1903,] OF THE PERCY SLADEN EXPEDITION. 233 



collections had hitherto been extremely deficient. Carried out as 

 it was with all his accustomed energy and courage, Mr. Robert's 

 expedition was completely successful in spite of the many difficul- 

 ties in his way, and of his being unaccompanied by any European 

 helper. The collection, of which the present paper gives an 

 account, is an astonishing one for him to have been able to obtain 

 and prepare with his own hands, in so bad a climate, especially as 

 so many of the mammals are of considerable size. Collections of 

 mice are much more easily made than of dogs, peccaries, coati- 

 mondis, monkeys, &c. ; and the long series of the difierent species 

 here envimerated speaks volumes for Mr. Robert's working 

 qualities. 



The specimens are all prepared in modern fashion, with flesh 

 measurements and separate skulls, and there are besides a number 

 of skeletons, so that, bearing in mind the inaccessibility of the 

 locality, the collection may be looked upon as one of the most 

 valuable that the ISTational collection has received for many years. 

 The thanks of all zoologists are therefore due both to Mrs. Sladen 

 for her generous help, and to Mr. Robert for the admirable way 

 in which he carried out his instructions. 



Mr. Robert started from Santos on the 15th April, 1902, and 

 after passing through the usual difiiculties and delays of quaran- 

 tine &c, incidental to entering Argentina, proceeded via Buenos 

 Ayres, Asuncion, and Cuyabd, Matto Grosso, to Santa Anna de 

 Chapada, a village situated at an altitude of about 800 m., on 

 the Serra do Chapada, some thirty miles N.E. of Cuyaba, arriving 

 there on the 17th June, and staying there collecting until the 

 29th November, when he came down the river again with the 

 results of his labours, 



Mr. Robert spent most of his time collecting mammals, but he 

 also obtained a considerable number of birds, some reptiles*, 

 moUusca f, insects, &c., all of which have been presented to the 

 National Museum by Mrs. Sladen. 



The present is the third considerable collection of mammals 

 that has been made in the district of Cuyaba. The first was that 

 formed by batterer in 1825-1829, and described in conjunction 

 with his other Brazilian mammals by Wagner and Pelzeln. The 

 second was that of the " American Naturalist Exploring Expedi- 

 tion " of 1882, under the leadership of Mr. H. H. Smith, and was 

 made at the very village, Sta. Anna de Chapada, where Mr. Robert 

 worked. The mammals were described by Prof. E. D. Cope t in 

 combination with those obtained at Sao Joao, Rio Grande do Sul, 

 where the expedition stayed before passing on to Chapada. 



No other important series from single localities have ever been 

 made nearer to the present region than those from the Rio Jordao 

 (Robert), Lagoa Santa (Lund and Reinhardt), Paraguay (Azara, 

 Rengger, and Foster), and those obtained along the eastern side 

 of the Andean chain by P. O. Simons. 



* Cf. Boulcngcr, supra, p. 69 ; Smith, srqmj. p. 70. 

 t Am. Nat. xxiii. p. 128 (1889). 



