for the years 1917-20. xvii 



time is fully occupied in entering in the books particulars about those 

 that have been already classified or are being sent out for determina- 

 tion. I would ask any donor whose name is accidentally omitted from 

 this report, or to whom due credit is not given for his presentations, to 

 accept my assurances that the omission is not due in any way to lack 

 of appreciation of the assistance he has given the department, but to 

 the numerical inefficiency of our staff. 



Additions to the Zoological Collections. — The marine collections 

 received in the last three years have been comparatively small owing 

 to the complete cessation of the survey work of the ' Investigator ' 

 during and since the war. By far the most important are those 

 obtained in the Red Sea by Major R. B. Seymour Sewell, I. M.S., 

 while on active service and presented by him to the department. 

 Major Sewell after resuming the post of Surgeon Naturalist to the 

 Indian Marine Survey was appointed to act as Superintendent in the 

 Zoological Survey, with his head-quarters in Calcutta. It is to be 

 hoped that the zoological work of the ' Investigator ' will not be allowed 

 to lapse jDcrmanently. 



Our collections of freshwater animals have been very largely in- 

 creased owing to the prosecution of the survey of the freshwater mol- 

 luscs, more especially as regards this group but also in all other macros- 

 copic forms that inhabit pools, rivers and lakes. Among the most im- 

 portant general collections of these animals incorporated in the period 

 under review are those of the Inle Lake, of the Japanese, Chinese and 

 Siamese lakes visited on my tour in the Far East in 1915-16, and of the 

 waters of Seistan, Baluchistan, the Central Provinces and Madras. 



Mammals and Birds. — Few additions in these groups have been 

 made, with the exception of a large number of scientifically prepared 

 skins and skulls of Malayan squirrels presented by the Director of the 

 Federated Malay States Museums, in connection with the preparation 

 of the Catalogue of Asiatic Squirrels written by him (Mr. H. C. 

 Robinson) and Mr. C. Boden Kloss and published in Vol. XV of the 

 Records of the Indian Museum. The only bird-skins of any importance 

 recently received are those collected by Dr. Kemp and myself in Seistan, 

 and identified by Mr. E. Stuart Baker {Rec. Ind. Mus. XVIII). 



Reptiles and Batrachia.— No very outstanding set of reptiles has 

 been added, but a number of interesting Batrachia have been re- 

 ceived, including duplicates of the collection made by Mr. H. C. 

 Robinson in Java, specimens from Siam presented by Dr. Malcolm 

 Smith and a number of frogs and toads collected by Dr. and Mrs. Kemp 

 in the Garo Hills and the Himalayas. Among those obtained in the 

 former range are the type-specimens of several new species, described 

 in the Records of the Indian Museum by Dr. G. A. Boulenger, who is 

 kindly working through all additions in this group from interesting 

 localities. We have to thank Lieutenant-Colonel F. Wall, I. M.S., 

 for naming the snakes received from various sources and thus making 

 it possible to incorporate them in the research collection. 



Fish. — The collections of freshwater fish recently obtained have 

 been of great imortance. They include a small but valuable set of 



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