SECRETARY'S REPORT 11 



quired by the division of birds. Other significant accessions were 

 749 skins, 43 skeletons, and 1 alcoholic specimen of North American 

 birds transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ; 246 birds 

 from Formosa transferred from the U.S. Naval Medical Research 

 Unit No. 2; 123 bird skins from Colombia by exchange with the 

 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota; and 236 birds from 

 Bechuanaland and Southern Rhodesia obtained by purchase. 



Small but noteworthy lots of reptile and amphibian material were 

 received from areas previously unrepresented in the national col- 

 lections. The most interesting of these are: 14 reptiles from Saudi 

 Arabia, donated by Dr. R. L. Peffly ; 6 reptiles from Swan Island near 

 Honduras, transferred from the Coast and Geodetic Survey; and 23 

 specimens of Leurognathus martnorafus^ a very rare species of sala- 

 mander, from Georgia, the gift of Dr. B. S. Martof. 



During the year 8,500 fresh- water fishes, collected by W. R. Taylor 

 and R. H. Kanazawa in the southern Appalacliians, and 2,285 deep- 

 sea fishes from the western Atlantic, transferred from the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, were accessioned. A 15-foot thresher shark, a cast 

 of which will be placed on exhibition, was donated by Harvey Bullis, 

 Jr. This shark is unique because of its long tail. 



The scale-insect (coccid) collection deposited by the Department 

 of Entomology, Cornell University, estimated to contain about 50,000 

 specimens including many types, comprised the most important acces- 

 sion in the division of insects. The John S. Caldwell collection of 

 nearly 13,000 lantemflies and psyllids and the Mark Robinson col- 

 lection of 16,210 scarab beetles were also acquired. About 16,969 

 miscellaneous insects from various parts of the world were given by 

 N. L. H. Krauss; O. L. Cartwright donated an additional 10,000 scarab 

 beetles from his personal collection, and he also collected 2,774 speci- 

 mens for the Museum; Dr. K. V. Krombein contributed 3,467 speci- 

 mens of mostly Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera; and Dennis E. 

 Puleston presented 2,764 miscellaneous arthropods collected by him in 

 Tahiti. 



This fiscal year was a record-breaking one for accessions of marine 

 invertebrates. The most important and comprehensive of these are 

 6,900 shrimps and other invertebrates from the tropical and sub- 

 tropical western Atlantic transferred from the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service ; a lot of 12,475 Antarctic invertebrates received from the Navy 

 Hydrographic Office; about 2,400 identified medusae from the Arctic 

 Ocean received from the Department of the Navy ; more than 18,000 

 crustaceans from northern Alaska presented by Dr. E. E. Reed of 

 Colorado State University; and over 24,000 crustaceans and other 

 invertebrates, mostly from Lake Pontchartrain, received from Tulane 

 University. 



