114 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Mr. E. K. Bruce, of Thornburg, Iowa, presented ten fancy- 

 Japanese goldfish. 



Three specimens of the alligator snapping turtle were re- 

 ceived from Louisiana, weighing 70, 87, and 101 pounds respec- 

 tively. The heaviest of these turtles had a total length of four 

 feet and nine inches. 



A blue lobster weighing over thirteen pounds was received 

 in June, but like all of the giant lobsters taken from deep waters, 

 did not live long. Lobsters of bright blue color are very rare, 

 and this specimen, the largest blue lobster known, has been 

 mounted for exhibition. 



During the year 2,587 specimens were purchased by the Zoo- 

 logical Society, and 166 were presented. In addition to these, 

 eggs of several species of fishes were received from the U. S. 

 Bureau of Fisheries, which were hatched in the Aquarium and 

 later distributed in public waters. 



A complete list of purchases and gifts will be found else- 

 where in this report. 



Aid to Schools and Teachers. — For many years the Aquarium 

 has supplied small forms of marine life to teachers for stocking 

 aquaria in the public schools. During the year such collections 

 were furnished to forty-one institutions. The number of classes 

 visiting the Aquarium with their teachers was 108, representing 

 4,326 pupils. 



Paintings Showing the Color Changes of Fishes. — At the 

 request of the Director, the Executive Committee provided a 

 fund of $300 for the painting of certain tropical fishes conspic- 

 uous for their sudden changes in color and markings. Most 

 tropical fishes have the capacity of making changes in color in- 

 stantaneously, but little was known of such changes until the 

 records of observations made at the Aquarium were published 

 by the New York Zoological Society in 1909. As mere descrip- 

 tions were inadequate, and photographs were difficult to make 

 and lacked color, the making of paintings was desirable in order 

 to do justice to the subject. The twenty paintings, showing as 

 many species, each in the various phases of color it is capable 

 of assuming, should, when published by the Society, constitute 

 an unusually interesting contribution to the natural history of 



