Evening star., 1952-08-08
vioIet-BIue Singing Frog
Found Living in Clouds
Broziliun Women Scientist
Tells Of Odd Amphibion
By Thomos R. Henry

A violet-blue frog lives in the clouds
and sings like a bird.
This latest discovered high-altitude
amphibian has just been reported by
DR.. Bertha Lutz of the National Mu.
scum of Brazil. She found it, together
with two other hitherto unknown spe-
cies. on the summit Of 10,0O0-foot- high
MT. 1tatiaia. in the Mantiqueira noun
tains on the borders of the states of
Minas Gerais and Sac Paulo. These are
the highest mountains in Brazil.
DR.. Lutz describes the new frog, hitherto
unknown to science, as having a purple
back spotted with old gold, bronze and
deep yellow. the number and pattern
OF spots differing with individuals.
Below the color is deep violet-blue.
sometimes with a suffuSion of pale gold,
yellow or pink spots.
Peaks Are Cloud Yelled.
The Mantiqueira Mountains are al
most perpetually cloud-veiled and the
little animal appears to be a creature
Of cloud-land, its curious color perhaps
having been borrowed as camouflage
from the blue of the sky.
1t has weak voice and its song is
slow but sounds very much, according
to DIR. Lutz, like that of bird.
1t is found chiefly in swift mountain
brooks part of whose course is SUBJ
terranean. and it is quite likely that
the amphibian spends much of its time
in the underground darkness.
Brazil is frog-land. A great variety
Of these ampfibians is found through
out the country, especially in the tropi-
cal woodlands. Nothing similar to the
new animal reported by DR.. Lutz is re-
corded In the collection of the United
States National Museum which has a
large variety of Brazilian frogs.
Are there white bats?
Ghostly white forms flew over the
mountaintop in the white light of the
full moon.
Either bats or Luna moths, or both"
said distinguished Smithsonian Insti-
tuition naturalist vacationing in the Vir-
ginia Blue Ridge.
About midnight a couple of Luna
moths. the size of small birds, with large
white wings outlined with a strip of
layendar lit on the screen of his window
and attracted much attention among
other naturaliSts present, for these larg-
est Of the moth family. flying specters
of the moonlight, seldom are seen alive.
although they are quite common in COLI
lectionS.
But some skepticism remained, for the
darting patches of whiteness seen earlier
still seemed to At better the specifca-
tionS for bats.
Could Be Due to Light.
But, according to Smithsonian NAM
malogists. there is no known white bat
in the United States or, for that matter.
anywhere. although albino varieties of
almost any species may be found. But.
it was explained, some bats have a griz-
zled coat which might we'll appear white
when seen in the right light.
There are two ways. it was explained,
OF collecting bats, which are almost
entirely nocturnal animals. One, of
course. is to get them during the day
when they are clinging to the roofs of
caves or rock shelters, generally rather
torpid. The other is to select Just the
right time in the evening, sometime after
sunset when it is dark in the east but
still light in the west although the sun
is some distance below the horizon.
Then, If one looks steadily into the
west, black silhouettes can be distin-
guished moving across the field of vision.
These are bats. They can be shot with
rifle if one is quick enough, but usually
ten or more shots are required for one
hit
Still, in this way, species Of the eerie
creatures hitherto unknown to science
have been collected. But no white bat
has been shot.