36 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1911. 



of the steamer Albatross to the Philippine Islands, the material from 

 this expedition containing many species new to the Museum from 

 Celebes, Amboina, etc. The Hon. J. D. Mitchell, of Victoria, Texas, 

 presented a well-preserved and well-labeled series of 187 specimens 

 from Texas, the result of many years' collecting; and Mr. H. Sauter, 

 of Anping, Formosa, 72 batrachians from the southern part of that 

 island. A single specimen of a small lizard with degenerate legs, 

 received as a gift from Mr. A. G. Reynolds, of Veteran, Florida, 

 proved to be one of the most remarkable recent discoveries in North 

 American herpetology, as its relationship seems to be with species 

 inhabiting the eastern Mediterranean and Persian regions of the 

 Old World. It was described during the year by the curator as 

 Neoseps reynoldsi. Mr. Allan H. Jennings, of Ancon, Canal Zone, 

 contributed the unique type of a remarkable new tree toad from 

 Panama, and Mr. C. H. T. Townsend, of Piura, Peru, the type of a 

 new Amphisbsenoid lizard. Mr. A. Alfaro, of San Jose, Costa Rica, 

 presented five specimens representing three species, two of which 

 were undescribed. 



The entire collection of the division was transferred to the new 

 building early in the year, and the rearrangement and installation 

 of the North American reserve series of both reptiles and batrachians 

 were practically completed by the end of the year. In this work was 

 included the card-cataloguing of the North American specimens, each 

 jar being represented by two cards, one for the systematic, the other 

 for the geographic record. The types have been segregated and 

 nearly all are card-catalogued, full reference to the original descrip- 

 tion and illustration of the species being recorded on the cards. A 

 separate card index to this series has also been made. 



While the curator, Dr. Leonhard Stejneger, prepared a number 

 of descriptions of new species, routine work in connection with the 

 moving, and the verification of the old records and identifications, 

 which in many cases involved considerable research, occupied essen- 

 tially all of his time. Mr. Thomas Barbour visited the division on 

 several occasions for the purpose of examining material in connection 

 with his studies of the herpetology of the Malay Archipelago. 



Fishes. — There were received as transfers from the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries 2,911 specimens of fishes from North Carolina, 

 Virginia, the lower Potomac River, and Indiana; and 64 specimens, 

 chiefly of lake herring, including types of several new species, col- 

 lected in the Great Lakes by the International Fisheries Commis- 

 sion. The last shipments from the Smithsonian African Expedi- 

 tion contained a valuable series of fishes from the River Nile. A 

 collection from Wisconsin was presented by Mr. N. Hollister, of 

 the Museum staff, and another from Bemus Point, New York, was 

 contributed by the New York Forest, Fish, and Game Commission. 



