4 NORTH AMERICAN REPTILIA AND BATRACHIA. 
4,000 specimens, and which is believed to be unrivaled by any museum 
in the United States. A reference to a good published description of 
each species is added to the names used in the check list of the reserve 
series. 
The general series consists of specimens which may be used either to 
amplify the reserve series, or to distribute for educational purposes. 
The nomenclature and classification adopted are substantially the 
same as those of Prof. E. D. Cope in Bulletin No.1 of the United States 
National Museum, 1875, although in some instances this distinguished 
herpetologist has not been absolutely followed. This list seems worthy 
of publication as it will not only show what is possessed by the National 
Museum, but its deficiencies and needs as well. 
In preparing this check list and catalogue it has been deemed best 
to extend somewhat the southern geographic limits of the North Amer- 
ican reptilian fauna, so that at the present time it shall include the entire 
continent of North America, the extreme southern boundary being a 
line drawn from the extremity of the peninsula of California acrossin an 
easterly direction to the mouth of the Rio Grande. The deficiencies in 
the collection are indicated by a separate list. 
Considerable difficulty has been expericnced in furnishing English 
names for the many species of reptiles, particularly as the same reptiles 
may be known by local names in different parts of the country; and to 
this task was added the very laborious one of translating as literally as 
possible some of the polysyNabie Greek and Latin names. 
In preparing the collection the writer has been ably assisted at differ- 
ent tines by a number of gentlemen connected with the National Mus- 
eum, more recently by Messrs. 8. C. Brown, B. A. Bean, J. L. Ridgway, 
and John Yarrow. Without the kind co-operation and cheerful indus- 
try of these assistants the present list could not have been prepared. 
Mr. I’. W. True has studied the collection of Testudinata, is responsi- 
ble for the nomenclature, and his remarks upon them will be found 
under the appropriate heading. 
