BRITISH MUSEUM. 11 



Building, wliicii is to be occupied by the Department of Entomology 

 until it is practicable for the permanent extension of that Department 

 to be undertaken. 



ExMbition Galleries. 



The congestion in the Central Hall, North Hall and Whale Room was 

 reUeved by the removal of some exhibits and the re -arrangement of 

 others. In the Central Hall the habitat group of African Elephants 

 was completed, the large African Elephant was remounted and placed 

 with an Indian Elephant in the middle of the Hall, the Mimicry case 

 was reorganized and examples of mimicry in beetles added, new 

 exhibits of Oceanic Angler-fishes and of Wood-wasps were placed on 

 exhibition, and some of the large floor-cases illustrating variation were 

 rearranged and provided with shorter labels. The statue of Darwin 

 was moved to a position near the entrance, opposite that of Huxley, 

 where it is seen to better advantage than in its old place on the staircase. 

 The skeleton of the famous race-horse " Eclipse " was placed in the 

 North Hall. 



Additions to other galleries include a case of London birds in the 

 Bird Gallery, and in the Geological Department a large armoured 

 Dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Alberta, and the great Pleistocene 

 elephant {Elephas antiquus) from Upnor, near Chatham, the preparation 

 of which had occupied 15 years. In all Departments the routine work 

 of revising, renewing and re-labelling exhibits was carried out. 



The Study Collections. 



Throughout the year the determination and incorporation of acquisi- 

 tions, the description of new species, and, when pressure of current 

 work permitted, the revision of the classification of groups continued 

 to occupy most of the time of the scientific staff and of numerous 

 voluntary and other temporary workers. It is opportune here to 

 express the Trustees' sense of their indebtedness to the many specialists 

 who have given their services during the year. 



A few of the groups of animals to which special attention was given 

 during 1927 are bats, monkeys, birds of prey, owls, and flatfishes. 

 The study collection of British Mollusca was for the first time brought 

 together and arranged on a geographical basis. In the Department of 

 Entomology the reception and arrangement of the three-quarters of 

 a million specimens comprised in the Oberthiir Collection of Lepidoptera 

 occupied much time. Many families of insects were revised. Fossil 

 mammals, reptiles, and invertebrates received much attention in the 

 Department of Geology, and in the Department of Minerals a re- 

 organization of the Rock collection, which had been in progress for some 

 years, was completed. 



Advisory and Economic Activities. 



Sir Sidney Harmer, K.B.E., F.R.S., continued after his retirement to 

 represent the Museum on the Colonial Office Committee responsible for 

 the direction of problems connected with Antarctic Whaling. A 

 number of members of the scientific staff of the "' Discovery " were given 

 facilities to work at the Museum throughout the year. 



