tubercle ; a dermal fold or slight fringe along the inner side of the inner digit and tarsus. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the centre of the eye or between this point and a little beyond the tip of the snout. Skin with scattered warts above ; belly and hinder side of thighs finely granular ; throat and chest smooth. Greyish brown above with scattered, indistinct darker mottlings ; edge of the upper lip with white flecks ; hinder side of the thighs spotted or marbled with dark brown and white ; tibiae cross-barred ; lower surfaces immaculate white except the throat of the male, which is marbled with brown. Male with a vocal sac and a diffuse nuptial pad on the inner side of the first finger. Length from snout to vent : $ 35 mm. Distribution : Queensland (Rockhampton, Kimberley, Torrens Creek). Specimens Examined. B.M. 1924.3.3.3 juv. Torrens Creek, 1600 ft. Coll. : G. H. Wilkins. Mus. Leiden, 1888 0" Rockhampton Mus. CmdeHrtiy. (Haka- type). Cyclorana dahlii (Houlenger). Chiroleples dahlii Boulenger, i8gd.Proc.zool.Soc.Lond. : 867, pi. 40. fig. 2 (Type locality : — Daly River, N. Australia) ; Fletcher, 1898, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 22 : 682, 684. Phractops dahlii Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 522 ; Loveridge. 1935, Bull. Mm. comp. Zool. Ham., 78 : 11. NOVIT. ZOOL., 42, I 2 l8 H. W. PARKER Habitus slender ; head as long as broad. Snout rounded, not prominent, i'5 times as long as the eye,1 with rounded canthus rostralis and very oblique, slightly concave loreal region ; nostril equidistant from the eye and the end of the snout ; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid ; tympanum very distinct, its horizontal diameter £ that of the eye. Fingers moderate, the first much longer than the second and opposed to the remainder ; subarticular tubercles moderately distinct, but the two metacarpals not well defined. Toes fully webbed, the membrane extending to some extent between the metatarsals ; subarticular tubercles not well marked ; an oval inner, but no outer, metatarsal tubercle ; a slight fold along the inner edge of the metatarsus. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the loreal region. Skin feebly shagreened above ; a distinct curved supratympanic fold and a median nuchal furrow ; lower surfaces smooth, except the hinder side of the thighs, which are feebly granular. Brownish-olive above, with a very faint, lighter, dorsal streak ; a dark canthal stripe ; flanks and hinder side of the thighs spotted and marbled with white. Lower surfaces immaculate white, except the sides of the throat and the limbs, which are dotted with dark brown. Male with a vocal sac. Length from snout to vent : <$ 70 mm. ; 9 67 mm. Distribution : Northern Territory. Specimen Examined. B.M. 95. 1 1. 14. 24 $ Daly River, N.T. Dahl. Cotype. Cyclorana australis (Gray). Alytes australis Gray, 1842, Zool. Misc., 2 : 56 (Type locality: — North coast of Australia). Chiroleptes australis Giinther, 1858, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus. : 34 ; Krefft, 1865, Pap. Proc. roy Soc. Tasmania: 17; idem, 1867, Cat. Industr. Prod. N.S.W., Add. : 107; Giinther, 1867, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (3), 20 : 54 ; idem, 1868, Zool. Rec, 4 (1867) : 145 ; Keferstein, iStS.Arch. Naturgesch., 34: 267; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 269 ; Boettger, 1894, Denkschr. med.-naturw. Ges. Jena, 8 : 109 ; Fletcher, 1898, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 22 : 678 ; Andersson, 1913, K. Svenska VetenskAkad. Handl., 52, 4 : 15 ; Harrison, 1922, Aust. Zool., 3, 1 : 34. Phractops australis Fry, 1914, Rec. W. Aust. Mus., 1 : 204 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 523, fig. 355 ; Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 13. Cyclorana novaehollandiae Steindachner, 1867, Reise Novara, Zool., Amph. : 29, pi. 2, figs. 7-10 (Type locality : — Rockhampton) ; Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Naturgesch., 34: 267. Phractops alutaceus Peters, 1867, Mber. Akad. Berlin : 31 (Type locality : — Rockhampton). Mitrolysis alboguttatus (part) Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 13. Upper surfaces of the premaxillae, maxillae, fronto-parietals and squamosals strongly sculptured, the zygomatic process of the latter forming a broad suture with the maxilla. Habitus stout ; head depressed, as broad as long in juveniles, but increasing in breadth with age so that in adults it is very much broader than long, more so in females than in males. Snout depressed, not prominent, 175 (adults) to twice (juveniles) as long as the eye, with rounded canthus rostralis and very oblique, concave loreal region ; nostril equidistant from the eye and the end of the snout or, more usually, a little nearer the latter ; interorbital space equal to, or a little narrower than, the upper eyelid ; tympanum distinct, slightly more than half, rarely §, the diameter of the eye. Fingers moderate ; 1 Loveridge's (1935 : 13) contention that Boulenger measured the snout from the nostril appears to be without foundation, anil his assertion that the first finger may, in this species, be shorter than the second may indicate a traumatic condition or confusion of species. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYI.I DAE 19 the first much longer than the second and opposed to the remainder; subarticular tubercles prominent ; palm with small circular tubercles ; two metacarpal tubercles. Toes J webbed, the edge of the membrane midway between the third and fourth normally reaching halfway between the distal subarticular tubercle of the third toe and the proximal tubercle of the fourth ; rarely it may reach almost to the former of these points or only just beyond the latter ; subarticular tubercles distinct ; a very large, shovel-shaped inner metatarsal tubercle, but no outer ; a slight fold along the inner edge of the tarsus. Tibio-tarsal articula- tion reaching the eye, or, in larger specimens, the tympanic region. Skin regularly shagreened above, often with larger scattered warts ; a distinct median occipito-nuchal groove ; a strong, curved, supratympanic fold from which a short, straight lateral fold may branch ; a distinct dorso-lateral fold on each side of the back ; sometimes a distinct gland between the angle of the mouth and the insertion of the fore-limb. Belly and hinder side of the thighs finely granular ; throat almost smooth in females, but distinctly granular in males. Brown or grey above with some darker markings, of which the most constant are a cantho-temporal streak, a vertical bar beneath the eye and darker smudges along the sides of the dorso-lateral folds which are themselves white in juveniles. Flanks and hinderside of the thighs dusky with lighter mottlings (not circular spots as in alboguttatus) . Lower surfaces white, the chin and throat blotched with brown in females and juveniles, uniformly infuscate in breeding males. Male with a vocal sac, and, at the breeding season, diffuse nuptial asperities on the dorso-lateral surface of the inner finger and a small, but distinct, button- like prominence where the columella auris abuts against the tympanum. Breeding in West Australia appears to take place about midsummer. Length from snout to vent : c? 87 mm.1 ; $ 97 mm. Juveniles at metamorphosis, 27 mm. Distribution : Northern West Australia, Northern Territory and Queens- land. Specimens Examined. Nicol Bay, W.A. du Boulay. Roebuck Bay, W.A. Dahl. Port Darwin. Buckland. Port Essington, N.T. Gilbert. Cotypes. Alexandria Sta., N.T. Stalker. Queensland. Thomson. Rockhampton. Darnel. Westwood, nr. Rock- Wilkins. hampton. Cooktown, Q. Bellenden Ker. Port Denison, Q. Krefit. Port Denison. Darnel. " Australia." Krefit. Alexandria Sta.. N.T. Stalker. Rockhampton, Q. (Godeffroy Mus.) {Co- type oiPhractopsalu- ten , us Peters.) Queensland. (GodetTroy Mus.) MowlaDown, Kimber- Soderberg. ley Div., W.A. 1 I he " male" 27 mm. long reported by Andersson (1913) proves on re-examination to be a juvenile just through metamorphosis, with an incompletely rcsorbed tail. B.M. 67.2.19.56 96.7.2. 17-18 84.9.13.26 6" 6"? 9 42.2.24.14-15 I908. 2. 25. 29-30 9. juv. 6*9 70. II .30.72 67.5.6.86 67.5.6.96 67.5.6.95 9 6" juv. 6" I024.IO.25.4 juv. Mus. 1903. 10. [9.36 3; 64 . 10.27.58 67.5.6.80 07.5.6.81 64.7.22.5 [906. 1 1. 2. 6 Leiden 3867 c?9 9 juv. JUV. ?skel $ skel. 9 Su ei 4237 lish Mus. [562 6" JUV. 20 H. W. PARKER Cyclorana alboguttatus (Giinther). Chiroleples alboguttatus Giinther, 1867, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (3), 20 : 54 (Type locality : — ■ Port Denison, Cape York) ; idem, 1868, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. : 480 ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 270, pi. 18, fig. 1 ; Fletcher, 1898, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 22, 1897 : 678. Chiroleples albopunctatus (? lapsus calami) Fletcher, 1894, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1893, (2), 8 : 525, footnote. Mitrolysis alboguttatus Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. nat. Mus., 34 : 312; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 524, fig. 356; Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 13 (part). Habitus slender ; head as long as broad or only slightly broader than long. Snout conical, slightly prominent, 1-8 to 2-0 times as long as the eye, with rounded canthus rostralis and very oblique loreal region ; nostril equidistant from the eye and the end of the snout ; interorbital space as broad as, or a little narrower than the upper eyelid ; tympanum distinct f to § the horizontal diameter of the eye. Fingers slightly depressed, with lateral " seams," the first much longer than the second and opposed to the remainder ; subarticular tubercles prominent; palm with small circular tubercles and two moderately well-developed metacarpal tubercles. Toes nearly half webbed, the edge of the membrane midway between the 3rd and 4th toes, reaching nearly to the level of the distal tubercle of the 3rd ; subarticular tubercles moderately prominent ; a moderately large compressed inner, but no outer, metatarsal tubercle ; a slight tarsal fold. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the eye or the nostril. Skin with some scattered warts above ; a curved supratympanic fold and a distinct straight dorso-lateral fold on each side of the back ; a more or less distinct median occipito-nuchal furrow. Belly and hinder side of the thighs finely granular ; throat and chest smooth. Olive or brown above, with some obscure black mottlings ; a dark canthal streak ; flanks and hinder side of the thighs with numerous, closely set, circular white spots ; edge of the upper lip brown, dotted with white. Lower surfaces white, the throat and chest usually marbled and freckled with brown. Male with a vocal sac opening by a slit on each side of the tongue and a diffuse nuptial pad on the dorso-lateral aspect of the first finger and inner meta- carpal tubercle. Length from snout to vent : o 59 mm- ; ? 65 mm. Distribution : Northern Territory ?, Queensland, and Northern New South Wales. Loveridge (1935) has recorded this species from Alexandria, N.T., but another specimen from the same locality obtained at the same time by the same collector is preserved as a skeleton in the British Museum ; it has the zygomatic process of the squamosal heavily sculptured and forming a broad suture with the maxilla as in P. australis, whereas in P. alboguttatus the two fail to meet, or only just make contact at a narrow point, and the squamosal is not sculptured. B.M. Mus. Specimens Examined. RR. 1936.12. 2 °? Port Denison. Darnel. Cotypes. 3. 125-126 64.10.27.40 67.5.6.78-79 64. 1 . 17.40 Leiden 4263 c? c?9 c? 9 Cape York. ? Clarence River, N.S.W. Queensland. Krefft. Darnel. Cotypes. Krefft. (Godeffroy Mus.) AUSTRALASIAN I.EPTODACTYUDAE 21 Cyclorana brevipes (Peters). Chiroleptes brevipes Peters, 1871, Mber. Akad. Berlin : 648 (Type locality : — Fort Bowen, Queensland) ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 269. Phractops brevipes Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 523. Chiroleptes brevipalmatus Giinther, 1876, /. Mus. Godeffroy, 12 : 47 (Type localities : — Port Denison, Gayndah and Peak Downs, Queensland); Boulenger, 1882, op. cit.: 269, pi. 17, fig- 5- Phractops brevipalmatus Fry, 1915, Proc. roy.Soc. Queensland. 27 : 70 (part) ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 522. Habitus moderate ; head a little broader than long. Snout rounded, scarcely prominent, 1-25 to 1-5 times as long as the eye, with obtusely angular canthus rostralis and oblique, scarcely concave, loreal region ; nostril midway between the eye and the end of the snout ; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid ; tympanum distinct, its horizontal diameter half, or very slightly more than half, that of the eye. Fingers moderate, the first much longer than the second, and opposed to the remainder ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; palm tubercular ; two distinct metacarpal tubercles. Toes less than \ webbed, the membrane midway between the third and fourth not extending beyond the proximal subarticular tubercle of the latter ; subarticular tubercles prominent ; a large shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercle which is, however, distinctly shorter than its distance from the tip of the inner toe. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the tympanum or the posterior corner of the eye. Back somewhat warty , a distinct curved supratympanic fold ; belly and lower surfaces of the thighs finely granular ; throat smooth in females, granular in males. Pale olive or brown above with dark brown markings arranged as follows : a curved cantho-temporal streak ; edge of upper lip spotted ; a large, subtri- angular interorbital blotch, the apex directed forwards ; back with sharply defined vermiculations, which may have a general longitudinal arrangement. Usually a fine white mid-dorsal line. Upper surfaces of the limbs olive- brown, spotted irregularly with lighter ; hinder side of the thighs dark brown, uniform or with a few white flecks. Lower surfaces dirty white or pale brown ; the gular region of the female with or without brown spots, that of the male infuscate. Male with a vocal sac and diffuse nuptial asperities on the dorso-lateral surface of the first finger and metacarpal tubercle. Length from snout to vent : Giinther. 1926. 2. 25. 1 $ ' - 11 irooman, nr. Rock- Wilkins. hampton. 22 H. W. PARKER Cyclorana cultripes sp. n. Chiroleptes brevipalmatus (non Gunther) Spencer, 1896, Rep. Horn Exped. C. Austral., (2), (Zoology) : 165 ; Fletcher, 1898, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 22 : 678-682 ; Lucas & le Souef, 1909, Anim. Australia : 277. Phraclops brevipalmatus Fry, 1914. Rec. W. Aust. Mus., 1 : 200 ; idem, 1915, Proc. roy. Soc. Queensland, 27 : 70 (part) ; Waite, 1929, Rep. Amph. S. Australia : 248. Phractops brevipes (non Peters) Loveridge, 1935. Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv, 78 : 12. Habitus moderately stout ; head a little broader than long. Snout rounded, scarcely prominent, 1-4 to 1-5 times as long as the eye, with obtusely angular canthus rostralis and oblique, slightly concave loreal region ; nostril very slightly nearer the tip of the snout than the eye ; interorbital space a little narrower than the upper eyelid ; tympanum | to § the diameter of the eye. Fingers rather short, somewhat depressed, the first longer than the second and opposed to the remainder ; subarticular tubercles prominent ; palm slightly tubercular ; two large flat metacarpal tubercles. Toes \ webbed, the edge of the membrane midway between the third and fourth reaching nearly to the level of the distal subarticular tubercle of the third ; subarticular tubercles moderate ; a very large, shovel-shaped inner metatarsal tubercle, as long as, or longer than, its distance from the tip of the inner toe ; no outer. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the tympanum. Skin distinctly warty above ; a slight occipito-nuchal furrow ; a strong, curved, supratympanic fold. Belly and lower surfaces of the thighs coarsely granular ; chin slightly granular in males, smooth in females. Dull yellow- or grey-brown above with some indistinct darker markings in the form of a cantho-temporal streak, some labial spotting, a dark blotch on the top of the head from the level of the posterior corner of the eyes forwards, and a transverse bar just behind the occiput ; the area between the latter and the head-marking lighter. Remainder of the back with very indistinct darker spots and a fine white vertebral line. Groins and hinder side of the thighs brown, mottled with lighter. Lower surfaces white, the chin dappled with brown in females and infuscate in males. Male with a vocal sac and 2 diffuse nuptial pads, one on the dorso-lateral surface of the inner finger and the other on the inner metacarpal tubercle. Inner 2 fingers of breeding females slightly spatulate. Length from snout to vent : <$ 46 mm. ; ? 50 mm. Distribution : Western New South Wales, Northern Territory and northern West Australia ; probably northern South Australia also. This form has hitherto been confused with P. brevipes (q.y.) ; the two are closely allied and may ultimately prove to be only racially distinct. Specimens Examined. B.M. 1908.2.25.33 Cyclorana platycephalus (Gunther). Chiroleptes platycephalus Gunther, 1873, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (4), 11 : 35° (TyPe locality : — Fort Bourke) ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 268, pi. 17, ng. 4 , Fletcher, 1890, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. , (2), 5 : 673, 675 ; idem, 1891 op. at (2) 6 : 265 269 271 ; idem, 1892, op. cit., (2), 7 : 12 ; Spencer, 1896, Rep. Horn. Exped. C. Austral.,2, (Zool.) : 160, pi. 13, fig. 1, pi. 14, figs. 5"9 I Lucas & le Souef, 1909. A mm. Austral. : 278, fig. 1 ; Harrison, 1922, Aust. Zool., 3, 1 : 34. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 23 Cheiroleptes platycephalus Spencer & Gillen, 1912, Across Australia, 1 : 59, pi. i, fig. a. Phractops platycephalus; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 520, figs. 352-354 ; Waite, 1929, Rep. Aniph. S. Austral. : 246, fig. 176 ; Loveridge, 1935. Bull. Mus. camp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 12. Habitus stout. Head broader than long, proportionately broader in older individuals, and generally broader in eastern than in western specimens. Snout rounded in eastern districts, more acuminate and prominent in the west, i-6 to 2-0 times as long as the eye, with indistinct canthus rostralis and very oblique, rounded loreal region ; nostril equidistant from the eye and the end of the snout or a little nearer the former ; interorbital space as broad as, or a little broader than, the upper eyelid ; tympanum distinct § to \ the diameter of the eye and varying in its proximity to the latter. Fingers moderate, depressed, the first much longer than the second and opposed to the remainder ; subarticular tubercles small but prominent ; two metacarpal tubercles, the outer sometimes rather indistinct. Toes fully webbed, the membrane rather fleshy ; subarticular tubercles small ; a large, shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercle much longer than its distance from the tip of the inner toe ; a slight fold along the inner edge of the tarsus. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the shoulder or the tympanum.1 Skin smooth or, more usually, with scattered warts, the condition varying with the degree of distension on account of stored fluids in the body ; a curved supra-tympanic fold ; lower surfaces granular. In spirit, or when alive during the dry season the colour is olive-grey, grey- brown or yellowish, freckled with indistinct darker spots and blotches not arranged after any definite pattern ; lower surfaces dirty white, the throat of the male dotted with brown or blue-black. After leaving their burrows at the onset of rain the colour of juveniles and half-growTi individuals changes to yellow with bright green markings, older specimens being duller, with more diffuse green patches. The iris is golden with dark flecks, tympanum yellowish-brown, the sides of the body and limbs orange brown and the digital webbing often distinctly pink. Length from snout to vent : $ 56 mm. ; $ 68 mm. Male with a vocal sac and a diffuse nuptial pad on the metacarpo-phalangeal knuckle of the first finger and extending on to the inner metacarpal tubercle. Distribution : Arid districts of the interior of Australia from Murchison in the west to the western districts of New South Wales, including the southern parts of the Northern Territory and northern South Australia. This species is essentially cryptozoic, frequenting arid regions and aesti- vating through the dry season in burrows about a foot deep on the banks of creeks and near water-holes ; impervious clay soils appear to be preferred, and during the period of aestivation the frog is greatly distended with water stored in the urinary bladder, the lymph spaces and body cavity. Breeding takes place on the advent of rain (January to February in Central Australia) and develop- ment is very rapid, possibly not more than two weeks elapsing from the laying of the eggs to metamorphosis. The tadpole reaches a length of 69 mm. and has the following characters : Body 1-5 times as long as wide ami \ the length of the tail, ovoid, with eyes and nostrils directed upwards, the nostril nearer the tip of the snout than the centre of the eye : spiraculum sinistral . anus dextral, near the edge of the lower caudal crest ; tail acutely pointed, three times as long as deep, the lower crest deeper than the upper, but not as deep as the muscular portion 1 It is the tibio-tarsal articulation which reaches the tympanum in the type as originally described, and not the tarso-metatarsal as suggested by Loveridge (1935 '. '-'■ 24 H. W. PARKER at its base. Mouth, except the median third anteriorly, surrounded by papillae which form a double row and invade the oral cone at the corners ; horny mandibles strong and serrated ; labial teeth in series }, the innermost both above and below divided, the outermost shortest. Body and muscular part of the tail dull yellow, with faint blotches of darker ; caudal crests with dark mottling. Length from snout to vent at metamorphosis : 31 mm. Specimens Examined. B.M. 1937.7.22. 1-2 1908.5.28.62- 64 97. 1 .20.29-30 97. 1 .20.28 1905. 10.31 .46 92.9. 16. 11 73.4.30.18 o\ 2?? Larvae. ? ¥ ? ? Dalgaranger Sta., near Yalgoo, W.A. Central Australia. Charlotte Waters. 100 miles east of Lake Eyre. Euroka, N.S.W. Fort Bourke, N.S.W. Nicholls. (Gerrard.) Horn. Hii'lier. Rose. (Sydney Mus.) Type. LECHRIODUS Boulenger. Asterophrys (non Tschudi) Doria, 1875, Ann. Mus. Star. nat. Genova, 6 : 355 ; Peters & Doria, 1878, Ann. Mus. Stor. nat. Genova, 13 : 417. Batrachopsis (non Fitzinger) Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 439 (Type species : — Asterophrys melanopvga Doria) ; van Kampen, 1923, Amph. Indo-Auslr. Archip. : 16. Lechriodus Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Brit. Mus. : 116 (substitute name for Batra- chopsis Boulenger) ; Noble, 1922, Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist., 46 : 73 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 49 ; Noble, 1924, Amer. Mus. Novit., 132: 11; idem, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 497 ; Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 22. Phanerotis Boulenger, 1890, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., (2), 5 : 593 (Type species : — Phanerotis fletcheri). Ranaster (part) Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 535. Maxillary teeth present. Prevomer present, entire, its post-choanal portion large, overlying at least the mesial half of the palatine, dentigerous ; fronto- parietals well developed, forming a median suture. Ear fully developed. Text-fig. 6. Anterior cranial elements of Lechriodus platyceps. X 2. (From beneath/ Vertebrae procoelous with very long transverse processes ; 8 presacrals ; sacral diapophyses strongly dilated ; coccyx articulating by two condyles. Omo- sternum cartilaginous ; sternum bifid posteriorly, cartilaginous. Terminal phalanges simple. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAK 25 Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus perforating the gracilis complex. Alary processes of the hyoid expanded distally but with a narrow stalk proximally as in Limnodynastes and Heleioporus. Pupil horizontal. Tongue subcircular, slightly free behind. Toes with a rudiment of web and very small terminal discs. Synopsis of the Species. I. Head not broader than long ; first finger as long as or longer than the second ; small species of which the females have normal digits and the nuptial pad of the male is composed of minute spines. A. Snout more than once and a half as long as the eye ; first finger longer than the second . . . . . L. melanopyga. B. Snout less than once and a half as long as the eye ; first finger equal to, or a little shorter than, the second (i) A small /\-shaped fold on the scapular region . L. fletcheri. (2) A small / \-shaped fold on the interorbit and a pair of curved, convergent dorso-lateral folds or rows of plicae . L. papuanus. II. Head much broader than long ; first finger shorter than the second ; large species, of which the females have the first and second fingers strongly fringed and males have nuptial pads composed of closely set, but relatively large spines ...... L. platyceps. Lechriodus melanopyga (Doria). Asterophrys melanopyga Doria, 1875, Ann. Mus. Stor. nat. Genova, 6 (1874) : 355, pi. xii, fig. k (Type locality : — Wokan, Aru Islands). Batrachopsis melanopyga (part) Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Balr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 439 ; van Kampen, 1923, Amph. Indo-Austr. Archip. : 17. Lechriodus melanopyga (part) Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 49 ; Noble, 1924, Amer. Mus. Novit., 132 : figs. 5, 7 (myology). Vomerine teeth in long, curved series extending laterally a little beyond the choanae. Head longer than broad ; its width contained more than 2-5 times in the total length ; snout rounded, not prominent, i-6 times as long as the eye ; canthus rostralis angular ; loreal region oblique, not concave ; nostril nearly twice as far distant from the eye as from the tip of the snout ; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid ; tympanum distinct, vertically oval, its vertical diameter | the horizontal diameter of the eye. Fingers free, slender, the first a little longer than the second ; subarticular tubercles large and prominent ; a smaller supernumerary tubercle proximal to the base of each finger ; a prominent oval inner, and a rather indistinct outer, metacarpal tubercle. Toes slender, with a rudiment of web and small terminal dilatations; subarticular tubercles prominent ; an elongate oval inner, but no outer, metatarsal tubercle. Tibio- tarsal articulation extending a little beyond the end of the snout. Skin almost smooth above, though minute pustules are present murr especially on the upper eyelid, about the ear and on the Hanks. Two folds arise from the posterior corner of the upper eyelid, the one running above the tympanum to the flanks, and the other, somewhat indistinct and interrupted, composed of a row of pustules, curves towards its fellow on the middle of the back and then runs parallel with it on to the coccygeal region. Lower surfaces smooth. A very small papilla on the heel. 26 H. W. PARKER Brownish grey above, a light line connects the upper eyelids and may extend forwards to cover the whole of the upper surface of the snout ; a dark bar runs obliquely forwards from beneath the eye to the edge of the upper lip and may be broadened anteriorly to cover the whole loreal region ; a deep black marking may border the supratympanic fold inferiorly, its lower margin irregular and crossing the tympanum ; other black spots may be present on the flanks, and sometimes there are large, indefinite lighter areas on the back. Hind limbs with alternating broader and narrower cross-bars above ; concealed surfaces of the thighs and tibiae, as well as the lower surfaces of the forearms, tarsi and feet blackish. Lower surfaces uniform white. Length from snout to vent : $ 50 mm. Distribution : Aru Islands. Although the type of melanopyga was afterwards (Peters and Doria, 1878 : 417) said to be a juvenile when larger specimens from New Guinea were obtained for comparison, the single specimen collected in the Aru Islands by the " Chal- lenger " Expedition is of approximately the same size, and is a sexually mature female. It also differs from specimens from New Guinea in its much narrower head, longer first finger and smoother skin, so that there seems to be every probability that the Lechriodus of the Aru Islands is not conspecific with that from the northern and western parts of New Guinea which has hitherto been known as melanopyga, but which must now receive a new name. Records of a small "melanopyga" from S.E. New Guinea in all probability refer to L. fletcheri (q.v.). Specimen Examined. B.M. 82.7. 14.31 $ Aru Islands. "Challenger" Exped. Topo- type. Lechriodus fletcheri (Boul.). Phanerotis fletcheri Boulenger, 1890, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.SAV., (2), 5 : 494 (Type locality : — Dunoon, Richmond River, N.S.W.) ; Fletcher, 1890, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., (2) 5 : 669-675 ; idem, 1894, op. cit., (2), 8 : 530 ; Lucas & le Souef, 1909, A nim. Austral. : 274 ; Andersson, 1913, Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk., 66 : 75 ; Fry, 1915, Proc.roy. Soc. Queensland, 27 : 69, fig. 1, pi. i, fig. 2 ; Andersson, 1916, K. Svensha VetenskAhad. Handl., 52, 9 : 10, pi. i, fig. 3 ; van Kampen, 1923, Amph. Indo-Austr. Archip. : 18. Ranaster fletcheri Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 536. Lechriodus fletcheri Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 497 ; Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp.Zool. Harv., 78 : 22. ? Batrachopsis melanopyga Boulenger, 1898, Ann. Mus. Stor. nat. Genova, 18 : 17. Vomerine teeth in slightly curved series which do not extend laterally beyond the choanae. Head as long as broad. Snout rounded, not prominent, 1-4 times as long as the eye, with angular canthus rostralis and oblique, slightly concave loreal region ; nostril 1-3 times as far from the eye as from the tip of the snout ; interorbital space as broad as the upper eyelid ; tympanum distinct, vertically oval, its vertical diameter f the length of the eye. Fingers moderate, the first equal to or a little shorter than the second ; subarticular tubercles large and prominent ; a slight, fleshy, tubercle-like webbing between the fingers ; a prominent oval inner, and a longitudinally cleft outer metatarsal tubercle. Toes slightly dilated terminally and with a distinct rudiment of webbing ; sub- articular tubercles prominent ; an oval inner, but no outer metatarsal tubercle. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching beyond the tip of the snout. Skin almost smooth or finely granulate above, with some larger pustules on AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 27 the upper eyelid and about the ear ; a strong narrow fold from the posterior corner of the eye above the ear to about the middle of the flanks ; a small /\-shapcd fold in the middle of the back ; smooth beneath ; a small papilla on the heel. Pale brown above, with some very small darker spots ; a narrow, dark, transverse bar from eye to eye ; loreal and temporal regions darker with obscure markings in the form of oblique lighter (reddish) bars radiating from the posterior half of the eye ; sometimes a dark brown patch on the canthus rostralis and below the supratympanic fold ; dorsal /\-shaped fold outlined with darker ; limbs with alternately broader and narrower dark cross-bars ; concealed surfaces of the thighs and tibia, and lower surfaces of the forearm, tarsus and foot dark brown. Lower surfaces white, the edge of the lower jaw brown. Length from snout to vent : $ 42 mm. ; $ 50 mm. Male with a vocal sac opening by a slit on each side of the tongue, and nuptial pads of very small spines on the dorsal surface of the inner finger, except the terminal joint, on the inner metacarpal tubercle and along the inner dorsal side of the second finger ; the pad on the first finger must contain many hundreds of spines. Mature females with the two inner fingers dilated as in Limnodynastes. Distribution : New South Wales, Queensland, Southern New Guinea. Specimens Examined. B.M. 90.7.28.1 imm. $. Dunoon, Richmond Helms. Type. River, N.S.W. 97. 12. 10. 164 o* Vikaiku, Brit. N. Loria. Guinea. Lechriodus papuanus (Roux). Phanerotis fletcheri papuana Roux, 1927, Rev. Suisse Zool., 34, 4 : 122, fig. 1 (Type locality : — Lake Sentani district, Dutch New Guinea). Vomerine teeth in two long transverse series behind the choanae. Head as long as broad, moderately high. Snout blunt, slightly longer than the diameter of the eye ; nostril quite close to the tip of the snout ; canthus rostralis distinct ; loreal region high, oblique, slightly concave ; interorbital space narrower than the upper eyelid. Tympanum distinct, oval, a little higher than long, its height a little greater than half the diameter of the eye. Fingers and toes slightly dilated at their tips, the first finger equal to the second ; subarticular tubercles very prominent. Toes distinctly webbed at the base ; an elongate, oval inner meta- tarsal tubercle, about half as long as the inner toe. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching a little beyond the tip of the snout. Skin smooth and beset with small, pointed pustules, larger and rounded in places, for example on the upper eyelids ; a small papilla on the heel. Dorsum with prominent, short, narrow folds ; some on the interorbit form a /~\, others form a pair of curved dorso-lateral lines from behind the orbits, convergent towards the middle of the back and then running parallel to the lumbar region, where there are also some short, oblique, secondary crests. Another fold runs from the eye above the tympanum to the middle of the flanks. Lower surfaces smooth except the median posterior portions of the thighs, which are granular. Light grey above with black or grey-black spots and patches, All the dorsal folds are outlined witli darker and the orbito-tympanic fold is bordered beneath with a dark patch which covers the upper half of the tympanum ; below the end 28 H. \V. PARKER of this glandular line, behind the fore-limbs, one or two black spots. Several broad, dark grey bars on the sides of the snout, one at the tip, one beneath the eye and another, smaller, between the two. Lower surfaces immaculate whitish- grey. Fore-limb grey with some little black dots on the anterior surface of the arm ; fore-arm with two broad, dark grey annuli anteriorly and behind and on the elbow with longitudinal, blackish-grey marking. Fingers annulate with blackish grey, light grey beneath. Hind-limb grey ; thighs with two indistinct darker bars above, blackish brown beneath and on the anal region, this colour sharply defined above and beneath. Tibia with a faintly indicated, darker, oblique bar. Knee, a line along the outer edge of the tibia, heel and lower surface of the tarsus black ; lower surfaces of the foot and toes dark grey (after Roux). Immature 9 : 23 mm. Distribution : near Lake Sentani, Dutch New Guinea. A single example of this form is the only one known and its describer thought that it was a characteristic Papuan representative of L. fletcheri. But the only Papuan specimen of fletcheri available to the present author exactly resembles the type from New South Wales and entirely lacks the dorso-lateral folds described in the type of papuanus. Accordingly it seems probable either that there are two distinct species, or that further material will show a much greater range of variation than is at present known ; there is no evidence in favour of the recognition of subspecies. Lechriodus platyceps sp. n. Asterophrys melanopyga (non Doria, 1875) Peters & Doria, 1878, Ann. Mus. Stor. nat. Genova, 13 : 417. Batrachopsis melanopyga Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 439 (part) ; Boettger, 1894, Denkschr. med. Naturw. Ges. Jena, 8: 112; Lucas, 1898, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 23 : 359 ; van Kampen, 1923, Amph. Indo-Austr. Archip. : 17 (part). Lechriodus melanopyga van Kampen, 1906, Nova Guinea, 5 : 163, 178 ; Barbour, 1912, Mem. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 44 : 177 ; Fry, 1913, Mem. Queensland Mus., 2 : 48 ; idem, 1915, Proc. roy. Soc. Queensland, 27, 4 : 73, pi. i, figs. 1, 2 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 49 (part), figs. 105, 106 ; Noble, 1931, Biol. Amphib. : 113, fig. 38. Holotype a female, number 76.7.18.6 in the British Museum, from Arfak, Dutch New Guinea ; collected by A. A. Bruijn. Vomerine teeth in curved series which do not extend laterally beyond the choanae. Head broad and flat, considerably broader than long, its width con- tained less than 2-5 times in the length from snout to vent. Snout rounded, not prominent, 1-6 times as long as the eye, with angular canthus rostralis and oblique, very slightly concave loreal region ; nostril 1-2 times as far distant from the eye as from the tip of the snout ; upper eyelid 1-5 times the width of the inter- orbit ; tympanum distinct, vertically oval, its vertical diameter f the length of the eye. Fingers moderately long, the first a little shorter than the second and both with strong lateral fringes which do not continue proximally beyond the subarticular tubercles ; the latter are well developed but the supernumerary tubercles at the base of each finger are merely indicated ; a large, prominent inner metacarpal tubercle, containing a cartilaginous prepollex, and a small indistinct outer. Toes with small terminal discs and a rudiment of webbing ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; a small oval inner, but no outer meta- tarsal tubercle. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the tip of the snout. Skin regularly and profusely beset with small round pustules which may AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 29 form bead-like chains especially on the flanks ; some larger papillae on the upper eyelid, about the ear and one on each heel. A straight dermal fold from the posterior corner of the eye above the tympanum to the flanks, and a narrow linear fold from the upper eyelid convergent towards the middle line about the middle of the back and then slightly divergent and forming a sinuous line to the end of the coccyx ; a slight curved fold across the interorbit. Smooth beneath. Pale brown above ; upper surface of the snout to the interorbital fold lighter, the fold itself dark-edged. An irregular dark brown band beneath the canthus rostralis and supratympanic fold ; a few dark spots beneath the eye and on the flanks, especially in the axillae and groins ; a faint, light marking on each side of the back in the angles where the dorso-lateral folds approach one another and then diverge. Limbs with narrow transverse cross-bars. Concealed surfaces of thighs and tibiae and lower surfaces of the fore-arms, tarsi and feet dark brown. Lower surfaces whitish, the edge of the lower jaw and gular region freckled with brown. Length from snout to vent : 79 mm. Paratypes. B.M. 78.2. 1 1. 5 (J New Guinea. (Boucard.) 1920. 12.21 . 1-2 <>, /. A, ad. nut. S, 1 . I'lulad., (21. (. :-■>, M K 1. 1 1. m 1S1.S 1 In the specific synonymies these alternative spellings are not recorded separately. 32 H. W. PARKER Arch. Naturgesch., 34 : 269 ; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. nat. Mus., 34 : 312 ; Fry, 1914, Rec . W. Aust. Mus., 1 : 208 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 525 ; Waite, 1929, Rep. Amph. S. Australia : 240; Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 497. Heleioforus (err.) Krefft, 1865, Mon. Not. roy. Soc. Tasmania : 17. Perialia Gray, 1845, in Eyre, Journ. Exped. C. Austral., 1 : 407 (Type species: — Perialia eyrei) ; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. nat. Mus., 34 : 312. Neobatrachtis Peters, 1863, Mber. Akad. Berlin : 234 (Type species : — N . pictus) ; Cope, 1866, /. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., (2), 6 : 94. Philocryphus Fletcher, 1893, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., (2), 8: 233. (Type species: — P. flavoguttatus) ; Fry, 1914, Rec. W. Aust. Mus., 1 : 208 ; Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 497. Maxillary teeth present. Pre vomer well developed with a posterior den- tigerous process which does not quite reach the palatine (text-fig. 8) ; a very large fronto-parietal foramen, ethmoid entire. Ear fully developed. Vertebrae pro- coelous, but the condyle incompletely ankylosed ; notochord persistent ; sacral diapophyses slightly dilated ; urostyle articulating by two condyles ; 7 presacral vertebrae. Omosternum small, cartilaginous, sternum undivided or notched posteriorly, cartilaginous or calcified mesially. Terminal phalanges simple. Text-fig. 8. — Anterior cranial elements of Heleioporus albopunclatus. X 2'5. (From beneath.) Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus passing ventral to the tendon of the mm. graciles. Alary processes of the hyoid expanded distally, but with a narrow stalk proximally ; cricoid cartilage complete ; oesophageal process of the cricoid slender ; m. omohyoideus present ; mm. sternohyoideus and petrohyoidei attached at the edges of the hyoid. Pupil horizontal, but with a downwardly directed angle ventrally. Tongue large, broadly oval, half free behind. Toes more or less webbed. The status of Philocryphus with regard to Heleioporus has been in dispute for some time. Fletcher himself (1897 : 679) was doubtful whether it could be maintained, but Fry (1914 : 206) advanced reasons for continuing to retain the two apart ; Fry's views have been accepted by the latest commentator (Loveridge, 1935 : 17), but Noble (1931 : 497), though maintaining the two, can only distinguish them by the degree of distinctness of the tympanum. This can be so extremely variable and is so dependent on preservation that its value seems very problematical. Actually albopunclatus and australiacus are so closely allied that in their young stages they are almost indistinguishable, and the characters suggested by Fry for their generic separation are almost all age- characters ; his skeleton of albopunctatus was almost certainly that of a juvenile. Fletcher himself at one time (1889 : 376) referred one of his co-types of flavo- guttatus (=australiacus) to albopunctatus, and Boulenger (1882 : 272) was unable AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYI.IDAE 33 to distinguish juveniles of austmliacus from albopunctatus. Examination of all the material now in the British Museum suggests that some 8 forms are valid, which may be distinguished by the key given below. If any generic separation should be possible, or desirable, the division should apparently be between sections I and II. The first of these, containing small species with an undivided sternum and with diffuse nuptial pads, would then be known as Neobatrachus Peters, of which N. pictus is the genotype. Synopsis of the Species. I. Sternum always cartilaginous, not bifid posteriorly. Small species, the males with a diffuse nuptial pad. Metatarsal tubercle usually edged with black or dark brown. A. Toes f to fully webbed. (i) Eye not longer than its distance from the tip of the snout. A colour pattern of dark insuliform spots or irregular marblings on a light ground. (a) Skin warty above (spinulose in breeding males) ; meta- tarsal shovel completely black . . . . H. pictus. (b) Skin smooth or with spinules in breeding males ; metatarsal shovel edged with brown or not coloured . H. centralis. (2) Eye longer than its distance from the tip of the snout. Colour pattern consisting of light bifurcating lines on a dark ground. Skin quite smooth, but thick and glandular ; metatarsal shovel edged with brown .... H. wilsmorei. B. Toes not more than J webbed, except in males at the breeding season, when the web continues as a tapering fringe to the tip of each toe ..... . . . H. pelobatoides. II. Sternum of the adult calcified and bifid posteriorly. Large species, the males with large, conical, black horny spines on the dorsal surfaces of the inner fingers. A. Tip of the fifth toe not reaching beyond the nostril ; at most a single, conical tubercle at the anterior corner of the eye ; flanks not more warty than the dorsum ; a pattern of regular circular cream-coloured (white) spots on a dark ground colour H. albopunctatus. B. Tip of the fifth toe reaching the tip of the snout or a little beyond ; a fimbriated flap at the anterior corner of the eye ; flanks more granular than the dorsum. (1) Size large (up to 80 mm.) ; tympanum of adult large (f-| the eye) and subcircular ; dorsum uniform purple-brown ; flanks 111" rally yellow-spotted H. austialtacus. (2) Size moderate (up to 59 mm.) ; tympanum of adult vertically oval, rather indistinct, S-| the diameter of the eye ; dorsum brown marbled with grey or yellowish irregular markings H. eyra. 111. Incertae scdis H.sudcll NOVIT. ZOOI.., 42, I 3 34 H. W. PARKER Heleioporus pictus (Peters). Neobatrachus pictus Peters, 1863, Mber. Akad. Berlin: 235 (Type locality: — near Adelaide) ; Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Naturgesch. : 262. N.ficlus (err. t\. X 4. T )i>t;tl tendon of the m. smiitendinosus passing ventral to, or perforating the gracilis (ornatus). Alary process of the hyoid narrow proximally, expanded distally ; cricoid complete ; oesophageal process of the cricoid slender. This genus shows a very peculiar trend. In two species, fletcheri and perorm (text-fig. 12), and to a less extent in a third, salmini (text-fig. 11), the phalanges of the inner finger are greatly reduced in size, or, in some specimens, reduced to a single one, but as a compensation, so that the inner finger is still approxi- mately as long as the second, the inner metacarpal bone is disproportionately 44 H. W. PARKER long. This compensation belies the possibility of the reduction being a concomi- tant of loss of function unless it is assumed that there has been some secondary change necessitating a re-development of an inner digit which was originally functionless and vestigial. There is no evidence to lend support to such an assumption and it is possible that an explanation is to be found by comparison with the genus Crinia, in which also two species (laevis, text-fig. 16, and dar- lingtoni) have the phalanges of the inner finger similarly reduced, though without any compensating elongation of the metacarpal. Now it may be significant that none of the species of Limnodynastes in which the phalanges of the inner finger are reduced in size have nuptial pads, whereas all the remaining species of the genus have them very well developed. In Crinia laevis, and probably C. darlingtoni also, nuptial pads are likewise absent. But the former species at least, and in all probability the latter too, pairs on land, whereas all the species of Limnodynastes, whose breeding habits are known, including peronii with the reduced phalanges, pair in water. It is highly probable that nuptial excrescences are not so essential to frogs pairing on land as to those where oviposition occurs in water. Reduction of the phalanges of the inner digit appears to be accom- panied by loss of nuptial pads, but in the genus Crinia, where pairing occurs on land, this is no handicap. In the water-breeding Limnodynastes, however, the loss would be gravely disadvantageous and has been overcome by the enlarge- ment of the metacarpal which can function as a nuptial spine, as it does in the Ranid genera Petropedetes and Babina. It seems possible, therefore, that the reduction of the inner finger is an orthogenetic tendency which proceeds regardless of the requirements of the animals, and that to counteract the handicap it imposes L. fletcheri and L. peronii have secondarily hypertrophied another structure to perform the same function in a different way. Synopsis of the Species. I. Inner metatarsal tubercle shovel-shaped. A. A large gland on the tibia dorsalis subsp. B. No tibial gland. (i) Toes not more than \ webbed ..... ornatus. (2) Toes at least A webbed spenceri. II. Inner metatarsal tubercle not shovel-shaped. A. Inner metacarpal equal to, or somewhat longer or shorter than, the second ; the proximal phalanx of the first finger very much longer than the distal. (1) First finger shorter than the second ; usually two metatarsal tubercles ; vomerine teeth not extending laterally beyond the choanae tasmaniensis. (2) First and second fingers equal ; a single metatarsal tubercle ; vomerine teeth extending well beyond the lateral borders of the choanae ........ convexiusculus. (3) First finger extending beyond the second, the proximal phalanx of the inner finger twice as long as the second ; toes nearly free salmini. B. Inner metacarpal very much longer than the second ; phalanges of the first finger subequal, or (in peronii) sometimes reduced to one. (1) Toes with a distinct basal webbing ; snout not prominent . fletcheri. (2) Toes long, slender, free ; snout pointed and prominent . peronii. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 45 Limnodynastes dorsalis dorsalis (Gray). Cystignalhus dorsalis Gray, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., 7 : 91 (Type locality: — Western Australia) ; idem, 1841, in Grey, Journ. Exped. W. Australia, 2, App. : 446; idem, 1845, in Eyre, Journ. Exped. Central Austral., 1, App. : pi. 1, fig. 2. W. {agleria) dorsalis Girard, 1853, Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 6 : 421. Limiwdynastes dorsalis Giinther, 1858, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus. : 33 ; Krefft, 1865, Pap. roy. Soc. Tasmania : 16 (part) ; idem, 1868, Arch. Nat urge sell. ,34 : 260 ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2: 261 (part); Fletcher, 1898, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 22, 1897 : 675; Andersson, 1913, A'. Svenska VeienskAhad. Handl., 52, 4 : 9, 10 ; Werner, 1914, Fauna S.W. Austral., 4 : 406; Alexander, 1922, /. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), 34 : 462 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 532 (part) ; Glauert, 1929, J. roy. Soc. \V . Aust., 15 : 44 ; Noble, 1931, Biol. Arnph. : 1 14. Limnodynastes dorsalis var. typica Fry, 1913, Pec. Aust. Mus. 10 : 24, pi. 2, fig. 2; idem, 1914, Rec. W. Aust. Mus., 1 : 202. Limnodynastes dorsalis dorsalis (part) Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Han., 78": 21. Vomerine teeth in moderately long curved series separated from the maxillae by spaces equal to, or a little greater than, half the length of a single series. Snout rounded, not prominent, 1-25 to 1-5 times as long as the eye, with rounded canthus rostralis and oblique, convex, loreal region ; nostril midway between the eye and the tip of the snout ; interorbital space about as broad as the upper eyelid ; tympanum indistinct, its horizontal diameter about half that of the eye. Fingers moderate, the first very slightly longer than the second, the first meta- carpal also being slightly longer than the second ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; one or two small tubercles between the first and second, and second and third fingers ; a prominent inner metacarpal tubercle, with a bony prepollex and a flat, longitudinally cleft outer. Toes with a rudiment of web, variable in amount, but not more than \ ; inner metacarpal tubercle large, shovel-shaped, longer than its distance from the tip of the inner toe. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the tympanum or the posterior corner of the eye. Skin smooth, feebly granular or with some flat warts above ; a prominent glandular ridge from beneath the eye to the forearm and a very large, conspicuous gland occupying almost the whole upper surface of the tarsus. Smooth beneath ; anal region feebly granular, with two larger glandular spots one on each side of the vent. Pale brown or greenish above with insuliform, clearly-marked dark brown, sometimes light-edged spots in regular series ; a median series down the middle of the back, commencing with a triangular one connecting the upper eyelids, is bisected by a light vertebral line which is constantly present. A dorso-lateral series runs from behind the eye to the groin. Flanks spotted and splashed with darker, the inguinal region often marbled with white (? red) and brown. A curved bar from the tip of the snout through the nostril and eye to the fore-limb ; sub-aural glandular fold white or yellow. Hind limbs with dark spots on a lighter ground above ; hinder side of the thighs and concealed surface of the tibiae dark brown marbled with white. Lower surfaces white, sometimes faintly ; ; Schreitmuller, 1927, 38: 104; Weingand, 1928, 39:30; Geyer, /<>/;;. cit. : 195. 224; Hesse, 1932, 43 : 315 ; Luther, 1933, 44 : 362. I have been unable to find any characters whereby pkUycephalus may be distinguished from tasmaniensis, and in view of this and the fact that Loveridge (1935 : 20) refers two frogs from Kangaroo Island. S. Australia, one to tas- maniensis and one to plaiycephalus, it seems probable that they cannot l» retained 54 H. W. PARKER as distinct species. Limnodynastes olivaceus de Vis, on the other hand, appears to represent a distinct northern species and is not, as Loveridge (op. cit.) believes, a synonym of tasmaniensis. A few specimens of tasmaniensis in which the outer metatarsal tubercle is wanting approach the condition of olivaceus (q.v.), but the two may be distinguished by their inner fingers, vomerine teeth, subarticular tubercles and gular coloration. Specimens Examined. i.M. 45.5.2.34-36 3 ?? Tasmania. Gunn. Cotypes. 58.11.25.75-78 2 32. Hgr. and juv. " Van Diemen's Land." Smith. 1901.9.13.2-7 2, 4 $?. juv. Near Launceston. English. 1936.9.7. 1-3 2 0*0*. $ 11 ,. ,, 74.4.29.1243- | 1249 2 22. 7 $? Sandhurst, Victoria. Beddome. 74.4.29.1284-5I 64.10.27.54-55 2o*$, JUV. Queensland. Krefft. O" Rockhampton, Q. Darnel. 98. 10.19. 18-19 39 Cooktown, Q. Le Souef. 1901.0.13.9 Skel. $ Near Launceston, Tasmania. English. lus. Leiden 6786 $ Port Mackay, Q. (Godeffroy Mus.) „ 4252 3 Queensland. ( ,. .. ) ,. 4258 3 ,, ( ., .. ) Limnodynastes convexiusculus (Macleay). Ranaster convexiusculus Macleay, 1828, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 2 : 135 (Type locality: — Katow, Brit. N. Guinea) ; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 444 ; Barbour, 1912, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard, 44, 1 : 177 ; Fry, 1913, Mem. Queens- land Mus., 2 : 47 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 537, figs. 369, 370; van Kampen, 1923, Amph. Indo-Austr. Archip. : 19, fig. 3. Limnodynastes olivaceus de Vis, 1884, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 9:66 (Type locality: — ■ Mackay, Queensland) ; Boulenger, 1885, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (5), 16 : 387 ; Fry, 1915, Proc. roy. Soc. Queensland, 27 : 65 ; Nieden, 1923, lorn. cit. : 530. Phanerotis novae-guineae van Kampen, 1909, Nova Guinea, 9, 1 : 36, pi. ii, fig. 4 (Type locality : — Merauke, Dutch N. Guinea). Limnodynastes salmini (part) Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 19. Vomerine teeth in very long, slightly curved series, almost in contact mesially, and separated from the maxillae by a space much less than half the length of one series. Snout pointed, scarcely prominent, 1-5 to 1-8 times as long as the eye, with rounded canthus rostralis and very oblique loreal region ; nostril midway between the tip of the snout and the eye or a little nearer the latter ; interorbital space equal to, or a little broader than the upper eyelid ; tympanum indistinct, about half the diameter of the eye. Fingers moderate, rounded, with- out lateral seams ; first finger equal to the second ; first metacarpal as long as the second ; a very prominent inner metacarpal tubercle, with a bony prepollex AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 55 in males, and a flat outer, fissured longitudinally ; subarticular tubercles very large and prominent ; sometimes a supernumerary tubercle on the base of each finger proximal to the basal tubercle and indications of a tubercle between the first and second fingers. Toes cylindrical, without fringes or lateral seams, with the merest indication of web at the base ; subarticular tubercles large and promi- nent ; a prominent, oval, inner, but no outer, metatarsal tubercle. Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the posterior corner of the eye. Skin with numerous glandular areas above, which may be raised to form distinct plicae (often as a post-mortem condition when immersed in too con- centrated a preservative) ; a glandular fold from beneath the eye to the fore-limb ; lower surfaces smooth ; anal region granular. Grey or brown above, with numerous insuliform spots irregularly arranged in linear series ; the most constant are a quadrangular pair closely apposed commencing one on each upper eyelid and running backwards on to the scapular region ; a dark blotch commencing on the tip of the snout, running through the eye and covering the tympanic region ; a dark labial spot below the eye ; sub- aural glandular fold white. Limbs with irregular dark cross-bars ; hinder side of the thighs brown, mottled and spotted with white. Lower surfaces white, the gular region with brown or grey reticulations. Male with a vocal sac opening by a slit on each side of the tongue and a nuptial rugosity on the metacarpo-phalangeal knuckle of the first finger. Female without or with only slightly spatulate fingers. Length from snout to vent : <$ 44 mm. ; $ 51 mm. Distribution : New Guinea, Queensland and Northern Territories. This species is very closely allied to tasmaniensis and to salmini, but may be distinguished from either by the characters given in the synopsis. Loveridge, misled by de Vis' original statement that there are two metatarsal tubercles, concluded that Fry's redescription (1915 : 65) was based on a different frog and placed olivaceus as a synonym of tasmaniensis. But the type and other material examined reveals constancy in the presence of only a single metatarsal tubercle and the presumption is that Fry was correct. B.M. Mus. New Guinea. to about the centre of this tubercle ; an oval inner, but no outer, metatarsal tubercle.1 Tibio-tarsal articulation reaching the tympanum or the posterior corner of the eye. Skin smooth or somewhat warty and glandular above ; smooth beneath ; anal region feebly granular ; a glandular ridge from beneath the eye to the insertion of the fore-limb. Pale brown or grey above, with darker brown or grey spots and suffused with carmine or pink, especially on the upper eyelids. The most constant markings are a labial spot beneath the eye, a curved band along the canthus rostralis and from the eye to the fore-limb, an interorbital blotch and a subquadrangular mark (very irregular) from the scapular region almost to the sacrum. Sub- aural fold lighter ; limbs with dark spots and cross-bars above, the concealed surfaces pale, mottled and stippled with darker. Lower surfaces uniformly white, except that the edge of the lower jaw and the gular region may be very feebly stippled with darker. Male with a vocal sac opening by a slit on each side of the tongue ; first finger swollen but apparently without a spinose nuptial pad. Second finger of the female somewhat spatulate. Length from snout to vent : (J 47 mm. ; ? 41 mm. Distribution : New South Wales west of the dividing range, and southern Queensland ; probably extending into northern Victoria and South Australia. Specimens Examined. B.M. 88.7.3.7-8 2f the first and second fingers and a series of pustules capped with horny spinules beneath the lower jaw. Length from snout to vent : <£ 63 mm. ; $ 64 mm. Juveniles at metamorphosis (tail incompletely resorbed) : 12 mm. Distribution : Northern West Australia. 64 H. W. PARKER Specimens Examined. B.M. 96.7.2.19 (J 1937-7-22.36-40 3 6*d\ 2 ?9 Swedish Mus. 1569 1570 1568 (part) $ $ 6", 4 juvs. Roebuck Bay, W.A. Rabbit-Proof Fence No. 1 . Far North, W.A. Noonkambah, Kimber- ley Divn., W.A. St. George Range, Kim- berley Divn., W.A. Mowla Down, Mt. Alexa- ander, 70 miles south of FitzRoy River, Kimberley Divn., W.A. Dahl. Holotype. Nicholls. Paratypes. Mjoberg. Paratypes. Subfamily MYOBATRACHINAE. Cystigxathi (part) Tschudi, 1838, Mem. Soc. neuchatel. Sci. nat., 2 : 37, 78. Faniformes (part) Dumeril & Bibron, 1841, Erpet. Gen., 8 : 317. Alytae (part) + Bombitatores (part) Fitzinger, 1843, Syst. Rept. : 32. Myiobatrachidae, Myiobatrachina Bonaparte, 1850, Consp. Syst. Herp., Amph. Myobatrachidae Schlegel, 1850, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. : 10. Myobatrachidae 4- Cystignathtdae (part) 4- Uperoliidae -4- Brachycephalidae (part) 4- Engystomatidae (part) Giinther, 1858, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus. : 3, 26, 39, 45, 51. Brachymeridae (part) 4- Bufonidae (part) 4- Scaphiopodidae (part) 4- Cystignathidae (part) Cope, 1865, Nat. Hist. Rev., n.s., 5 : 97-120. Cystigxathidae, Criniae (part) Cope, 1866, /. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., (2), 6 : 67-97. Bufonidae (part) Cope, 1866, torn. cit. : 189. Alytidae (part) + Phryxiscidae (part) Steindachner, 1867, Reise Novara, Zool., Amph. : 7-34- Cystigxathidae (part) + Uperoleiidae Keferstein, 1867, Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen, 18 : 343-349- Cystigxathidae (part) + Alytidae (part) 4- Phryniscidae 4- Engystomidae (part) Keferstein, 1868, Arch. Naturgesch. 34 : 251-273. Phryniscidae, Phryniscina (part) 4- Engystomidae, Brevicipitina (part) 4- Alytidae, Uperoliina (part) 4- Raxidae, Cystignathina Mivart, 1869, Proc. zool. Soc. Lond.: 288-294. Cystignathidae (part) 4- Bufonidae (part) Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., ed. 2 : 183-432. Bufoxidae (part) Noble, 1922, Bull. Ainer. Mus. nat. Hist., 46 : 1-87. Ceratophriidae (part) 4- Bufonidae (part) Waite, 1929, Rept. Amph. S. Australia : 244- 266. Bufonidae, Criniinae (part) Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph. : 496. Leptodactylidae (part) Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 8. Tongue narrowly oval or small ; intermaxillary glands opening by not more than two ducts close to the mid-line of the palate. Prevomer much reduced or absent ; vomerine teeth vestigial or absent (text-figs. 13-15). Alary processes of the hyoid wing-like expansions of the lateral border of the hyoid plate (text- fig- 3. P- 5) '• sternohyoid and petrohyoid muscles attached to the ventral surface of the hyoid, approaching the mid-line posteriorly. Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus perforating the mm. graciles or their distal tendon, or passing dorsal to them. Sterno-epicoracoideus absent (Uperoleia). Presacral vertebrae S, and the notochord always more or less persistent. Key to the Genera. I. Ear fully developed. A. Maxillary teeth present. (1) Toes webbed ; a large fronto-parietal foramen (2) Toes free. (a) Fronto-parietal foramen closed in the adult (6) Fronto-parietal foramen persistent, large . Glauertiu. Uperoleia. Crinia. AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 65 B. Maxillary teeth absent. (i) Toes webbed ; a large fronto-parietal foramen . . Glauertia. (2) Toes free. (a) Fronto-parietal foramen closed in adults . . . Uperoleia. (b) Fronto-parietal foramen large, persistent. (i) Clavicles broad mesially ; epicoracoids meeting edge to edge anteriorly (text-fig. 20) . . . Myobatrachus. (ii) Clavicles not dilated ; epicoracoids overlapping . Metacrinia. II. No tympanum, cavum tympani, annulus tympanicus, columella (plectrum) or Eustachian tubes ; maxillary teeth absent Pseudophryne. GLAUERTIA Loveridge. Pseudophryne (part) Andersson, 1913, A'. Svenska VetenshAhad. Hand!., 52, 4 : 19 ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 150. Glauertia Loveridge, 1933, Occ. Pap. Boston Soe. nat. Hist., 8 : 89 (Type species : — Glauertia russelli). Maxillary teeth present or absent. Prevomer absent ; fronto-parietal foramen very large and persistent, the fronto-parietal bones being confined to the lateral regions of the cranium. Ear fully developed. Vertebrae procoelous,1 but the condyle incompletely ankylosed ; sacral diapophyses moderately dilated ; 8 presacral vertebrae ; coccyx articulating by two condyles. Omosternum rudimentary ; sternum large, cartilaginous. Terminal phalanges simple. Distal tendon of the m. semitendinosus passing through the tendon of the gracilis complex (G. orientates) or passing dorsal to it (G. russelli). Alary process of the hyoid a wing-like expansion of almost the whole lateral margin of the hyoid plate. Pupil horizontal with a ventral angle. Tongue small, oval, \ free behind. Tympanum hidden. Digits not dilated ; toes webbed. The species of this genus appear to be closely allied and to be descended from some Criniine stock. They may be distinguished from the true Crinias by their webbed toes. This difference, in itself, seems trivial enough, but the fact remains that these web-footed species represent one line of descent whereas the unwebbed species, whether with or without teeth, are a separate evolutionary branch. To include all of them in the same genus would mask their phylogeny and this seems adequate justification for the retention of Glauertia as a distinct, if not very easily diagnosable, genus. Synopsis of the Species. I. Maxillary teeth present ; a tarsal tubercle ; toes webbed at the base G. mjobergi (Andersson). II. Maxillary teeth absent ; no tarsal tubercle. A. Toes half webbed ...... G. russeli Loveridge. B. Toes \ to J webbed ...... G. orientalis sp. nov. 1 One specimen examined appears diplasiocoelous, but owing to the incomplete fusion of the condyle this might be an artefact. NOVIT. ZOOL., 42, I 5 66 H. W. PARKER Glauertia mjobergi (Andersson). Pseudophryne mjobergi Andersson, 1913, K. Svensha VetenskAkad. Handl., 52, 4 : ig, pi. 1, figs. 5, 6 (Type locality : — Noonkambah, Kimberley Divn., W. Australia) ; Nieden, 1923, Das Tierreich, Anura I : 150, fig. 197 ; Harrison, iQ2j,Rec. Ausl. Mus., 15 : 284; Loveridge, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 9. Head as long as broad ; snout truncate, very slightly longer than the eye ; nostrils directed upwards, nearer the tip of the snout than the eye ; canthus rostralis rounded ; loreal region slightly oblique ; interorbital space convex, once and a third as wide as the upper eyelid ; tympanum hidden ; occiput swollen. Fingers free, not dilated, the first much shorter than the second, which is a little shorter than the fourth ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; palm with rows of small tubercles ; two large metacarpal tubercles. Toes with a distinct rudiment of web and fleshy lateral fringes ; fifth much shorter than the third ; subarticular tubercles conical ; two large, shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercles, the outer obliquely transverse ; a conical papilla on the lower surface of the tarsus, close to the tibio-tarsal articulation. Tarso-metatarsal articulation reaching the posterior corner of the eye. Skin with scattered small warts above ; a large parotoid gland ; a similar gland along the flanks to the groin and a smaller gland on each side of the coccyx. Smooth beneath, except the hinder sides of the thighs which are granular. Pale grey above with a few large insuliform spots of which the most prominent are a kidney-shaped pair bordering the parotoid glands above ; the small warts light-tipped. Lower surfaces white. Length from snout to vent : 20 mm. Distribution : Known only from the type locality, Noonkambah, Kimberley Divn., W. Australia. Specimen Examined. Swedish Mus. 1567 $ Noonkambah Mjoberg. Cotype. Glauertia russelli Loveridge. Glauertia russelli Loveridge, 1933, Occ. Pap. Boston Soc. nat. Hist., 8 : 89 (Type locality : — Gascoyne River, near Landor Station, W. Australia) ; idem, 1935, Bull. Mus. comp. Zool. Harv., 78 : 37, pi. 1, figs. 1-3. Head broader than long ; snout triangular, truncate distally, a little longer than the diameter of the eye ; nostrils directed upwards, nearer the tip of the snout than the eye ; canthus rostralis rounded ; loreal region nearly vertical, slightly concave ; interorbital space flat, once and a half to twice as broad as the upper eyelid ; tympanum hidden. Fingers free, not dilated ; first much shorter than the second which does not extend as far as the fourth ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; palm with rows of small tubercles ; two metacarpal tubercles. Toes half webbed, the membrane midway between the third and fourth reaching the level of the distal subarticular tubercle of the third ; fifth much shorter than the third ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; two large shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercles, the outer transversely disposed. Tarso- metatarsal articulation reaching the anterior corner of the eye in juveniles or the axilla in adults. Skin warty above ; more or less granular on the abdomen and beneath the thighs. Brown above with indistinct darker spots and with or without a light (pink in life) vertebral stripe ; a light blotch on each scapular region (reddish AUSTRALASIAN LEPTODACTYLIDAE 67 orange in life) and a similar but smaller spot may be present on each side of the coccyx ; the two may be more or less connected by an indefinite zone of the same colour. Dirty yellow beneath, the throat sometimes freckled with brown. Length : <$ 23-5 mm. ; $ 30 mm. Distribution : Known only from the type locality. Specimens Examined. Stellenbosch Univ. 2 juvs. Landor Sta., W. Austr. Glauert. ParaTYPES. Colin. B.M. 1937.7.23.3-5 $?, Hgr. Glauertia orientalis sp. nov. Pseudophryne fimbrianus ? Parker, 1926, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., (9), 17 : 670 (Groote Eylandt). Holotype a male, number 1908.2.25.34 in the British Museum from Alexandria Station (190 08' S., 1360 43' E.), Northern Territories, Australia, collected by W. Stalker. Head a little broader than long; snout short, vertically truncate, shorter than the eye ; nostrils directed vertically upwards, close to the tip of the snout ; canthus rostralis rounded ; loreal region slightly oblique ; interorbital space once and a third the width of the upper eyelid ; tympanum hidden. Fingers free, the first shorter than the second, which does not extend quite as far as the fourth ; subarticular tubercles well developed ; palm with rows of small, round tubercles ; two metacarpal tubercles. Toes a quarter webbed, the edge of the membrane midway between the third and fourth not extending beyond the proximal tubercle of the fourth toe ; edge of the membrane raised into a tubercle ; fifth toe much shorter than the third. Two large, compressed metatarsal tubercles, the outer disposed transversely. Tarso-metatarsal articulation reaching the tympanic region. Skin slightly warty above ; a moderately distinct parotoid gland and a smaller, circular inguinal gland. Lower surfaces feebly granular except beneath the thighs where the granulations are more pronounced. Brown above, each wart lighter and ringed with darker ; faint indications of a light, mid-dorsal line ; parotoid and inguinal glands rufous. Lower surfaces dirty white, the gular region infuscate. Hinder side of thighs brown with a light (non-glandular) spot behind the knee. A vocal sac opening internally by a slit on each side close to the lower jaw ; base of the first finger on its inner side thickened and glandular. Length from snout to vent : 26 mm. Hind limb : 29 mm. Paratypes : Two males from the type locality, and a female from Groote Eylandt. These examples show little variation. The parotoid and inguinal glands are not always clearly defined and the digital webbing of the toes is not absolutely constant, varying from ] to .', ; in none of them is it as extensive as in (',. russeUi. The female has a deeply fimbriated cloacal flap, as in the genus Uperoleia. These eastern specimens appear to differ constantly from the western (i. russeUi in their shorter digital webbing and slightly shorter more acuminate snouts ; but it must be admitted that with reasonably long series, these differences may not be found to hold good and that the two forms may not be tenable. 68 H. W. PARKER B.M. 1908.2.25.34 '"// Mus. ""up- Zool. Harv., 78 : jo. < rinia michaelseni Werner, 1914, in Michaelsen & Hartmeyer, Fauna SAW Australiens, 4 : 416 (Type locality: — Donnybrook, W.A.) : Nieden, 1923, Inc. cit. Vomerine teeth usually present in transverse series behind the level of the choanae. Snout depressed, rounded, not prominent, 1-3 times as long as the eye ; canthus rostralis rounded ; loreal region very oblique ; nostril midway between the eye and the tip of the snout ; interorbitaJ spare once and a quarter to once and a half as wide as the tipper eyelid ; tympanum hidden. Fingers moderately long with subarticular tubercles ; palm with a few indistinct granules ; two metacarpal tubercles. Toes long, distinctly spatulate distallv, without dermal fringes' ; subarticular tubercles distinct but not prominent ; a single, inner metatarsal tubercle ; no tarsal fold. I tbio tarsal articulation reaching the eye Skin smooth above and below; a di^tinrt parotoid glandular thickening; hinder side of the thighs, beneath the vent, granular. 1 Fletcher speaks of a " tendency to fringed toes " ; Fry of a " distinct fringe or devoid of a fringe," and Wernei says " Zehen gesaumt." The specimens examined have no trace of fringes, but in some of the cotypes which are somewhat shrivelled there are lateral seams on the toes. 74 H. W. PARKER Pinkish grey or brown above, with, in young specimens, a large rectangular, dark spot commencing between the eyes and extending backwards almost to the hind limbs. This marking may have obscure mottlings within it and is not generally completely persistent in adults. Usually with increasing age a process of emargination commences posteriorly and spreads forwards ; the lateral borders are often more or less persistent, sometimes as lines, sometimes as rows of spots, and in extreme cases only a triangular dark interorbital spot persists ; synciput grey ; upper lip with one or two dark bars radiating from the eye ; a dark stripe from the nostril through the eye, interrupted on the parotoid region and sometimes continued on the anterior part of the flanks. Limbs cross-barred ; a triangular dark spot enclosing the vent, not clearly outlined below ; tarsus and metatarsus blackish towards their outer edges beneath. Lower surfaces white, more or less brown freckled. Male with a vocal sac opening by a slit on each side of the tongue and a glandular, non-rugose nuptial pad. Length from snout to vent : Augusta, W. Australia. Brooks. (part) Austr. Mus. R.8337 2