A Preliminary Survey of the Mollusca of Kingman County, Kansas

Abstract

The mollusks are a segment of the fauna of Kansas which has received little attention, although, the earliest studies began in the 80's of the last century. At that time Washburn College, Topeka, established a Biological Survey of Kansas and in 1885 published the first of a series of reports dealing with aquatic and terrestrial mollusks. This series of studies, which terminated after a few years, was d'rected by R. Ellsworth Call (1885). The collections of the Washburn survey included principally the forms of the eastern third of the state. Nothing approaching the Washburn studies has been done since the suspension of Call's work. Ferriss (1907) described a new sub-species of Polygyra multilineata from collections made by Chadwick along the Kaw River near Lawrence. Hanna (1909) published a list of the gastropods of Douglas County. A number of Hanna's species were taken from drift along the Kaw river, and may not be of local origin. Scammon (1906) studied the pelecypods of the state and published the only extensive account of these animals. Scammon's collections, like those of Hanna, are no longer available for study. Hanna and Johnson (1913) reported a list of 26 species of mollusks from Pleistocene deposits of Phillips County. Following Hanna's work in the state, the mollusks were completely neglected for nearly thirty years. Baker (1938) descr-bed two new species of gastropods from Upper Pliocene deposits of Meade County from collections made by Dr. Claude W. Hibbard, Curator of Paleontology, Dyche Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas. Collections of mollusks made by Dr. Hibbard in Pleistocene deposits in Meade County were reported by Goodrich (1940), and referred to by Hibbard (1940) in a study of the vertebrate fossils of the region. Hibbard (1941) in a paper dealing w'th the vertebrate fossils of the Rexroad member, Ogallala formation, (Upper Pliocene) of Meade County, included a list of 24 species of mollusks collected from this formation in association with the vertebrate remains. Frye, Leonard, and Hibbard (1942) made a study of certain Pleistocene deposits along the Smoky Hill river in Russell County, and reported a list of 51 species of mollusks from this region. Kingman County is a part of a nearly flat plain, and slopes towards the southeast. The altitude ranges from 1,340 ft. above sea level on the southeastern border to 1,840 ft. on the western border. The rise is gradual and constant. The South Fork of the Ninnescah river drains the northern third of the county and the Chickask'a river drains the southern third. The crest known as the Cleveland Ridge forms the divide between these two plains. The soil along these two streams from places where most of the specimens were colIcted is of the Arkansas loamy sand and Arkansas sandy loam types. This soil is found 3-6 feet above the normal water level of the streams. Many