BY PURCHASE

6 Fossil fishes from Germany.

Contribution to Education

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS

G. KINGSLEY NOBLE, Curator

The contacts with Nature are few in a great city. But nearly everyone sooner or later breaks away long enough to make a tramp through the woods. It is perhaps then for the first time that the city boy sees a frog splash, a snake crossing the road or a toad hopping through the bushes. These are interesting creatures but often shrouded in mystery. How many of us have not been told that a toad gives warts, or that a garter snake can sting with its forked tongue? Hardly a week passes that the department is not called upon to show that these or some other such stories are mere superstition. This, however, is only the beginning of the educational work of the department. Teachers of biology-the science of life-realize how admirable are reptiles and amphibians in demonstrating the intimate correlation between the animal and its environment. Such terms as protective coloration, hibernation, adaptation, parallelism and many others which the high school student meets in his reading are demonstrated in our exhibitions. The development of the frog, the life cycle of the turtle, the habits of our common snakes are shown in our unrivaled habitat groups. That these groups are appreciated may be realized from the long list of questions dealing with reptiles and amphibians which the high school student is expected each year to answer. In our exhibitions, lectures and correspondence, the department serves as a source for exact information in regard to the cold-blooded animals which are frequently seen and yet so little understood. The first vertebrate creatures that ever walked on earth were Amphibia; the great groups of birds and mammals (including man) sprang from different stocks of reptiles. It is no wonder, therefore, that amphibians and reptiles afford us unusual opportunities for determining the beginnings of many instincts, habits and structures found in man.

Our attention during 1924 has been concentrated on the exhibitions for the new Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians which will occupy the entire third floor of the recently completed wing. Work in other directions was not entirely suspended. Field investigations in Panama and North Carolina were carried on with notable success. The year has been one of marked progress.

The Year

Through the kindness of Mr. Richard O. Marsh, the department was able to send Mr. C. M. Breder, Jr., on the First Marsh-Darien

Expedition to Darien

Expedition. The interest of the expedition was primarily centered on the much discussed "White Indians," but Mr. Breder was given ample opportunity to study the reptiles and amphibians of the regions visited. Through great perserverance and good luck he was able to make the most complete life-history studies ever carried out on any Central American Amphibia. Especial mention may be made of his studies on a large tree frog, Hyla rosenbergi, which builds its nest of mud on the edge of a stream bed. Mr. Breder investigated in great detail the breeding habits of a diminutive "cooing frog," Eupemphix pustulosus, that beats its spawn into a foamy mass many times larger than the bodies of both parents. A nearly complete developmental series of the eggs and embryos of several other Panamanian frogs was secured. Many fishes, as well as some birds and mammals, were collected by Mr. Breder during his sojourn in this unexplored part of the Isthmus of Panama. During the summer months, Mr. Clifford H. Pope, zoological assistant to the Third Asiatic Expedition, spent his vacation collecting data on the life histories and habits of the salamanders of western North Carolina. Although the American Museum has had one previous expedition in this region and both the University of Michigan and the New York State Museum have in recent years sent expeditions to the same localities, Mr. Pope was so fortunate as to discover for the first time the eggs of several rare salamanders and to send to the American Museum large collections of living eggs, embryos and adults. In less than two months Mr. Pope brought together one of the largest and most important life-history collections in the Museum.

Field Work in
North Carolina

The major exhibitions of the department, namely, the habitat and floor groups mentioned in last year's report, were greatly advanced during the year. The Gopher Turtle Group Exhibition was brought to completion; the Gila Monster and Sea Lizard Groups were finished, except for the background. The Giant Tree Frog Group is approximately two-thirds done. The Sphenodon Group has been delayed because additional information and acces

sories from Dr. Speight and Mr. Sladden of New Zealand have decided us to alter the original setting. Now we shall be able to show the Sphenodon at home in the burrow of a petrel with the rightful owners of the retreat passively submitting to their unwelcome guest. Each of the groups which we now have in hand attempts to portray some incident in the life history of the creatures and at the same time to demonstrate certain biological principles. Appropriate labels have been prepared which will emphasize these features and increase considerably the teaching value of the habitat groups.

Our exhibits are intended to appeal to a great variety of visitors. Many are interested in identifying particular reptiles or amphibians which they have met in their tramps. The species known within fifty miles of New York City are not all represented in our hall. Especial effort was made this year to fill in some of the gaps. Among the species collected and mounted this year were a mountain black snake, a common black snake, a ring-neck snake, a redbacked salamander brooding her eggs, a mud turtle and two fence lizards.

A large series of rare and important species was added to our synoptic series. Perhaps the most noteworthy were a Galapagos giant tortoise, presented by Mr. William Beebe, and two large land tortoises from Africa (Testudo pardalis and T. calcarata) received from the New York Zoological Park. An enormous African viper and two red rattlesnakes were mounted by Mr. Escherich. Other snakes included the Oregon rattlesnake, young and adult, a western diamond-back rattler, two western burrowing snakes (Sonora semiannulata), an albino bull snake, and an American ground boa (Charina). Some splendid wax casts of salamanders were made, including two western newts, a European Alpine newt, and a long-toed salamander. Other Amphibia placed on exhibition include Couch's spade-foot toad and the brilliant striped salamander, Eurycea gutto-lineata.

Several casts were prepared for shipment abroad. A cast of the giant African frog, Rana goliath, and one of the gila monster were sent to the Senckenberg Museum.

Additions to the Collection

The reptiles and amphibians added to the collection this year were received chiefly from the major expeditions. The adult specimens number 3,667, while the eggs and larvæ, which are catalogued by lots, will bring the total number of specimens well over five thousand. The adult specimens acquired by gift number 955; those secured through purchase, 628; through exchange, 496; through local field work, 145, and through Museum expeditions, 1,443. Especial mention may be made of the 232 lizards received from the Museum of Comparative Zoology in exchange for the services of the department in identifying a collection of Peruvian reptiles. The long series of gifts this year is listed below. The gifts of Mr. Griscom, Mr. Myers, Doctor Smith and Doctor Uhlenhuth have been of great value to the research work in progress. The purchases made this year, although few because of the limited funds available, have been well chosen. Several of the specimens secured in this way were described in some of the papers of the year.

Changes in Staff

The department staff underwent an extensive reorganization this year. At the close of last year, Assistant Curator Ortenburger resigned to accept the position of Assistant Professor of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma. The department was so fortunate as to secure, later in the year, the services of Miss Miriam E. Jaeckle, a graduate of Mt. Holyoke and especially trained in technical and bibliographic work. Additional assistance was obtained through the services of Mr. William Hassler who joined the department staff in the capacity of assistant early this year. Few realize the enormous amount of routine work carried on by the department. From five to twelve thousand specimens are accessioned and catalogued each year. The filing, arrangement and labeling of the specimens absorb the greater part of the time of two assistants. At the beginning of the year, the Associate Curator was appointed Curator of the department. The work of the Department of Reptiles and Amphibians, like that of any other department in the Museum, is extremely varied. We must be prepared to answer authoritatively the various inquiries from universities or medical schools which come to us each year, as well as the much more numerous questions raised by grammar school teachers or children. The diversity of our con

Special Activities of the Staff