66 Report of the President 



preliminary to the construction of a large habitat group 

 showing the reptile life typical of the cypress swamps and wet 

 prairies of that state, besides a smaller floor group showing 

 the gopher turtle and its sandy habitat. Most of the material 

 was expressed from Florida (Kissimmee Prairie) to the Museum 

 alive, and has been used as models for making mounts and 

 wax casts for the group. 



The year 1915 has been one rich in valuable accessions for 

 the Department of Herpetology, the batrachians added to the 



study collection numbering 370, and the reptiles 

 Accessions , J . , r , _ ,-, . , . , 



090, outside of the Congo collection, which num- 

 bers 4,800 specimens (reptiles and batrachians combined). 

 The accession first in importance is that of the Congo 

 Expedition of the American Museum. These Congo speci- 

 mens are extremely well preserved. In fact they are in a 

 condition remarkable for a local collection, and when we recall 

 that the material was collected under the difficulties of climate 

 and travel in tropical Africa, and was kept in the tropics five 

 or more years before shipment to America, its condition is truly 

 phenomenal. The collection is particularly valuable scientifi- 

 cally, in having a large number of representatives of a species 

 from each area collected over, so that complete series are on 

 hand with notes on habitat, color, breeding habits, etc., for 

 comparative study. 



Other valuable accessions consist of the Douglas collection 

 of 72 reptiles and batrachians from Matabeleland, South 

 Africa, with several species new to the Museum; 31 specimens 

 in exchange with the Durban Museum, Natal, Africa; some 70 

 specimens added to the collection from the Florida reptiles 

 collected for group purposes; 250 specimens in a local col- 

 lection made by Miss Stella R. Clemence at Woods Hole and 

 the Elizabeth Islands; 12 specimens sent by Mr. Leo E. 

 Miller from Antioquia, South America; 25 snakes in an 

 exchange collection from the Institute Butantan, Brazil, and 

 32 specimens from the New York Zoological Society. Among 

 species of note accessioned are two specimens of tuatara 

 (Sphenodon punctatum) from New Zealand, an almost extinct 

 descendant of ancient reptiles, obtained alive through the 



