36 REPOKT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1910. 



A monograph of the molhiscan fauna of the northwest coast of 

 America, for which Dr. Dall has been gathering specimens and 

 data for 45 years, has now been taken up, the material having accumu- 

 lated and been arranged to such an extent as to permit of its being 

 systematically studied. Dr. Dall completed a review of the genus 

 Conus as represented on the west coast of America and conducted 

 various minor investigations on the land shells of Mexico and Peru. 

 Dr. Paul Bartsch continued his work on the east African collection 

 of Col. Turton, which has been interrupted by other duties but 

 will now soon be finished. He also WTote a few short papers on 

 small west American species. The monograph of the Pyramidellid 

 mollusks of the west coast of America, by Messrs. Dall and Bartsch, 

 the completion of which was announced in the last report, w\as 

 issued as a bulletin in December, 1909. As an instance of the 

 stimulation such publications afford to research in the line to which 

 they relate, it may be mentioned that, since the distribution of the 

 work, some 25 new species not included in it have been discovered 

 and forwarded to the ]\Iuseum by west coast collectors. 



Dr. T. Wayland Vaughan, of the Geological Survey, the Hon. 

 T. H. Aldrich, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Miss Julia Gardner, 

 of Johns Hopkins University, have had free access to the collections 

 for the prosecution of their paleontological investigations on the 

 Tertiary formations of the eastern United States. Mr. G. D. Hanna, 

 of the Geological Survey, conducted researches on the anatomy 

 of the small land shells of the District of Columbia and of some 

 Philippine marine shells, which were made the subject of a paper. 

 Mr. J. B. Henderson, jr., of Washington, spent much time at the 

 Museum working up the marine mollusks from off the southeastern 

 coast of the United States, where he has made extensive deep sea 

 collections by dredging. Miss M. C. Breen continued her studies 

 of the mollusks of the District of Columbia, spending one or two 

 days each week during the greater part of the year with a view 

 to preparing a thesis for a doctorate degree. Dr. H. A. Pilsbry, 

 Mr. Bryant Walker, Mr. H. W. Clapp, and Mr. F. N. Balch consulted 

 the collections at various times. The demands on the division 

 from correspondents for the identification of specimens have been 

 especially great. 



Marine invertebrates. — Among the accessions to the division of 

 marine invertebrates Avere several important transfers from the 

 Bureau of Fisheries, as follows: Opliiurans, or brittle stars, to the 

 number of over 7,000 specimens, from the cruises of the steamer 

 Albatross in Japanese waters in 1900 and 1906, identified by Dr. 

 Hubert L3^man Clark, and constituting part of the material used by 

 him in preparing the monograph of the North Pacific Ophiuroidea now 

 being published by the Museum; 20 species, represented by 235 



