Evening star., 1933-06-15
'DEMON'FROG HELD
FATAL TO LOOK AT
Puerto Rico Specimen, Sent
{ to Smithsonian, DisCov-
cred by Maj. Grant.

The first specimens of Puerto Rico's
demon" frog-the mere sight of which,
many of the natives believe, is fatal to
human being-have just been brought
to the Smithsonian Institution.
This tiny creature was first dis
Grant, an Army officer and grandson OF
Gen. u. S. Grant, who made extensive
collections of Puerto Rican reptiles while
stationed ON the island Before Mai
Grant obtained living specimen, the
frog was known only as a weird voice
issuing from wild mountain gullies.. The
Smithsonian specimens were obtained by
Gerrit s. Miller, jr., curator Of man.
mails at the National Museum.
The frog is found only in the Pandura
Mountains, where it inhabits the cavities
among huge masses of decomposed
granite with which the mountain sides
are strewn. Maj. Grant was first at
tracted by the strange song.
zone can hear from the surface of
q mountain gully" he says, "a most
melodious note coming from the depths.
A sweet, liquid pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe-pe
resounds from the gloomy caves, echoes,
jone is only voice; nobody has ever
seen one,' the natives say.
In the daytime, with a hashlight,
one can crawl down over tiers OF
junbled boulders to the hidden stream
bed Of disintegrating granite. The
guajones sing, but 1t is impossible to
locate them by ear. But the f1ashlight
and slender twig will serve to locate
them and dislodge them from the deep
cracks less than half an inch wide
ander the husks Of exfoliating granite.
or from the damp earth where soil and
boulder meet
1T took me three all-day trips to Sc
cure one specimen. 1t was only on the
third trip that I discovered their hid
ing places, and then several escaped
after being pried out. One might as
well try to bribe mountaineer to catch |
q ghost as guajone."
There is "a strange quality In the |
voice, which probably is largely re-
sponsible for the superstitious dread OF
the mountain people.
'It is strange enough when heard !
from the surface" reports Mr.. Miller, |
but it becomes even more strange after |
one has clambered down into the irreg- |
ular and dangerous openings, which |
prove to be much larger and more |
cavernous than the surface appearance, |
with its dense and deceptive covering |
of vegetation, would lead one to ex- |
pect. With flashlights the frogs are |
easily found and caught as they crawl |
SLOWLY over the damp surface Of the |
granite.
ITO the natives they are objects Of |
dread. One man said they were about |
a foot long and armed with frightful |
teeth. Another assured me that any
one who saw one would die soon after |
ward. No offer of money could induce |
the boys or men to go into the cavities |
in search of them
This fear, Mr.. Miller found, extended |
even to the dead animals in the col
lector's bottle, although the largest of
them was less than two inches long.
The creature is fantastic in appear
ance, chiefly due to its large, protruding |
eyes, which reminded Maj Grant OF
mouse ears, they stuck out so far. The |
edge of the eyelid is white, making q |
narrow, white line around the eye. The |
color of the iris is black and gold. The |
frog is light brown above and nearly |
white underneath. but some specimens |
have blotches of yellow, which add to |
their weird appearance.
Living as it does in the semi-darkness |
Of the mountain gullies. little is known
of the life history and habits Of this
strange creature, although Maj. Grant |
kept several specimens alive to observe
them. The most notable characteristic |
of their behavior, he reports, is the |
peculiar singing, which can best be |
initiated by whistling." This is be-
ueved TO be part OF the courtsnlp De- |
havior of the male.
The eggs, he found are laid in clumps |
of about IS, arranged in a single layer |
and pasted together on the perpendicu- |
lar face of a damp, rough boulder. The |
layer is covered with a thin film Of |
some viscous gelatin-like substance. |
The whole clump will peal off as unit. |,
At each group seen frog was sitting |
next to the eggs, but looking away from
them.
This frog has been given the scientific
name of Eleutherodactylus cooki and
its status verified as hitherto unknown
species. 1t appears to have been espe-
cially adapted for life on the boulders
of its restricted habitat. 1t Is poor
swimmer and does not go into the water
of its own accord. When placed in the
water its movements are clumsy and
it gets out as quickly as it can. On the
Y>crkS hownver II ic very opile