126 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



and made it possible to accurately determine some still doubtful 

 points. 



4. The entire neuraxis was removed in excellent condition 

 for histological study and is now being embedded for serial 

 section. 



Another accession which should be especially mentioned 

 in this report is the recent receipt of a foetus near term of 

 the pigmy sperm whale, Kogia hreviceps. This unique specimen 

 the Prosector owes to the scientific interest and liberality of 

 Prof. F. A. Lucas, Director of the American Museum of Natural 

 History. It was removed from the uterus of an adult purchased 

 by the Museum and reached the laboratory in perfect condition. 

 Many of the anatomical structural details of this whale are 

 either unknown at the present time or very imperfectly deter- 

 mined. It is hoped that the receipt of this fresh and well-preserved 

 material will make an important scientific contribution to this 

 subject possible. The study of the head, including the nasal 

 passage and the larynx, has been placed in the charge of Dr. J. D. 

 Kernan, who has already published his observations on the soft 

 parts of Kogia and other cetacean material in the "Annals of the 

 New York Academy of Sciences." 



The Prosector's Department keenly realizes that the oppor- 

 tunity for the study of two immature and fresh specimens of 

 hippopotamus and Kogia is a most unusual and fortunate occur- 

 rence. The unwieldy bulk of the representatives of these types 

 which occasionally become available makes a careful and com- 

 plete morphological study practically impossible. In these two 

 unique specimens, dwarf character and age have both cooperated 

 to obviate this difficulty and have made complete fixation of the 

 tissues attainable, ensuring a vastly increased range of exact ana- 

 tomical investigation. 



The routine work of the Department and the additions to the 

 research series have proceeded during the year as outlined in 

 previous reports and nave been productive. 



The Prosector takes pleasure in stating that the neurologi- 

 cal work under Professor Tilney's charge has reached a point 

 where the Primate series includes complete serial sections of the 

 following brains : Gorilla, Orang, Chimpanzee, Gibbon, Macacus, 

 Cynocephalus, Cehns, Ateles, Mijcetes, Hapale and Lemur. 



