40 THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS OF EUROPE 



and many others have been bred there. Besides con- 

 tributing to the enjoyment of the pubHc, this aquarium 

 is greatly used for research work and the study of 

 anatomy. Here Dr. Kerbert discovered the hitherto 

 unknown fish parasite, Chromatophagus parasiticus. 

 This aquarium is justly considered one of the most 

 important institutions of its kind in Europe. For the 

 study of ethnography a large museum has been built, 

 in which is housed a fine collection of objects apper- 

 taining to that subject. Another spacious room was 

 built during recent years for the rich collection of 

 skeletons which the Society possessed, containing the 

 celebrated collections of G. and E. Vrolik and the 

 skeletons of animals which have died in the Gardens. 

 The total number of skulls and skeletons reaches 1,500, 

 and they are exhibited on long shelves. 



After the aquarium had been opened, three rooms 

 were reserved for the collection of Crustacea, Mol- 

 luscs, Echinides, Zoophytes, and Polyparies, with 

 the famous collection of sponges, which is unsurpassed 

 in any other museum. The total number of objects 

 kept in these three rooms is 5,976. In this part of 

 the museum is to be found a valuable collection of 

 marine animals, brought from the Arctic regions by 

 M. Barents and M. Varna. During the last three 

 years a collection of local animals has been commenced. 

 In the second room of the museum you find not only 

 a collection of stuffed animals and birds, with their 

 eggs and nests, but also a collection of indigenous 

 shells, fish, reptiles and the lower animals. The 

 insects are lodged in three cabinets — one for the indi- 

 genous butterflies and moths, one for the exotic lepi- 



