Zoological Society of London : Anatomical Research Fellowship

Abstract

THE Council of the Zoological Society of London has decided to re-establish a research fellowship in order to encourage investigations on the comparative anatomy of the animals brought to its prosectorium. The appointment offers unrivalled opportunities for work in this subject, in view of the wealth of material available, amounting during the course of an average year to approximately a thousand mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Some of these animals belong to species likely to become extinct in the near future, and it is most important that some record of their anatomy should be preserved for the benefit of posterity. Also, contrary to the impression sometimes found among professed zoologists that comparative anatomy is an exhausted subject, little is known of the internal structure of any but the commonest animals. The prosectorium of a large zoological gardens offers the only opportunity of helping to fill these gaps in our knowledge. Such investigations are all the more urgent, since the extensive comparative anatomy collection of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, built up mainly by Sir William Flower and his successors, was destroyed during the air raids-probably the worst single scientific loss of the War. It is hoped that the appointment will attract a student to a branch of zoology which, although rather out of fashion in recent times, remains the framework on which its many activities ultimately depend. Further information concerning the fellowship can be obtained from the Secretary, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, N. W. 8.