1556 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



[MTItRieiT. 



MONSTER UYIN6 WONDERS OF THE M16HTY DEEP FROM EYERY SEA, EXHIBITED IH IRON a GU5S TAHKS.l TO SOnETIN LENGTH, 

 A CONSTAKT STREAM W WATEB SBOUSHI FBOH THE ATUSTIC OCEiK S KFPI IN DSHlUnOS 8T POWIBFDL SIEAH EN6IHIS AT EKORSOPS tXFESSE, 



AN AQUARIUM OF FORTY YEARS AGO 

 From an old print owned by the N. Y. Aquarium 



The total for 1917 shows that the herd has 

 more than doubled in five years, and the half 

 million mark is almost in sight. 



The number of breeding females is ascer- 

 tained each year by actual counting of pups 

 born, the number of which for 1917 is an- 

 nounced as 125,712. 



In five years more the seal rookeries of the 

 Pribilofs will begin to look like old times. 



An Aquarium of Forty Years Ago. — The pic- 

 ture of the "Great New York Aquarium," 

 shown herewith, is from a large lithograph now 

 in the library of the Aquarium in Battery Park. 



The Aquarium, located on the corner of 

 Broadway and Thirty-fifth Street, was found- 

 ed by W. C. Coup, and was opened to the pub- 

 lic on October II, 1876. Shortly after the 

 project was set on foot, Messrs. Charles Reiche 

 & Brother, dealers in animals, became associ- 

 ated with Mr. Coup, who later withdrew and 

 was succeeded by Dr. H. Dorner, of the Ham- 

 burg Zoological Garden and Aquarium, who 

 became manager. 



The Aquarium contained 16 large glass- 

 fronted wall tanks, and 12 large table aquaria 

 for marine exhibits. In addition to 14 table 

 aquaria for fresh water exhibits, there were a 

 large trout tank and two fish-hatching troughs. 

 The fresh water supply was derived from the 

 City system, and the sea water was circulated 

 by a steam pump from a reservoir under the 

 floor. 



A guide to this Aquarium by 

 Dr. Dorner, published in 1877, 

 "describes nearly all the ani- 

 mals that have been or are on 

 exhibition." It enumerates 132 

 species of fishes, a small num- 

 ber of invertebrates, and a few 

 aquatic vertebrates such as tur- 

 tles and salamanders. There 

 were three floor pools usualh' 

 devoted to seals and alligators. 

 One of the pools was occupied 

 for a short time by a white 

 whale, (Delphinapterus leu- 

 cas ) . 



Mr. W. I. De Nyse, now of 

 the staff of the Aquarium, was 

 connected with the Broadway 

 institution for three years. He 

 states that at first the Aquari- 

 um was successful financially, 

 but later its exhibits were not 

 well kept up and the interest 

 of the public declined. The 

 central floor space was finally cleared of aquatic 

 exhibits to make room for vaudeville attrac- 

 tions ; but the favor of the public was not re- 

 gained, and the Aquarium soon ceased to exist. 



Huge Snapping Turtles. — The Aquarium has 

 received from Louisiana three specimens of tlie 

 alligator snapping turtle, (Macrocheli/s lacer- 

 tina), one of them unusually large, weighing 

 101 1/2 pounds. 



Their weights and lengths are as follows : 



1. — lOfl^ pounds, carapace 24 inches, total 

 length 4 feet 9 inches. 



2. — 87 pounds, carapace 27 inches, total 

 length 4 feet 9 inches. 



3. — 70 pounds, carapace 21 inches, total 

 length 4 feet. 



A very large mounted snapper of this spe- 

 cies from Memphis, Tennessee, that died in the 

 Aquarium some years ago, weighed 106 pounds. 

 Its total length was four and one-half feet, and 

 the length of carapace twenty-three inches. 



These large and vicious turtles inhabit the 

 lower Mississippi and rivers of the Gulf States. 

 They are the largest of the fresh water turtles 

 with the possible exception of the Podocnemis 

 expansa of the Amazon River. 



The greatest known weight of a Macroclielys 

 lacertina is 140 pounds. It is used as food and 

 often sold in southern markets. The powerful 

 jaws can break a stick the size of an ordinary 

 broom handle. 



