Notes on the herpetofauna of Surinam : II. On the occurrence of Allophryne ruthveni Gaige (Amphibia, Salientia, Hylidae) in Surinam

INTRODUCTION In a recent paper, Lynch & Freeman (1966) discussed the systematic position of a small hylid frog, Allophryne ruthveni, described in 1926 by Gaige from British Guiana. They tentatively placed it in the family Hylidae, because it shows a better agreement with that family than with any other. The material available to them consisted of six specimens, all from "the foothills of the northeastern face of the Guiana Massif" in Guyana (formerly British Guiana). Since a few years the present author has been engaged in an investigation of the herpetofauna of Surinam (Dutch Guiana). During these studies, a fair number of A. ruthveni specimens was examined. In addition to the locality, of most of these the collecting date and some scanty notes on the habitat are available. During a collecting trip in Surinam from AprilNovember 1968, financed by grant W 956-2 from WOTRO (Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research), I was able to collect A. ruthveni in several localities and to assemble some more extensive information on the habitat. It seems useful to present measurements of the Surinam material in order to afford a better understanding of the variation in this little known species. Figures of Surinam representatives of A. ruthveni are given on plates 1 (figs, 1, 2) and 3 (fig. 3). DISTRIBUTION Apart from the Surinam localities, it is possible to add one from Brazil of which Lynch & Freeman (1966) seem to have been unaware. In 1958 Bokermann described a new species, Sphenohyla seabrai, from the Serra do Navio, Território Federal de Amapá in northern Brasil. This presumed species