34 Report of the President 



MODERN INVERTEBRATES— DARWIN HALL 



In the past the invertebrates have been in the custody of 

 several departments which were not intimately related. The 

 appointment of Dr. Henry E. Crampton as Curator of the 

 Department, and the addition of Doctors Lutz, Petrunkevitch 

 and Treadwell to the scientific staff made a reorganization 

 desirable which would bring all of the invertebrate material in 

 one department. The previously independent Department of 

 Entomology was fused with this department and Mr. William 

 Beutenmiiller was made Associate Curator of Lepidoptera. 

 Later Mr. L. P. Gratacap was made Curator of Mollusca. By 

 these changes the insects and molluscs have been brought in 

 closer correlation with those of the other invertebrate groups. 

 For some years the lower vertebrates, including reptiles, 

 batrachians and fishes, have been in the charge of this depart 

 ment; now, however, they have been transferred to the newly 

 established Department of Ichthyology and Herpetology. 



The exhibition material in the Darwin Hall has received 

 careful attention, and many new installations have been added 

 to the exhibition. These include a Bahama Echinoderm 

 Group showing an association of echinoderms and other 

 invertebrates in the neighborhood of a coral reef; a Bahama 

 Sponge Crab Group centering about an association of the 

 sponge crab with a large reef sponge; a Bahama Oyster and 

 Mangrove Crab Group, and the Cold Spring Harbor Group 

 showing an association of mussels, fiddler crabs, oysters and 

 other invertebrates commonly found together on the Long 

 Island shores. 



The preparators have also completed about twenty models 

 in glass and wax, including specimens of protozoa, polyps, 

 worms and snails. The models illustrate the form and ana- 

 tomical structure of these organisms which cannot well be 

 illustrated by natural specimens. Other models are in process 

 of preparation. 



HALL OF LOCAL INSECTS AND INSECT BIOLOGY 



Several changes have been made in the Insect Hall. The 

 taxonomic collection of local insects has been moved from 



