ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



627 



REVIEW OF THE REPTILE EXHIBITS OF THE 

 ZOOLOGICAL PARK 



By RAVMOXD L. DITMARS 

 Curator of Reptiles 



WITH the object always in view of keep- 

 ing a representative collection of reptiles 

 of the world on exhibition, the curator 

 of this department has been constantly in 

 touch, during the past ten years, with the 

 various sources whence come interesting rep- 

 tiles and batrachians of the tropical and tem- 

 perate latitudes. An imposing aggregation of 

 scaled and plated creatures from many widel}' 

 separated localities has occupied the cages of 

 our Reptile House during its ten-years' ex- 

 istence. Several of these reptilian exhibits 

 have been recorded as the first living examples 

 ever transported from their native wilds. 

 Among these have been many deadly snakes — 

 the educational and practical value in the ex- 

 hibition of which may be immediately sur- 

 mised. 



With the close of our work at the end of 

 our first ten-year period, comes the realization 

 that we have reliable agents to represent us in 

 many parts of the world, and our resources 

 may be relied upon to quickly close gaps made 

 in our collection by death among the specimens. 

 As an example of the care taken to maintain 

 a complete series of the reptiles and batra- 

 chians of the L'nited States, it must be ex- 

 plained that we have agents in all the various 

 districts corresponding to the many life zones 

 of the reptilian fauna of this country. The 

 divisions of this fauna cover the deserts of 

 the Southwest, the Pacific slopes, the Great 

 Plains, the Texas region, the rich coastal 

 swamps of the Southeast, and other regions 

 of lesser area. 



For the purpose of making the Reptile 

 House as comprehensive and instructive as 

 possible, a number of expeditions have been 

 organized, in order that quantities of certain 

 important species might be collected. Several 

 of these expeditions were for the purpose of 

 collecting reptiles not before exhibited col- 

 lectively. One of these trips, to the low 

 grounds bordering the Savannah River, re- 

 sulted in the capture of over five hundred ser- 

 pents, representing a great number of species. 

 After several years this expedition was re- 

 peated. Regular expeditions to the ledges of 

 the Taconic Mountains, in Massachusetts, with 



their dens of rattlesnakes, have made possible 

 the exhibition of large colonies of these poison- 

 ous reptiles. 



The collection is thus kept at a uniformly 

 high standard. Orders are always outstanding 

 with our agents for those particularly interest- 

 ing species of the tropics that are notoriously 

 short-lived. As many of the smaller rep- 

 tiles are very delicate, gaps caused by death are 

 immediately filled by specimens from different 

 localities. Thus our collections are varied 

 from time to time. New specimens are being 

 constantly added during the warm months, and, 

 if possible, grouped to form fresh and striking 

 features, the significance of which is shown 

 on explanatory labels. The average number of 

 serpents, lizards, crocodilians and chelonians 

 on exhibition in the Reptiles House is about 

 fifteen hundred. These represent an average 

 of about two hundred species. 



Besides presenting a review of the work 

 done in the Reptile Department since the open- 

 ing of the Park, it is the purpose of this article 

 to mention some of the rarer reptiles that have 

 lived in the collection. Before so doing it will 

 be of interest to mention some of the reptiles 

 that have lived longest since the opening of the 

 Park a little more than ten years ago. 



A series of alligators, captured in the vicinity 

 of the Indian River, and purchased of Mrs. C. 

 F. Latham, Florida, was installed ten years 

 and four months from the present date. All of 

 these animals are to-day in perfect condition, 

 with the exception of one large specimen that 

 died from old age. These animals have all 

 increased to twice their size upon arrival. One 

 example has grown from a length of five feet, 

 into a monster of slightly over twelve feet. 

 Our oldest alligators have been twenty-two 

 years in captivity. These were donated to the 

 Society bv the writer at the opening of the 

 Park. ■ 



Among the turtles and tortoises are many 

 specimens that have thrived ever since the 

 official opening of the Reptile House. The 

 oldest serpents in the builtling are two Cotton- 

 Mouth Moccasins, a pair, bred in separate 

 litters by the writer over fourteen years ago. 

 These snakes have bred several times since 



