REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHES 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1891. 



By Tahlktox H. IIeax, Honorar/i Curator. 



The year 1890-91 lias been an important one to this department. 

 Many new and interesting lislies have been received and preserved, a 

 larj>e amount of correspcmdence lias been attended to, and tbe condi- 

 tion of the collections .i>reatly impro\ (hI. The total number of accessions 

 received during; the year is forty six. These have all been administered 

 upon, the s])ecimens catalogued, and the desiderata carefully preserved. 

 All tyi)es of new s])ecies, uidess too large, are at once bottled and })laced 

 in their proper j+laees. 



The assistant curator, Mr. Barton A. Bean, had charge of the depart- 

 ment during the curator's absence, and attended to all routine matters, 

 besides performing si)ecial duties mentioned elsewhere in this report. 



In the hrst part of the year the curator made an investigation of 

 Great South Bay, and reported upon the tishes found in its waters. 

 This was published in the Ke])ort of the Fish Commissioners of the 

 State of New York for the year 1S90. In the fall of 1890, in connection 

 with the Assistant Secretary, tlu^ curator worked upon deep-sea fishes. 

 During the remaining jtortittn of the year his duties at the Fish Com- 

 mission were such as to aUow no time for Museum work. 



The following are among tlie most important accessions received dur- 

 ing the year ending June .'iO, 1891, although by far the larger number 

 of the cont ributions made during the year aie interesting and constitute 

 acceptable additions to the (ollection : 



The MrsEi'M of Natukai, Histoky (Piiris, Frauce) : The followmg types of new 

 s]>e(ies of deep-sea iislies were transiiiitted : Neosioma quadriculafitin; Bathyf/udits 

 melaiiohrunchuii; Jtalhiipteroix dnbinH; Halosaurtis johiisonianus; Halosannis pfia- 

 Iwru.s; Xenodirmichtln/K fUHnalis; Mncrirriis simiUophori(,s; Leptoderma macrops; 

 Centropliorus squaniosn.s. (Ace. 23345.) 



United States Eclipse Expedition to West Africa (throuo-h the eoilperatiou of 

 the officers of the exi>edition) : Lar^e collections of tishes were made hy Messrs. 

 W. H. Rrowu aud A. H. Browu. These contained many desiderata from the 

 Azores, St. Vincent, Free Town, Cape Town, Elmina, Ashantee, St. Paul de 

 Loanda, Quauza Kiver, and Ascension Island. (Ace. 23272.) 



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