DIVISION OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY — GILMORE 345 



With the closing of tliis volume a new system was put into effect, 

 the fossil specimens being entered in a separate book, designated as 

 Volume VII. This was the current catalog for the "Department of 

 Vertebrate Fossils." The entries begin at 30,701, and on March 26, 

 1891, when the book was discontinued, they had been carried as far as 

 No. 31,025. This volume is now in the custody of the Division of 

 Vertebrate Paleontology. Many of these numbers still remain on 

 the specimens, in addition to the current catalog numbers. 



In 1889 a card catalog was started by F. A. Lucas of all the verte- 

 brate fossils belonging to the Museum collections that had been 

 entered in the earlier volumes of this series. 



On November 21, 1891, a new system of cataloging vertebrate 

 fossils was inaugurated. The entries commenced with No. 1 and 

 continued consecutively, with 5,000 entries to the volume. This 

 method has been continued up to the present time, the numbers now 

 reaching 16,591. All those specimens deemed worthy of retention in 

 the collections that were entered in the earlier volumes were included 

 here, but each was assigned a new catalog number. 



Some time after 1903 (the exact date is not known), the entries in 

 the catalog books were supplemented by duplicate cards for each entry ; 

 these cards were filed in an alphabetical and a zoological series under 

 each class of vertebrates, as Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, and 

 Mammalia. This arrangement makes it possible to get information 

 regarding a spe<?imen in different ways. If the catalog number only 

 is available, the volume carrying the corresponding number should 

 be consulted ; if the' name only is available then the alphabetical list 

 is the most direct means. If information is desired as to available 

 material in a group, the zoological series gives it. 



The first entry to be made in the current system is "No. 1, Mosasaw 

 tooth, collected by W. S. Yates, February 11, 1881, in Greene County 

 North Carolina." The first entry of a vertebrate fossil in any of the 

 catalogs was in Volume I, "No. 929, Fossil Seal, Cast of bone of 

 hand, from Dr. Jeffries Wyman, entered in 1852." 



Cards of type specimens have the original citation, and a red 

 star is placed in the upper right corner; in the case of plesiotypes 

 or figured specimens a blue star is similarly placed on the card with 

 the citation. 



THE PRINCIPAL ACCESSIONS TO THE DIVISION OF VERTEBRATE 

 PALEONTOLOGY TO THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR 1940 



The following list of accessions, arranged in chronological order, 

 includes only those collections or specimens that have been of im- 

 portance in building up the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology or 



