J2 Report of the President 



Emmett R. Dunn, instructor in zoology at Smith College, to 

 the mountains of North Carolina for two months of the sum- 

 mer to make reptile and batrachian collections. This region 

 is particularly interesting as a center of distribution of sala- 

 manders, and presents many peculiar forms. Type localities 

 were visited and some one thousand specimens collected, not- 

 withstanding considerable interference in plans by floods, which 

 made many localities inaccessible by the usual routes. The 

 collection contains some new species and large developmental 

 series with larval forms never before recorded. 



Reptile collections are being made for the department by 

 Mr. Roy Chapman Andrews, of the Museum's Asiatic Zoologi- 

 cal Expedition ; one shipment has already been received. Also 

 Mr. L. W. Williams, of Yale University, is acting as the 

 Museum's representative in reptile work in China. 



The department's resources have been greatly strengthened 

 by its accessions of the year, the number of reptiles totaling 

 1,065 an d the batrachians 1,398, outside of the col- 

 lection of 2,500 Nicaragua specimens not yet re- 

 ceived from the field. One of the largest accessions (861 

 salamanders alone) is the collection made in the mountains of 

 North Carolina by Mr. Dunn. Much valuable exchange and 

 reference material from the southeastern United States has 

 been accumulated during the study for the Florida group. In 

 this connection must be mentioned a gift of 269 specimens 

 from Mr. Arthur L. Gillam. 



A British Guiana collection has been received from Mr. C 

 William Beebe direct from the field and through the New 

 York Zoological Society; a Dutch Guiana collection has been 

 purchased ; also a small collection from Argentina and Bolivia 

 has come in from the Museum's South American expedition. 

 The Albany Museum at Grahamstown, Africa, has given the 

 department an unusually valuable collection in an exchange 

 for exhibition reptile material. Also there have arrived a small 

 collection of Colombian reptiles from the British Museum and 

 a strikingly valuable collection from Dr. Malcolm A. Smith, 

 of Siam. 



