Pacific Northwest. Associate Curator Dybas has commenced a 

 revision of the Limulodidae, a family of minute beetles related to 

 Ptiliidae. Dybas and Research Associate Charles H. Seevers pro- 

 posed and defined this family, which includes about thirty species, 

 some years ago. Now a revision is necessary because of the receipt 

 of much additional material, with many new genera and species, 

 from Panama. Much of this new material was collected by Carl 

 Rettenmeyer of the University of Oklahoma, who has made the 

 largest collection ever brought together of this interesting group of 

 ant guests and has sent it here for study by our specialist Dybas. 

 Research Associate Seevers has continued his studies of the classifica- 

 tion of rove beetles (family Staphylinidae) and is currently preparing 

 a taxonomic monograph and evolutionary study of the species that 

 live with driver and army ants. Associate Harry G. Nelson studied 

 the comparative anatomy of the female reproductive system of the 

 dryopoid water beetles. Associate Lillian A. Ross continued her 

 study of spiders. 



Division of Lower Invertebrates. Curator Fritz Haas 

 made studies of families of land-living snails from the West Indies 

 and the Dutch possessions in South America, to be published in 

 Hummelinck's Studies on the Fauna of Curagao and Other Caribbean 

 Islands. Assistant Curator Alan Solem, who was absent from the 

 Museum until April for naval training, completed an annotated 

 checklist of New Caledonian nonmarine shells, reported on a collec- 

 tion of snails from a New Caledonian river drift, published two 

 papers on South Pacific marine shells, two papers on Indonesian and 

 Australian landsnails, and a review of the biogeography of the New 

 Hebrides (see page 108), and also started work on an eventual mono- 

 graph of the nonmarine mollusks of Panama. 



Division of Vertebrate Anatomy. Curator Davis continued 

 study of the comparative anatomy and evolution of the carnivores. 

 With Associate Waldemar Meister he prepared a paper on the placen- 

 tation and foetal membranes of a tree shrew, Tupaia tana. Research 

 Associate R. M. Strong continued his study of the anatomy of birds. 



Accessions— Zoology 



The extent to which our collections are growing is indicated by the 

 material acquired during the year: mammals — 1,271 specimens, 

 birds — 2,152 specimens, amphibians and reptiles — 4,117 specimens, 

 fishes — approximately 10,000 specimens, insects — 87,727 specimens, 

 lower invertebrates — more than 425,000 specimens, and anatomical 



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