Report of the President 71 



who seeks to enlarge the boundaries of fish knowledge will 

 know safely where to begin, saving much time and avoiding 

 gaps in his references. For completing this work and editing 

 it, much credit is due to Dr. C. R. Eastman and his associates. 

 During the year eighteen articles have been published by 

 members of the department and their associates. 



In the organization of the department a number of changes 

 have been made. Dr. Hussakof, associated with the depart- 

 ment since 1904 (present department organized 

 Administration ^^ hag redred frQm the curatorshipj and> 



pending the appointment of a new Curator, Dr. Dean is super- 

 vising the departmental work. Two provisional assistants, 

 Messrs. Arthur W. Henn and Ludlow Griscom, have been 

 appointed, the former to assist Dr. Eastman in the biblio- 

 graphical work, the latter to aid in the study of the Congo 

 fishes. 



REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



Through the use of a portion of the Cleveland H. Dodge 

 Fund, the department was able to send an expedition to Nica- 

 ragua. This expedition is returning in January, 

 191 7, after six months in the field, with large 

 collections of reptiles and batrachians, as well as of fishes, and 

 a large series of photographs and of descriptive and ecological 

 notes covering the collections. Nicaragua is interesting zoo- 

 geographically because of its position between the North and 

 South American continents, and because of the possible previ- 

 ous land connections with the West Indies. The collections 

 from this expedition will be especially valuable since no reptile 

 nor batrachian material has heretofore been brought out from 

 Nicaragua. A survey was made of the low eastern coastal 

 region and of a portion of the western slope of the Chon- 

 tales Mountains. The work will be published in 1917 by the 

 collectors, Messrs. Clarence H. Halter and L. Alfred Mann- 

 hardt. 



It was the good fortune of this department also to send Mr. 



