The systematics of the Pacific tree frog, Hyla regilla

MUS, COMP. ZOOL. LIBRARY PROCEEDINGS JUL 1 9 1966 OF nil: HAHVANO CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENC*S^^f^siTY FOURTH SERIES Vol. XXXIII, No. 19, pp. 551-620; 13 figs.; 17 tables July 8, 1966 THE SYSTEMATTCS OF THE PACIFIC TREE FROG, HYLA REGILLA By David L. Jameson Department of Biology, San Diego State College Research Associate, Department of Herpetology, California Academy of Sciences James P. Mackey Department of Biology, San Francisco State College and Rollin C. Richmond Department of Biology, San Diego State College The first review of the western forms of Hyla was by F. C. Test in 1898 in which he made some dehghtful comments on the use of poorly preserved speci-mens, "meager material collected at points whose precise location and geo-graphical relation to each other were many times but vaguely understood"' and "the too ready and free description" of new specimens. This could be taken as a condemnation of some of the practices of the last 65 years of the 19th cen-tury. The first 65 years of the 20th century have been characterized by more of the same, including some astounding statements by the senior author. Un-fortunately the present work will not offer real solutions to the problem; in fact that is not our intention. If we can kindle the imagination, tease the doubters, and stimulate those who follow, we will have succeeded. We have collected more localities than Test had specimens (512), we have borrowed enough museum material to more than equal our own collections, and we have compared our animals with every North American hyla we could borrow and every hyla we could take the time to look at in our stay at the American Museum of Natural History in the fall of 1963. With real hesitation we offer the following systematic consideration of a portion of the genus Hyla from western North America. The data are too meager, and we have been too ready and free in our descriptions. We would like to wait another 12 years, but we face the fact that, like it or not. this [551]