Copeia, Vol. 1944, No. 1 (Apr. 21, 1944), p. 64

1. The Hatching of Eleutherodactylus parvus Girard
Author(s): Bertha Lutz
Source: Copeia, Vol. 1944, No. 1 (Apr. 21, 1944), p. 64
Published by: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
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2. 64 COPEIA 1944, No. 1
April 21
THE HATCHING OF ELEUTHERODACTYLUS PARVUS GIRARD.-A clutch
of small Eleutherodactylus eggs was found by ProfessorAdolphoLutz, J. Venancioand
myself in a low bank of earth on the Tijuca Mountainsat Rio de Janeiro,Nov. 19, 1937.
There were ten eggs, grouped together rather like a mulberry. The eggs were rounded,
enclosed in gelatinous double coats, respectively5 and 4 mm. in diameter. There was
no foam, nor were they by the waterside. Black eye spots, the rounded outline of the
snout, and legs with perfectly formed toes were visible in the well-developedembryo.
These parts of the body were light gray. The forelimbs were less marked and very
translucent. The heart was quite conspicuous. The body was curved round the cream
colored yolk, with the feet pointed towards the chin, the heart under it and the fore-
limbs to the sides of it.
We took the eggs home and managed to keep them alive. Occasionallythe eggs
were convulsed by the movements of the embryos. Thirteen days later, December 2,
they hatched. When we arrived at the laboratory one of the little frogs was already
out of the egg and was trying to climb up the glass wall of the vivarium which was
filled with damp moss. It easily jumped 10 to 20 cm. The clutch was then observed
with a binocularmicroscopeand a few photographswere taken. In a few minutes an-
other little frog hatched. It first pushed out the egg shell with its hands and feet, then
tore at it with the hands and snout (armed with an egg tooth). A moment later it was
outside and jumped 10 cm. away. Three minuteslater it was leaping about, 30 cm. at a
time. The next one was lying on its back, with the egg yolk and the pulsations of the
heart quite visible. A vigorous thrust pushed its hind limbs out of the shell. Another
extendedthem full length and the froglet tumbled out. It lay on its back for a moment
and then turned over and jumpedoff. At the same time another one was trying to push
its head out of the egg. While lying under the camera it tore the shell with its head
and hands and steppedout. Five others hatchedduringthe day. Shortly before emerging
one was seen with its snout closely applied to the shell. The last was killed and fixed
inside the egg. The egg tooth, which is afterwards shed, was then visible.
At the time of hatching the body is quite oval and the digestive tract encloses the
remnantsof the yolk. The body is very translucent. The whole dorsal aspect is covered
with black dots on a metallic brown field. One showed a light mid-dorsalline. Another
had a white canthal stripe from the tip of the snout to the eye. Faint cross bars on the
hind limbs could be seen with the aid of the microscope. There was no vestige of a tail.
They were 5 mm. long. During the next days all the little frogs began to show the
characteristic shape and color, includingthe very noticeableblack anal region,of the only
small species of Eleutherodactylus found near Rio. Professor Lutz and I refer it to
Eleutherodactylus parvus Girard. The name E. rhodopis has been erroneouslyapplied
to this species.-BERTHA LUTZ, Museu Nacional, Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
THE PILOT BLACK SNAKE IN MINNESOTA.-No publishedrecordshave ap-
pearedfor the pilot black snake,Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta Say, from Minnesotaalthough
it was known to occur in southwestern Wisconsinand northeastern Iowa. On October2,
1942, W. J. Breckenridge, John Dobie, and ClarenceVelat, collecting for the Depart-
ment of Zoology and the Minnesota Museum of Natural History of the University of
Minnesota,encounteredtwo DOR specimensof this snake in Houston County south of
Reno. One, a female in good condition (MMNH No. 1178), was a little under 5
feet in length (143 cm.). It has the following scutellation: ventrals 234, caudals 66;
scale rows 25-27-23-19, upper labials 8-8, lower labials 11-11; head plates atypical, the
preocularson both sides being almost completely divided, and the lateral extensions
of both prefrontals completely separated from the prefrontalsproper, giving the ap-
pearanceof two loreals. The caudal count is unusually low. As Dr. Reeve Bailey of
Iowa State College reports that only slight indicationsof these variant characteristics
are to be found in his material from northeasternIowa, the specimen is considered
simply as an aberrantindividual. The other DOR specimenwas slightly larger but in
an advanced stage of decompositionand was not preserved. A third specimen,in the
possession of Emil Liers of Homer, Minnesota, was examined and identified; it had
been securedat about the same place in Houston County on September16 and turned
over to Mr. Liers. This specimen later was sent alive to Lew Johnson at Ashland,
Wisconsin.-W. Minnesota Museum of Natural History, University of
J. BRECKENRIDGE,
Minnesota,Minneapolis,Minnesota.