The Progress of Zoology in Iowa During the Last Twenty-Five Years

In endeavoring to estimate the advance in a given science during a definite period of time and in a definite region, it seems evident that the best results can be obtained by ascertaining the work done by the representatives of that science in the region and during the time under consideration, and also the advance made in equipment in the institutions in which that science is taught

The Coral Reefs of Fiji

This is a brief account of the experiences of a zoologist on the reefs of Makuluva, Fiji. The quarters of the party of naturalists from the State University are described, something of daily life touched upon, and the experiences connected with reef collecting are given. Some of the more interesting animal inhabitants of the reefs are described and illustrated

Origin and Significance of Sex

This paper is not presented as a contribution to our knowledge of the subject of the origin of sex, so much as an attempt to express concisely a theory of sex drawn from various sources, but principally from a work on the Evolution of Sex by Geddes & Thomson, a work which seems to me to mark an epoch in the science of philosophical biology

Report of Committee on State Fauna

About two months ago the chairman of this committee sent a circular letter to all the members of the Academy asking for notes that could be used in this report. Up to the time of writing, December 19th, only one member has responded to this request, giving an interesting note concerning one species of animal new to the State, and a note concerning the disappearance of the beaver from Big Creek, Tama County

Report of the Committee on State Fauna

In November last the chairman of this committee sent out a number of postal cards to the zoologists of the Academy, requesting them to forward their notes regarding the appearance of animals new to the state or to certain localities, and any items of interest concerning the geographical distribution of the animals of Iowa. The response was anything but encouraging, as only three members made any answer whatever, and none of these had more than a single note to offer. This will account, in part at least, for the meagerness of this report

Significance of the Concealed Crests of Fly Catchers

In all the works on animal coloration that have come under my observation, there is a marked absence of any attempt to account for the concealed crests of bright colors on the crown of many birds, notably the Tyrannidae or Fly-Catchers

The Homology of the Inca Bone

About two years ago, while examining the interesting series of prehistoric skulls in the collection of the Davenport Academy of Sciences, the writer became involved in an attempt to account for the supernumerary bone which someone has marked the “inca” bone. What the significance of the name may be, I do not know, but the significance of the fact is the object of the inquiry involved in this paper

Some of the Causes and Results of Polygamy among the Pinnipedia

Several years ago the writer was much struck by the great sexual differences met with among the Gallinae, and had noted the fact that there was a relation between sexual disparity in size and polygamy

Systematic Zoology in Colleges

A few months ago one of the curators of the Smithsonian Institution took occasion, in private conversation, to complain of the fact that our universities and colleges did not turn out men capable of taking hold of a collection of zoological specimens and working it up systematically. He said: We can find plenty of students from Johns Hopkins, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, etc., who can do good work if they are put to investigating the embryology of a single species, or writing a thesis on the histology of certain organs. But we have great difficulty in finding men who are able to take hold of a collection brought in by some dredging expedition, for instance, and identifying and describing the specimens in a satisfactory manner