Annual Report of T He
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ANN UA L R E P O RT T HE DIRE CT OR - O F THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY AT HARV ARD COLLE G E TO m PRESIDENT AND F ELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE 1 9 2 3 - 1 9 2 4 . ' CAM BRIDGE . A , U. s MUS EUM . RE P ORTS O N T HE SCIEN TIFIC RESULTS OF T HE E$ P EDITION T O TH E RN T P L P F I N H G F LE $ ND RAG AS S I z RO ICA ACI IC, C AR E O A A E , $ S F SH CO SS N ST E LB T SS F U . O C B E . I MMI IO EAM R A A RO , ROM TO T N N T C N D ~ T o R H 1905 . G ARRE TT L MA C , , LIEU E A OMMA ER L M , D N G IN P P TI N COMMAN I , RE ARA O ' R P B G L W Th e a . G . U E . h e Ostria . I . oodz . E O Stom topods w M LL R T O E Th e A i ri . CAB LG R N . ct na a M A Y J ; RAT BUN T he R H . W B . OE Th e N r an . C . m e e te s D eca od a g . H AN N T h e irri . J . H SE C peds G RS T . O . S . he Copepods. E Y L T h e . A W . HO E Cephalopods P r H . R BA T h e a . e rO P K M . te oda U CH S gittae te opods , p A NN U A L RE P O RT T HE DIRE CT OR OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIV E ZOOLOGY AT HARV ARD COLLE G E TO T HE PRESIDENT AND F ELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE F O R 1 9 2 3 - 1 9 2 4 . AM DG E . A C BRI , U. S P D F RINTE OR THE MUSEUM . 1924 . EUM OF COM PARAT IV E Z L Y M US OO OG . jfacu ltg . TT C W P resident O W E E O E . ABB LA R N L LL, C TT . T W O H . HENRY P . AL O J HN E AYER Z W Di r GEO GE R. G SSI . S E E S ector R A A AMU L H N HA , . ®fticers . W Director SAMUEL HENSHA . S UE G Cu rator o Re tiles Am hibians and F ish es AM L ARMAN f p , p , u rator M ls and Birds. OUTRAM BANGS . C of amma K t Cu ra or E chinoderms . HUBERT L . CLAR of W Cu rat r n o o oele terat . HENRY B . BIGELO f C es T Cu rator o th e G eolo ical ollections . ROBER W . SAYLES f g C D u rat r I nv rt rat P alaeontolo . PERCY E . RAYMON C o of e eb e gy THOMAS BARBOUR Associ ate Cu rator of Reptiles and Amph ibi ans . h n M rio ods and orms . P V . C E I Cu rator o Arac ids W RAL H HAMB RL N f , y p , P P As oci at u r t B irds. JOHN C . HILLI S s e C a or of T KS Cu rat o I ns ts NA HAN BAN or f ec . ’ n ARTHUR LOV ERIDGE Associ ate in Z oology (Reptiles and Amph ibia s) . ar t GEORGE NELSON P rep a or . EGI LD D S tu r i s Hoo er P ro essor o G eolo . R NA A . ALY g p f f gy RE P ORT . To THE PRES IDENT AND F ELLOW S O F HARV ARD COLLE G E : HE of M u seu m of o T staff the consists a Direct r , eight Curators, A o A o o . two ssociate Curat rs , and a Preparat r The two ss ciate o a o o o Curat rs and three of the Cur t rs serve with ut remunerati n , n h r o offi of o and a Ot e Curat r is an cer instructi n in the University , giving somewhat more than half of his time to work not solely in the interest of the Museum . It requires no exaggeratio n to show that the number of Curators is wholly inadequate if the present collections and the depart ments now without Curators are to be efficiently cared for and o o for devel ped . The most urgent needs are active Curat rs ' M ollu sca Cru stacea o . , , and Vertebrate Palae ntology The disadvantages under which much of the curatorial work is f on o to o o . carried , wing lack room and equipment , is also depl rable To note specifically a single instance : the collectio n Of inverte brate fo ssils was co nsidered twenty or more years ago to be well A provided for a normal increase and development . ppointed 1 12 o o 9 . o Curat r in , Profess r P E Raym nd has by his knowledge, o field- o S O persistence , and in great measure by his pers nal w rk , increased the collection that four large rooms are o vercrowded o with classified material awaiting distributi n , and large accumula . o not o tions as yet unstudied These additi ns are duplicati ns , but are in large part fro m faunas unrepresented or poorly represented r o o in p evi usly acquired c llections . The same condition prevails with the collectio ns of lower verte of . brates , birds , mammals, and with many groups invertebrates As o of n ted several years ago , the only betterment Museum research facilities involves the eliminatio n or further curtailment of laboratory work in the Museum ; a realiz atio n Of the former would lessen the natural anxiety felt for the safe preservatio n of o o o o absolutely irreplaceable collecti ns , c llecti ns that sh uld be free - from the dangers unavoidable with present day experimental work . 4 ANNUAL REPORT OF T HE l Professor Raymond has continued his successful field-work in New England and Canada ; he secured large series of fo ssils of the o o of Silurian , Ordovician , and Cambrian peri ds ; s me these pro ve o o t be undescribed , very many are rare and new t the Museum o . o o collecti n An Opp rtune disc very at Waterville , Maine , shows that the shales are of Middle Silurian age . Professors Charles ’ S ch u ch ert and E . H . Perkins fu rthered Professor Raymond s work . o hr During a brief stay in Bermuda , Mr Sayles f und t ee fossil $ o o in soils , his preliminary study c nvincing him that they rec rd er lacial o o t g episodes of the Pleist cene peri d , but that a definite o o l - conclusi n can be made nly after additional fie d work . In o Bermuda and in the subsequent study of the material c llected , n ‘ . o Mr . Sayles had the assista ce of Dr T H . Clark . At Ing nish , . o of C o o Cape Breton , Mr Sayles found s me beds arb nifer us age that suggested a glacial origin . o S o o Janu ar — Dr . Thomas Barb ur pent f ur m nths , y April , in the M o Z o West Indies and Central erica , m stly in the Canal ne , o o . (Barro C l rado Island) , where, aided by Dr Edward Wiggles o worth and Mr . W . S . Bro ks , large series of reptiles and amphibians were obtained . o a Mr . Banks also c llected insects and ar chnids, fully $ fl o o o specimens , during June and July , chie y on Barr C lorad Z k . ete Island . Messrs . J B . Shropshire and James , residents at o Z o Anc n , were most helpful in the work in the Canal ne , and we have to thank the United Fruit C ompany for many co urtesies received fro m its Officials . for of Dr . G . M . Allen completed his study a revision the genus o to . Myotis , and his manuscript has been f rwarded Mr G S o t- o o to Jr . Miller , , the j in auth r of the revisi n , be issued by the o of h is United States National Museum . In continuati n work upon the mammals collected by the Asiatic expeditions of the h as American Museum of Natural History , he finished his study o f the bats , insectivores , and two groups , (Cricetinae and Micro inae . t ) , of the Muridae h as . In his curatorial work Dr . Allen arranged , catalogued , and ’ so far as possible identified the year s accessions , aided the research F M USEUM OF C OMPARATIV E zo OLO G Y . a of a to o work several students , and ttended the usual l ans and exchanges . L o Of Mr . James . Peters has entered in the card catal gue the S f M 1923 kins o recent birds , begun in arch , , the Museum series of 14 319 e o o families , speci s , and specimens ; the t tal catal gued l o 1 A 1924 36 791 . t ugust , is fami ies , species , and specimens o . o Mr . Peters has als aided Mr Bangs in the general w rk of the ornithological department .