V 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The pul)lication.s of tlie National Museum consist of two series: 

 Proceediuos and P)ulletiiis. 



The Proceedings, tiie Hi'st vohune of which was issued in isTs. are 

 intended primaril}' as a medium of puldication for newl^" actjuired 

 facts in ]iioh)o-y, juithrop()h)iiv, and j^^eology, descriptions of new foi'ms 

 of aniujals and phmts acijuired by the National Museum, discussions of 

 nomenclature, etc. A volume is issued annually or oftener for distri- 

 bution to libraries, while in view of the importance to science of the 

 })rompt pu))lication of descriptions of new species, a limited edition of 

 each paper is printed in pamphlet form in advance. 



The present volume is the twenty-eighth of the series. 



The Bulletin, pul)lication of which was begun in 1875, is a series 

 of more elaborate papers, issued separately and leased for the most 

 part upon collections in the National Museum. They are mono- 

 graphic in scope, and are devoted principally to the discussion of 

 large zoological groups, bibliographies of eminent naturalists, reports 

 of expeditions, etc. 



A (juarto form of the Bulletin, known as the " Special Bulletin," has 

 been adopted in a few instances in which a larger ]xige was deemed 

 indispensaV)le. 



The Annual Report of the National Museum (being the second vol- 

 ume of the Smithsonian Report) contains papers chieHy of an ethno- 

 logical character, describing collections in the National Museum. 



Papers intended for publication by the National Museum are usually 

 referred to an advisory committee, composed as follows: Frederick 

 W. True (chairman), William H. Holmes, George P. Merrill, James 

 E. Benedict, Otis T. Mason, Leonhard Stejneger, Lester F. Ward, 

 and Marcus Benjamin (editor). 



S. P. Langley, 

 Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



