REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF PALEOZOIC INVERTEBRATE FOSSILS 

 IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. 1891. 



By C, D. Walcott, Honorary Curator. 



The year's work, in its bearings npon the collections, has been in- 

 direct rather than direct, owing to the necessity for the completion of 

 certain publications by the curator for the U. S. Geological Survey 

 prior to the meeting of the Geological Congress in August next. A 

 large amount of material was received from the collectors of the Geo- 

 logical Survey, but owing to the pressure of other duties it has not 

 been transferred to the Museum. Dnring iho, past winter Mr. S.Ward 

 Loper has been engaged for several months working upon the acces- 

 sions and preparing them for the exhibition series; and there is now a 

 large amount of material that will be available whenever case room is 

 provided for it. Mr. Charles E. Keyes was employed during the spring- 

 to revise the exhibition series of Carboniferous fossils, and to bring the 

 nomenclature in accord with the latest authorities. Many of the 

 labels in the general collection had been badly written, and Mr. Oscar 

 Hinrichs has been emj)loyed for tlie ])ast six weeks in rewriting them. 



As a whole, the year's work sliows substantial progress, and this 

 will be more specifically recorded in the report for the ensuing fis<'al 

 year. 



The two most important accessions during the year are those from 

 the Geological Survey of Sweden and Mr. Thomas Euddy, of Wales. 

 The Cambrian collection from the Geological Survey of Sweden will be 

 of great value to all American students who are interested in studying 

 the Cambrian fauna and wish material from Sweden for comparison. 

 The collection of Mr. Thomas Euddy is one of the most noted in Europe 

 from the Bala series of rocks, and his generous presentation of forty- 

 four genera and eighty species to the collections of the National Mu- 

 seum will enable students to make direct comjiarisou between the 

 English and American upper Ordovician faunas. 



The amount of the material in tlie collections was increased l)^^ the 

 addition of G15 sjiecimens, carrying 84 genera, 158 species, and 1 

 variety. 



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