28 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Catalogue of Birds. Vol. III. (Coliomorphae). By R, B. Sharpe, 8vo. (pp. 344, with 

 14 coloured plates). 



Illustrations of typical specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera. Part I. By A. Gr. 

 Butler, 4to. (pp. 62, with 20 coloured plates). 



The Catalogue of Chiroptera, and the second part of " Illustrations of Types of Lepi- 

 doptera Heterocera," are in the press. 



III. Conservatiun. 



Of the acquisitions of Vertebrate Animals, only examples of large size, or such as will 

 contribute to the instruction of the general public, have been mounted ; some have been 

 exhibited in the galleries, others have been stowed away, for want of space, and are 

 reserved for exhibition in the galleries of the new building. Among the former may be 

 mentioned a Musk-ox and a group of Knots with their young, obtained by Captain 

 Feilden during the Arctic Expedition ; a pair of Coots, with their nest, and full set of 

 eggs ; the large Tortoise, from Aldabra, the largest and most perfect specimen of its race ; 

 a Saw-fish, fifteen feet long, &c. All the other Vertebrate Animals acquired during the 

 year, and preserved as skins or skeletons, or in spirits, have been placed in the reserve 

 rooms, be ng not the less accessible to the student. 



The work of re-labelling the stands in the exhibited series of Birds is still In progress. 



The spirits in the bottles containing the fishes enumerated in the seventh volume of the 

 " Catalogue " have been renewed, and the safety of the typical specimens has been secured 

 by hermetically closing the bottles by a bladder firmly tied round the neck. Also in 

 numerous bottles containing Crustaceans and Mollusca the spirits have been renewed. 



All the unmounted specimens of Insects acquired during the year have been mounted, 

 and register tickets have been put to all the Angolan Coleoptera (2,000 in number) from 

 Dr. Welwitsch's collection. 



IV. Acquisitions. 



During the last year 24,184 specimens have been added to the several parts of the 

 collection : — 



Vertebrata -------- 2,747 



Mollusca 2,281 



Annulosa -------- 11,475 



Eadiata (and Vermes) ------ 7,681 



Total - - - 24,184 



All these specimens, with the exception of those from the lale Dr. Bowerbank's col- 

 lection, have been marked with the date of their acquisition, and a separate number 

 corresponding to an entry in the manuscript register of accessions, In which, for future 

 reference, the name of the collector, the exact locality in which the specimens were 

 collected, the mode of their acquisition, and any other valuable Information regarding 

 them are entered. Many of the new and more interesting species have been described 

 and figured by the officers of the Department. 



The most important acquisitions were the following : — 



1. The entire collection of sponges formed by the late Dr. Bowerbank, and estimated 

 to contain at least 7,000 specimens. The, perhaps, most important part of this collection 

 is the series of British sponges which contains the majority of the specimens described In 

 Dr. Bowerbank's standard work, " Monograph of the British Sponglidae," published by the 

 Kay Society In four volumes. The series of foreign sponges is extremely rich in types, 

 described by Dr. Bowerbank in various journals, but contains also a great number of 

 unnamed species. This purchase further comprises all the microscopical preparations, 

 showing the textures of the British as well as foreign forms, together with two Manu- 

 script Catalogues, one of which is arranged systematically, the other chronologically. 



2. The type-collection of St. Helena Coleoptera, formed in 1875, by the late T. V. 

 WoUaston during the expedition to that island, specially fitted out for that purpose, and 

 described by him In his work, " Coleoptera Sanctse Helense " (London, 1877, 8vo.). It 

 contains about 1,550 specimens, some of which are the most anomalous forms that any 

 country has yet produced. 



Mammalia. — The additions to this class have been 209 in number, of which the most 

 noteworthy are the following : — 



A Musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) killed during the last Arctic Expedition, on the shores 

 of Grinnell Land, in lat. 82" 27' within a mile of the winter quarters of H.M.S. 

 "Alert," on the 6th of July 1876. The specimen is a bull, about four years old; pre- 

 sented by Captain H. W. Feilden, r.a. 



A series of fourteen specimens of small Mammals, collected by C. G. Danford, Esq., 

 in Asia Minor, and described by Mr. Edward E. Alston, in the " Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Society " for 1877 ; presented by the collector. 



A collection 



