SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 79 



DEPARTMENT OF REPTILES 

 Raymond L. Ditmars, Curator; Charles E. Snyder, Head Keeper. 



Although the Reptile House has been taxed to its capacity 

 for some years, and the collection of reptiles has always been 

 kept at a high standard, a number of features were added during 

 the past year, which were of a nature to make the building more 

 attractive and draw the attention of the visitor to important 

 specimens either of economic value or danger to man. 



The series of economic reptiles has been changed from time 

 to time so as to represent in turn the reptilian fauna of the 

 United States, that of continental Europe, of the West Indies 

 and other parts of the world. 



In order to attract visitors' attention to the poisonous snakes 

 of the United States and of other countries, and to convey an 

 idea of the character of country they inhabit, we have made a 

 successful trial of the modelling and painting of panoramic back- 

 grounds with accessories in the large snake cages. The effect 

 of perspective thus attained adds so materially to the already 

 pleasing interior of the Reptile House that we are rapidly push- 

 ing this work, and by the end of the summer will have the entire 

 series of large cages on the north side of the main hall of the 

 Reptile House treated in this way. The panoramic paintings are 

 the work of Mr. Ernest A. Costain. 



The first scene attempted represents a ledge in the mountains 

 of Sullivan County, N. Y., containing a typical rattlesnake den. 

 Another shows a rocky shelf on the Palisades of the Hudson 

 River, inhabited by a colony of copperhead snakes. One of the 

 most attractive of these cages represents a glade in a bamboo 

 jungle. The ground is occupied by Indian cobras, while the leafy 

 bower overhead is inhabited by several brilliantly-colored tree 

 snakes. Our visitors are thus enabled to examine the dangerous 

 reptiles in surroundings comparatively natural, note the simi- 

 larity of their colors to the tone of the vegetation, and the conse- 

 quent difficulty of immediately discovering the reptile close at 

 hand. The snakes appear to enjoy their new surroundings, par- 

 ticularly because they are given opportunities to hide when they 

 choose, although this latter habit makes it necessary to place a 

 considerable number in a cage, in order that there always may 

 be a certain number of specimens in view. 



Among the important accessions during the year, the fol- 

 lowing are worthj^ of mention : 



