it was not ancestral to most later lung- 

 fishes. But what will it indicate about 

 the ancestry of this group, and about its 

 relationships to other fishes? Will the 

 palate support the belief of most paleon- 

 tologists that the lungfishes and lobe- 

 finned fishes are closely related? Or will 



it favor the theory of a Swedish paleon- 

 tologist that lungfishes were a widely dis- 

 tinct group? We may hope that these 

 and many other anatomical questions 

 will soon be answered as the preparation 

 of the specimens advances and the de- 

 tails of their structure are revealed. 



Model of a modern Australian lungfish (NEOCERATODUS) on exhibit in the Hall of Fishes (Hall O). 



MUSEUM NEWS 



(Continued from page 5) 



Mr. Henry S. Dybas, Associate Cura- 

 tor of Insects, at the recent annual meet- 

 ing of The Entymological Society of 

 America held in Kansas City, Kansas, 

 was elected secretary of its regional north 

 central branch. Mr. Dybas also par- 

 ticipated last month in meetings of the 

 Mosquito Control Association of Illinois 

 in Urbana. 



On May 21, Mrs. Paula R. Nelson, 

 Public Relations Counsel, spoke on 

 Chicago's cultural activities as part of a 

 panel on "Leisure-Time Opportunities 

 for Senior Citizens." The panel was 

 one of a series of programs and exhi- 

 bits held at McCormick Place during 

 Senior Citizens' Week (May 14-21) un- 

 der the auspices of the Mayor's Com- 

 mission on Senior Citizens. 



Summer Hours 



Beginning June 28 and continuing 

 through September 3, on Wednesday, 

 Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (days of 

 the free Grant Park Concerts held in the 

 bandshell just across the drive from the 

 Museum), the Museum will be open to 

 the public from 9a.m. to 8 p.m. On 

 those evenings the cafeteria will serve 

 dinner from 5 :30 to 7 :30 p.m. Museum 

 hours on Monday, Tuesday, and Thurs- 

 day will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Through 

 June 27 the Museum will be open seven 

 days a week from 9 to 6. 



Page 8 



New Staff Member 



Patricia M. Williams has succeeded 

 Martha H. Mullen, recently resigned, as 

 Assistant Editor of Scientific Publications. 

 Miss Williams comes to the Museum from 

 an editorial position with the National 

 Retail Furniture Association. She is a 

 graduate of the University of Illinois, 

 where she majored in English. In her 

 present position, Miss Williams will as- 

 sist Lillian A. Ross, Editor of Museum 

 Scientific Publications. 



"THIS IS A 

 MAMMAL" 



(Continued from page 3) 



leus and incus, respectively, of mammals. 

 These three ear bones, now transmitting 

 sound from ear drum to brain, distin- 

 guish all living mammals from reptiles, 

 in which there is but a single ear bone, 

 the stapes. 



Where, during the course of this re- 

 markable transformation of jaw bones to 

 ear bones, does a reptile become a mam- 

 mal? If our new exhibit dealt only 

 with this critical period, its title would 

 have to be changed from "This is a 

 Mammal" to "What is a Mammal?" 



The models of the display are the 

 handiwork of Joseph Krstolich, taxi- 

 dermy is by Carl Cotton, and the design 

 and background are by E. John Pfiffner. 



Below: ^oology Staff Artist 

 Joseph Krstolich studies his 

 handiwork, a house cat and her 

 kittens modeled in clay. It will 

 be cast in plaster before being 

 added to the Museum' s featured 

 exhibit for June. The cat and 

 her kittens are included in the 

 exhibit to point out that only 

 mammals suckle their young. 



PRINTED BY CHICAGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSPUM PRESS 



