DEVELOPMENT OF EGGS AND LARVAE

Eggs laid on June 5 by the pair kept in the laboratory were hatching on June 7, on the average approximately 48 hours from the time of laying. By June 8 all the eggs had hatched and the tadpoles were active. On August 28 and 29 thousands of newly metamorphosed young were in evidence on wet soil at the pond margin; in some the head still was tadpolelike and they had a vestige of the tail stump. These young were remarkably uniform in size, 15 to 16 mm. (the smallest one found was 14½ mm.) and almost all of them had originated from eggs laid after heavy precipitation, totalling 3.22 inches, in the first 36 hours of August. Allowing one day for adults to reach the pond and spawn, and two days more for eggs to hatch, the tadpole stage must have lasted approximately 24 days in this crop of young.

Wright and Wright (1949: 582) stated that the tadpoles metamorphosed after 30 to 50 days, and that the newly metamorphosed frogs are 10 to 12 mm. in length. Length of time required for larval development probably varies a great deal depending on the interaction of several factors such as temperature and food supply.