Artie L. Metcalf

Mortality in Unionacean Mussels in a Year of Drought

In the year 1980 drought prevailed in south-central Kansas causing desiccation of shallower waters in streams. Numbers of dead unionacean mussels observed at twelve stations on two such streams are tabulated. Relevance of drought to past and future of the mussel fauna of the streams is discussed. In a previous paper (Metcalf, 1980) kinds of unionacean mussels found at a number of stations on Big Caney River and Grouse Creek, in southcentral Kansas, were reported. These are streams originating in the Flint Hills region. Grouse Creek heads in the area of conjunction of Cowley, Butler and Elk counties and flows diagonally southwestward across Cowley County, emptying into the Arkansas River near the Kansas-Oklahoma border. Big Caney River heads in southwestern Elk County and flows across western Chautauqua County. The segment surveyed on Big Caney extended only to the southern border of Kansas. Station numbers mentioned herein are as in Metcalf (1980), with numbering beginning upstream and continuing downstream. Stations are located at 4-8 km intervals (C = Big Caney River and G = Grouse Creek). The previous survey was carried out from 1969-1979, years when intermittency of streams did not occur at stations sampled. In 1980 drought conditions in the watersheds of these streams resulted in intermittency or minimal flow at all stations. Below are climatological data (NOAA, 1970-1980; data for July-December 1980, for Grenola, from F. M. Metcalf) for four towns located on or near the watersheds of the streams noted. Grenola is located on upper Big Caney River and Elgin on its lowermost reaches in Kansas. Dexter is located near mid-length of Grouse Creek and Arkansas City 12 km WNW of its mouth. Precipitation amounts are given, first, in inches (as published) and, second, in mm (calculated). Average annual precipitation for the years 19701979 is given before, range for these years within, and precipitation for 1980 after parentheses: This content downloaded from 207.46.13.11 on Wed, 10 Aug 2016 06:33:15 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 90 TRANSACTIONS OF THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Grenola 35.11 (25.04-48.95) 20.76; 892 (636-1243) 527 Elgin 37.74 (29.07-46.22) 24.27; 959 (738-1174) 616 Dexter 33.41 (26.16-42.87) 20.38; 849 (664-1089) 518 Arkansas City 34.57 (26.99-47.95) 25.00; 878 (686-1218) 635 Thus, for these four stations, 1980 precipitation was some 9.5 to 14.5 inches (240-365 mm) below the average for the decade 1970-1979. In addition to low precipitation, temperatures were elevated in the summer of 1980. Average temperatures for the summer months at Cedar Vale, midlength of Big Caney River, in Kansas, for 1979 (first) and 1980 (second)

Distribution of Land Snails of the San Andres and Organ Mountains, Southern New Mexico

-Occurrences of land snails are reported and their distribution (especially altitudinal) is discussed in the San Andres and Organ Mountains of southern New Mexico. Collections were made at 50 localities and 24 species were obtained. The San Andres and Organ Mountains form a prominent north-south linear feature, some 150 km in combined length, in south-central New Mexico. Topographically, the two ranges are continuous, although, geographically, they are separated by San Augustin Pass, east of the village of Organ, Dona Ana County. To the east, the ranges are separated by the Tularosa Basin from the Sacramento/Sierra Blanca ranges. To the west, the San Andres Mts. are bordered by the Jornada del Muerto Basin and the Organ Mts. by the Mesilla Valley of the Rio Grande. Some aspects of the ranges, related to occurrence of land snails, have been discussed by Metcalf and Smartt (1977). Insofar as distribution of land snails is concerned, three areas seem discernible: 1. Block-faulted section of San Andres Mts. Most of the San Andres range is comprised of complexly faulted and tilted blocks, predominantly of Paleozoic limestones, which form massive cliffs in many places. Mountains in this section reach 2,000-2,500 m in elevation. Nowhere are these mountains densely wooded, although One-seeded Juniper, Pinyon Pine and various shrubs occur in canyons and on slopes at higher elevations. 2. Salinas Peak area. An exception to the above, in the San Andres Mts., is provided by the area centered around Salinas Peak, highest peak in the range, reaching 2,730 m. Higher parts of this complex are largely of igneous bedrock. The upper, northern slopes of Salinas Peak are forested, much as are higher elevations in the Organ Mts., discussed below. 3. Organ Mountains. These mountains are almost entirely of igneous rocks, mainly of monzonitic and rhyolitic types. Higher peaks reach slightly over 2,700 m. There is considerable forest on higher (especially northfacing) slopes and in canyons down to lower elevations. Dominant species include Ponderosa Pine, Alligator Juniper and Gambel Oak. There is Douglas Fir at higher elevations and at least one relict stand, each, of White Fir (Loc. 34-localities identified below) and of Quaking Aspen (Loc. 32). In these mountains larger species of land snails (mainly Sonorella and Ashmunella) are usually restricted to accumulations of rock talus. In the block-faulted section of the San Andres Mts. such accumulations occur mainly below the massive cliffs mentioned. Smaller species also occur in talus as well as in decaying leaf litter on floors in the areas with deciduous forest. Earth and humus from interstices of mounds of talus and leaf litter T E SOUTHWESTERN ATURALIST 29(1):35-44 MARCH 2 , 84 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.193 on Thu, 08 Sep 2016 05:51:52 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Southwestern Naturalist from forested areas were collected in the field and inspected in the laboratory. Specimens are in invertebrate collections of the University of Texas at El Paso. ANNOTATED LIST OF SPECIES.-The taxonomic sequence of Solem (1978) and the taxonomic usages of Bequaert and Miller (1973) are utilized. Localities are given in the Appendix. 1. Cochlicopa lubrica (Miiller). Locs. 4, 36, 40, 43. 2. Gastrocopta ashmuni (Sterki). Locs. 1-3, 5-11, 14, 15, 19, 21-23, 26, 27, 29, 34, 37, 40, 44, 48. 3. Gastrocopta pellucida (Pfeiffer). Locs. 1-3, 5-11, 14, 15, 19, 21-23, 27, 40, 44. 4. Gastrocopta pilsbryana (Sterki). Locs. 4, 27, 28, 30-32, 34-40, 42, 43. 5. Pupilla sonorana (Sterki). Locs. 4, 27, 30-32, 34-36, 38, 39, 42, 43. 6. Vertigo gouldii (Binney). Locs. 4, 30, 35, 38, 42. This species was rare with only a few specimens taken at the localities noted. Most specimens exhibit the 5 denticles ascribed by Pilsbry (1948:975) to the subspecies arizonensis Pilsbry and Vanatta, although a few have, in addition, a small basal denticle. 7. Vallonia perspectiva Sterki. Locs. 3-5, 27-32, 34-40, 42, 43. 8. Holospira roemeri (Pfeiffer). Locs. 7-9, 11, 12, 15-18, 20, 21, 23-25. The occurrences noted here, together with records in the Franklin and Juarez Mts. to the south (in Texas and Mexico) mark the western terminus of the range of this species, widespread to the east and southeast in New Mexico and Texas. In New Mexico, it is not known to occur north of the San Andres Mountains. 9. Bulimulus (Rabdotus) dealbatus (Say) sspp. Locs. 11, 13-15, 18, 20, 24, 25. Taxonomically, the situation with this species is complex in the area treated here. Pilsbry (1946:13, 19) considered two species to exist in the area: (1) Bulimulus pasonis Pilsbry, with type locality in the Franklin Mts., Texas, and recognized by him also from the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mts. of southern New Mexico and adjacent Texas, and (2) Bulimulus dealbatus neomexicanus Pilsbry, a subspecies of the widespread species, B. dealbatus, which ranges from Kansas southward into Mexico. Pilsbry designated the type locality of neomexicanus as Burkes Spring (environs) in the San Andres Mts. and reported it also from the Sacramento and Guadalupe Mts. As represented in the above mountain ranges, shells of the two taxa differ greatly, B. d. neomexicanus being more robust and thickshelled, reaching some 30 mm in height and 19 mm in width, whereas B. pasonis is a much more gracile form, reaching only about 17 mm in height and 9 mm in width (Fig. 1). In a revision of some North American bulimulids, Pratt (1974:24, 25) elevated the subgenus Rabdotus to generic status. He also synonymized Bulimulus pasonis Pilsbry with Bulimulus durangoanus (von Martens), with type locality in Durango, Mexico. He relegated durangoanus to subspecific status under B. dealbatus, noting that the two kinds intergraded in places in Texas and Mexico. In addition, he deemed the subspecies 36 vol. 29, no. 1 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.193 on Thu, 08 Sep 2016 05:51:52 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Unionacean Mussels, Past and Present, from Six Streams in Kansas and Oklahoma

Species of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionacea) were surveyed in six streams of south-central Kansas and north-central Oklahoma. Present fauna, fossil and archeological materials, and previous records were considered in an attempt to place the fauna in a historical perspective. Streams vary from those with a fairly intact fauna at present to those with a depauperate fauna.

The Crayfish Orconectes palmeri longimanus (Faxon) in Kansas

To our knowledge these are the first records of Orconectes palmer in Kansas. Creaser and Ortenburger (1933:39, Fig. 16) reported Cambarus longimanus from the Verdigris River in Rogers County, Oklahoma. Williams (1954:898) included the above record and indicated (Fig.200) an additional record from Tulsa County, Oklahoma, in a discussion of O. p. longimanus. He did not, however, list the latter record in text nor have we been able to locate any specimens from Tulsa County among the collections made by Williams now housed in the Recent Invertebrate collections of the Department of Zoology, University of Kansas. Penn (1947:Fig. 4), in a map of localities from which

New Distributional Records for Two Species of Crayfish

The crayfish Orconectes luteus (Creaser) is a species most common in some streams draining the northern and eastern portion of the Ozark Plateau in Missouri. Williams (1954a:875) does not indicate that the range of O. luteus extends farther north than the drainage of the Osage River in Kansas and Missouri. Recently we have obtained several specimens of 0. luteus from localities north of the Osage River System. In Missouri on October 7, 1960, we obtained the following: KU 847 (28 specimens), Morgan Co., Richland Creek, 4 mi. N, 2 mi. W Versailles

Gastropods of Cowley County, Kansas

Twenty-nine species of gastropods, together with notes on their habitats, are recorded from Cowley County, Kansas. Range-extensions for some species are presented. The collections on which these records are based were made between November, 1956, and December, 1961. Approximately one-half of the collections were made in November and December, 1958. For assistance in identification of specimens I wish to thank Professor A. Byron Leonard and Mr. Tong-Yun Ho of the University of Kansas. Cowley County is situated on the southern boundary of Kansas approximately 100 miles west of the eastern boundary of the state. Physiographically, most of Cowley County lies in the Flint Hills, cuesta scarps formed on limestones of Early Permian age. In the southwestern part of the county a topography of little relief has developed on the Wellington Formation of Middle Permian age. For purposes of considering ecological distribution of the gastropods, habitats in the county have been classified below. The principal kinds of snails found in each habitat are mentioned and collecting-stations representative of each habitat are listed. The letter designations W, P and A before station numbers refer to the classification of the station as predominantly woodland (W), prairie (P) or aquatic (A) in habitat. A. Wooded Habitats. In Cowley County forested areas are so limited in extent as to seem insignificant, but they are important in terms of snail distrubution. The woodlands are of three main kinds.

GASTROPODS OF THE FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS, EL PASO COUNTY, TEXAS

Fourteen species of snails found living in the Franklin Mountains, El Paso County, Texas, are listed, together with notes on their distribution and ecology. A fossil fauna of Pleistocene (probably Wisconsinan) age is reported. It contains twenty species, ten of which no longer seem to occur in the range. Paleo- ecologically, the fossil fauna suggests a more mesic climate and presence of forested slopes in the range as low as 4,900 ft elevation. INTRODUCTION. The Franklin Mountains, proper, are located al- most entirely in El Paso County, Texas, in the Basin and Range Physi- ographic Province and in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. To the south, the range terminates abruptly within the city of El Paso by downward plunging of fault blocks. The northern terminus is at a low pass, Anthony Gap, located along the Texas-New Mexico border. North of Anthony Gap, a lower range, the North Franklin Mountains (not treated here) extends northward for approximately seven miles. Tilted fault blocks are an important structural feature of the Frank- lin Mountains. These blocks dip towards the west at an angle of 230 to 450 (Nelson, 1940: 159). However, the mountains are structurally complex and also exhibit thrust faulting and overturned folding. Ac- cording to Harbour (1960: 1785), more than 10,000 ft of sedimen- tary rocks, ranging in age from Precambrian to Cretaceous, are ex- posed in the range. In addition, there are large areas underlain by igneous and metamorphic rocks, chiefly quartzites, granites, rhyolites, and basalts, and mostly of Precambrian age. In places, certain of the siltstone, limestone, and rhyolite outcrops have produced large ac- cumulations of talus that often harbor gastropods (see accounts of Ashmunella pasonis and Sonorella sp. below). Topographically, the northern and southern parts of the range are narrower and more serrate; the central area, around North Franklin Mountain, wider, higher and more massive. The mountains rise ca. 3,000 ft above the surrounding intermontane basins and piedmont