Jan., 1913. Annual Report of the Director. 



209 



exliibition material was obtained, including four separate slabs of 

 trilobites. The largest of these slabs has a surface of about one square 

 foot. Mr. A. G. Becker of Clermont, Iowa, gave valuable assistance 

 in the work of collecting in this locality. Great progress has been 

 made during the year in the zoological exploration of South America. 

 Assistant Curator W. H. Osgood and Assistant M. P. Anderson 

 conducted an arduous expedition over the Andes of northern Peru 

 and thence across the continent by way of the Amazon River. They 

 sailed from New Orleans January 25, crossed the Isthmus of Pana- 

 ma, and thence proceeded down the Pacific Coast to Peru. After 

 a few weeks' work on the arid coast of Peru, they started inland 

 with pack mules and gradually worked across the Andean ranges 

 and descended to canoeing waters on the upper tributaries of the 

 Amazon River. At this point Mr. Osgood continued rapidly down 

 the Amazon by regular means of transportation and returned to the 

 Museum late in October. Mr. Anderson remained to work in the little 

 known upper Peruvian Amazon region and later entered Brazil. Mr. 

 Becker was despatched in December to join him in that country for 

 work in the coming year. At the date of last shipments, some of which 

 are still in transit, over two thousand specimens had been obtained of 

 birds and mammals of which practically all were previously unrep- 

 resented in the collections and of which doubtless many will prove when 

 studied to be new to science. The collection is particularly valuable 

 and representative since it includes material from regions of such varied 

 character, the arid Pacific coast, the high Andean paramos, and the hot 

 tropical Amazonian forests. During the past season the Curator made 

 several local trips to points in southern Michigan and northern Illinois 

 and secured a number of photographs of birds and mammals and 

 many notes relating to migration and habits to be used in future publica- 

 tions. Early in January Assistant Curator Meek left for Panama to 

 continue field work on the Biological Survey of the Canal Zone. During 

 most of January and February he collected fishes in the salt water on 

 both sides of the Isthmus. The latter part of February and first week 

 in March were given to exploration of the Tuyra River which drains 

 the southeastern portion of the Republic of Panama. The last 

 three weeks of March collecting in salt water was continued. On 

 April 4, Dr. Meek reached Costa Rica and collected in the streams most 

 accessible on both sides of the Repubhc during the rest of the month. 

 The Costa Rica collection contains over 2,000 specimens, representing 

 about 60 species, 10 of which have been described as new. The Panama 

 collection made during the past two years contains about 50,000 spec- 



