* 
The , - 
American 
Museum of 
Natural History 
CENTENNIAL YEAR -1969 
Central Park West at 79th Street 
department of October 6 , 1969 
LIVING INVERTEBRATES 
William K. Emerson, Ph.D. 
Chairman and Curator 
Dorothy E. Bliss, Ph.D. 
Curator 
Ernst Kirsteuer, Ph.D. 
Assistant Curator 
William E. Old, Jr. 
Scientific Assistant 
Dr. Waldo Schmitt 
Dept, of Zoology 
U.S. National Museum 
Washington, D.C. 
William J. Clench, Ph.D. Sc.D. 
Research Associate (Moliusca) De3.T Dl*. SchlRltt l 
Libbie H. Hyman, Ph.D., Sc.D. 
Research Associate (Invertebrates) 
Rupert Riedl, Ph.D. 
Research Associate (Marine Invertebrates) 
Linda Habas Mantel, Ph.D. 
Research Associate (Comparative Physiology) 
John D. vScule, Ph.D. 
Research Associate (Bryozoa) 
Donald F. Squires, Ph.D. 
Research Associate (Scleractinia) 
Horace W. Stunkard, Ph.D., Sc.D. 
Research Associate (Parasitology) 
At the suggestion of Dr. Fehlman and Mrs. Peterson of the Smith- 
sonian Oceanographic Sorting Center I am writing to ask you if 
we may have a "representative selection" of invertebrates ob- 
tained from the shelf area of Antarctic Sea. Since we are not 
terribly familiar with depths and temperatures perhaps you could 
help us by suggesting an area of the shelf directly around the 
Antarctic continent which shows the great diversity and abundance 
of invertebrate life in the Antarctic seas. 
Anthony D’Attilio 
Associate (Moiiusca) v/e would like to use the material for model preparation for an 
Uu°c b a)° n ’ M ' A ' exhibit on extreme environments and invertebrate adaptation in 
the new Hall of the Biology of Invertebrates. Of course, there 
is a limit in size of the Antarctic Sea section of the exhibit and 
we would therefore like to have a sampling of the most frequent— 
ly occurring invertebrates in any given place on the shelf. 
I hope you will be able to help with this project and look for 
ward to hearing from you soon, at your earliest convenience. 
