Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 197, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1911 — NOTABLE FISH BOOK [ARTICLE]

NOTABLE FISH BOOK

Scientific and Literary Work of Much Magnitude. Task Begun Years Ago by Dr. C. ,H. Eigenmann, Dean of Graduate School of Indiana University, Nearing Completion. Pittsburg.—A 'scientific and literary task of much .magnitude, which x was begun several years ago by Mr. C. H. Eigenmann, curator of fishes at the graduate school of Indiana university, is nearing completion and will appear in book form in the near future. Dr. Eigenmann is known as an authority upon the fresh water fish of South America. August 28, 1908, accompanied by an assistant; he sailed from New York for British Guiana, -South America, arriving in Georgetown September 6. During the fall and winter following he explored the rivers of British Guiana and brought home nearly 40,000 specimens. Selections from every species were reserved for the Carnegie museum; The remaining duplicates were distributed in exchange for collections from different countries, the exchange being made with' the United States National museum, the Field museum of Chicago Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard university, the British museum in London, the Royal museum in Berlin, the Imperial museum In Vienna, the Natural museum of France, and many others. In this way, the collection of the Carnegie museum has been greatly enlarged. One important and interesting result of Professor Eigenmann’s expedition was the discovery of more than 100 species of fresh water fishes new to science. These “types” made the Carnegie musenm the possessor of about 500 species of the 2,500 known. This is a remarkable accomplishment, In view of the fact that the Carnegie museum is the youngest of the world’s great scientific institutions of this character. A type in scientific parlance is the particular specimen of an object in the natural world which Is used as a basis for the first scientific description of IL

The results of Dr. Eigenmann’s explorations are about to be published as volume five of the “Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum.” Dr. W. J. Holland, director, and Dr. Eigenmann have been busily engaged the last few weeks in arranging the manuscript and the plates. The work will appear in large quarto form and will be illustrated by 104 pictures, giving figures of nearly 800 species of the fresh water fishes-of British Guiana. The frontispiece is a photograph of the great Kaleteur falls on the Potaro river. This stream, which is as large as the Ohio at Pittsburg, leaves the upper plateau of British Guiana by a leap of 741 feet Into the deep canyon. Dr. Eigenmann ascended the Potaro, led by Indians tn canoes, until he came near the falls. Leaving his frail craft behind him, he climbed to the highlands, explored the vicinity of tbe falls, obtained new boats from the natives and continued southward along the upper reaches of the river. His aim was* to ascertain whether there existed on the broad highlands a different fauna from that found in the lowlands. To some extent he found this to be the case. The book will be an important contribution to the ichtyology of South America. . ;