30 REPORT OP NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. 



Dr. Tarleton H. Bean i« still the honorary curator of this department, 

 with Mr. Barton A. Bean as assistant. The number of si^ecimens re- 

 ceived during tlieyear is 4,737. Prominent amouj^ them is a collection 

 of deep-sea fishes from the Mediterranean Sea, received from the Mu- 

 seum of iSTatural History in Paris, France. The U". vS, Fish Commission 

 has transmitted a collection of fresh-water fishes from Arkansas, Ala- 

 bama, Georgia, Colorado, and Utah, made by Profs. David S. Jordan, 

 S. E. Meek, C. H. Bollman, and Bert Fessler; a collection containing- 

 16 new species obtained by the steamer Albatross from the Pacific 

 coast; a collection made by the Albatross in 1887-1888 at Bahia, Pata- 

 gonia, and the Straits of Magellan, and a collection from Chesapeake 

 Bay made by Messrs. Barton A. Beau and P. Seal. 



VERTEBRATK FOSSILS. 



This department is in charge of Prof. O. C. Marsh, honorary curator, 

 and Mr. Frederic A. Lucas, assistant curator. Few accessions were 

 received during the year. Twenty-seven specimens Avere mounted for 

 exhibition. The large and valuable series of western fossils received 

 from Prof. O. C. Marsh is being arranged and classified. The collection 

 now embraces 1,080 specimens, many of them being of great value. A 

 large amount of unclassified material is still in storage. 



MOLLUSKS (INCLUDINO TEKTIARY FOSSILS). 



Mr. William H. Dall, of the U. S. Geological Survey, is still in chaj'ge 

 of this department, and is assisted in the scientific work by Dr. K. E. 

 C. Stearns, as adjunct curator, and by Mr. Gilbert D. Harris and Mr. 

 Frank Burns, of the U. S. Geological Survey. The general operations 

 of this department liave been confined to the determining, labeling, 

 assorting, and registration of specimens, and to the preparation of 

 special reports on collections received from the U. S. Fish Commission, 

 the Navy Department, the Revenue Marine Service, the Department of 

 Agriculture, and from special expeditions. The collection of mollusks 

 in the National Museum now ranks among the most important in the 

 world, especially by reason of the scientific data associated with the 

 material and the thorough system of registration and identification 

 which has been api)lied to the specimens. Mr. Dall has been largely 

 engaged in preparing a general report on the Neocene formations of the 

 United States. Dr. Stearns has devoted much of his time to an investi- 

 gation of the mollusks of the Galapagos Islands, and the manuscript is 

 nearly ready for publication. 



The amount of niaterial received during the year is considerably 

 greater and more valuable than during last year. An interesting col- 

 lection of marine shells from Cara(»as, was presented by Mr. R. L. Bartle- 

 man, of the United States legation in Venezuela. The Department of 



