THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM 



eludes many species of snakes, lizards, iguana, horned toad, 

 running lizards, blue and green lizards of Europe and the 

 skink of Egypt, as well as the Congo monitor, the Gila mon- 

 ster and others. 



A representative collection of land and fresh-water tur- 

 tles, with skeletons, models and maps of distribution, ap- 

 pears next. The specimens include the rare matamata of 

 South America, giant tortoise of the Galapagos Islands and 

 examples of the leather-back, hawksbill and other impor- 

 tant turtles. A pictorial representation shows the extinct 

 giant sea turtle found in the Cretaceous deposits of South 

 Dakota. In all these exhibits the inclusion of skeletons 

 with the mounted specimens makes possible a clearer un- 

 derstanding of the animals under consideration. 



Birds, following the reptiles in order of evolution, follow 

 them also in order of exhibition, and on the north wall at 

 this point appears a reproduction of the reptile-like extinct 

 bird Archceopteryx, whose fossil remains in the Solenhofen 

 slates have proved so important a link between reptilian 

 and avian types. 



The synoptic series of birds follows, and the case at the 

 right contains the large ostrich-like birds, including the 

 ostrich, cassowary, rhea and emu, the rare and almost ex- 

 tinct Apteryx of New Zealand and the tinamou of South 

 America, the latter interesting because it seems to provide 

 a connecting link between the ostrich-like birds and birds in 

 general. Hawks, gulls, loons, penguins and other birds 

 shown in this case form an interesting introductory exhibit. 



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