| OCR Text |
Show 1880.] PALAEARCTIC AND .ETHIOPIAN TOADS. 573 space between them equals that between one of them and the lip. The eyes are nearer the tip of the snout than to the angles of the jaws. The interorbital space is slightly concave ; its breadth equals about that of the upper eyelid. The tympanum is distinct, rounded, or a little higher than broad ; its diameter equals about half the greatest orbital diameter. The cleft of the mouth extends to the level of the centre of the tympanum. The tongue is elliptical, narrow ; it3 breadth contained twice in the female, twice and a half in the male, in its length. The parotoids are very prominent, oval, oblique, divergent backwards ; their breadth is contained hardly twice in their length ; they begin at a rather considerable distance behind the upper eyelids. The bodv is about twice and a half as long as the head. ** O The fore limb is as long as the body in the male, scarcely shorter in the female. The fingers are long and slender; the first equals the third and is much longer than the second, which is a little longer than the fourth ; the subarticular tubercles are simple, and larger and more prominent than in any other species of Bufo I have seen. A large rounded tubercle occupies the middle of the hand, and another, smaller and oval, the base of the thumb. The hind limb is slender; being carried forwards along the body the metatarsal tubercles reach the tip of the snout in the male, between the eye and the nostril in the female; the tibia is much longer than the head and does not show any trace of parotoidiform gland. The inner edge of the tarsus is tuberculous. The first cuneiform tubercle is moderate, oval, rather prominent; the other metatarsal tubercle is rounded, and not very distinct from the other large tubercles that surround it. The toes are rather short; the fourth is rather more than one third longer than the third, which is scarcely longer than the fifth; they are webbed at the base; the subarticular tubercles are large, prominent, and single-rowed. The integument is most peculiar. Above, the warts are very prominent, the larger ones composed of a central, conical, spine-bearing tubercle surrounded by several others ; the parotoids are very rough. The lower surfaces are covered with minute granules intermixed with larger spinous ones. The upper surfaces are brown, uniform in the adult, with a few angular symmetrical blackish spots on the head and body and across the limbs in the young. The lower surfaces are lighter, with some indistinct traces of dark spots in the male. The male has no vocal sac. Geographical Distribution.-Bufo tuberosus inhabits West Africa. It is very rare in collections. 10. BUFO TAITANUS, Peters. This species has been lately described by Prof. Peters (Monatsb. Berl. Acad. 1878, p. 208, pl. ii. f. 9) from a young specimen. It seems to be distinct from all other African Bufones, being most closely allied to B. tuberosus. Not having seen the animal, I will reproduce the diagnosis given by Prof. Peters. |
