| Time of sample | Number in sample | Mean size in mm. | Size range in mm. |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 27 to 31 | 27 | 15.55 ± .079 | 15 to 17 |
| September 11 | 114 | 17.2 ± .033 | 14 to 20 |
| September 15 to 22 | 12 | 18.7 ± .090 | 16 to 20 |
| September 27 to 30 | 37 | 19.3 ± .055 | 17 to 21.5 |
| October 1 to 7 | 62 | 20.8 ± .072 | 17 to 24 |
| October 12 to 17 | 49 | 22.3 ± .092 | 18 to 24 |
By mid-October, six weeks after metamorphosis, these frogs had increased in over-all length by approximately 50 percent. Having grown a little more than 1 mm. per week on the average, they were approximately intermediate in size between small adults and newly metamorphosed young.
The frogs hatched in June were present in relatively small numbers compared with those hatched in August, and were not observed metamorphosing. In late August a sample of 33 judged to belong to the June brood averaged 26.2 (22-28) mm. long. A sample of 39 from the first week of October averaged 28.1 (24.5-32) mm. Frogs of this group thus were approaching small adult size late in their first growing season. Such individuals possibly breed in the summer following their first hibernation, when they are a year old or a little more. Because recaptured frogs were not sacrificed to determine the state of their gonads, the minimum time required to attain sexual maturity was not definitely determined. The available evidence indicates that sexual maturity is most often attained late
in the second year of life, at an age of approximately two years. The darkened and distensible throat pouch of the adult male probably is the best available indicator of sexual maturity.
Frogs that metamorphose in late summer have little time to grow before hibernating, and still are small when they emerge in spring. The smallest one found was 19 mm. long (May 19, 1951), and in each year except 1954 many such young were found that were less than 25 mm. in length in May or early June. None of the frogs marked at or near metamorphosing size has been recaptured, but the trend of early growth is well shown by [Table 2] and [Fig. 3]. However, many juveniles that were captured and marked within a few weeks of metamorphosis were recaptured as adults. The selected individuals in [Table 3] are considered typical of growth from "half-grown" to small adult size. Growth in many other individuals is shown in Figs. [6] and [7].