ty <?&73 Vol. 73, pp. 45-56 10 August L960 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON THE LARGE TOADS OF CUBA By Albert Schwartz Department of Biology, Albright College, Reading, Pa. The genus Bufo is represented in Cuba by five forms. The largest of the Cuban toads is Bufo peltacephalus Tschudi, which has an islandwide distribution. Under two National Science Foundation grants, collections of this large species have been made on the Isla de Pinos as well as in all the provinces of Cuba, and adequate material has now accumulated to make possible an assessment of the variation in the characteristics of the various populations involved. Over the years, my compan-ions have aided me greatly in collecting these large amphib-ians, but I wish to mention especially the aid afforded me by Ronald F. Klinikowski, Peter F. Pepe, Barton L. Smith and James R. Talada in taking specimens of the new form from the northern coast of Oriente. The illustrations of dorsal views are the work of David C. Leber and the drawings of the heads are by Peter F. Pepe; both merit my gratitude for their work. I have borrowed material from the U. S. National Museum (USNM), the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) and the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS). I wish to thank Doris M. Cochran, Ernest E. Williams and Philip W. Smith for their heart}' cooperation in the current study. Bufo peltacephalus was described by Tschudi (1838: 52) as Bufo peltOCephaluSj a toad whose coloration was brownish red with a pattern of hieroglyphs. Such a thumbnail description [eaves much to be desired as far as allocating this name to one of the two populations of the large Cuban toad. Although it was considered likely that the original material came from the vicinit) of the La Habana, use of the term "hieroglyphs" to describe the diffuse and blotched pattern of the Habana pop-ulation is not tenable. Strictly Speaking, I would not call the 9— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 73, I960 r> / ' J *V\ WSBKKS' AUG 1 W60 i AUG im imi
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