Academy Of Natural Sciences Of Philadelphia Research Articles

Why was John James Audubon denied membership at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1824?

In 1824, John James Audubon (1785–1851), painter and ornithologist, was nominated for a “corresponding” (non-resident) membership at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). However, one month later, he was rejected by a vote of its resident members. This controversial event was a turning point in Audubon's career, which prompted him to abandon his goal of publishing in the United States and, instead, to seek an engraver and subscribers in Europe. Biographers have suggested that Audubon's rejection was orchestrated by George Ord (1781–1866), then ANSP Vice President, who may have felt jealous and/or threatened by his talent. However, an essay written by Ord in 1831, published here for the first time, explains that Audubon was only rejected after he was caught falsely accusing Alexander Wilson (1766–1813), the late ornithologist and ANSP member, of plagiarism and scientific fraud. Heretofore, historians have assumed that these accusations were first levied in 1839, but the primary record indicates that they were first levied in 1824. This revelation has significant implications for Audubon's biography and the history of American ornithology.

Taxonomic evaluation of the three “type” specimens of the fringe-footed shrew,Sorex fimbripes(Mammalia: Soricidae) and recommended nomenclatural status of the name

Abstract.— John Bachman (1837:391) described the “fringe-footed shrew,” Sorex fimbripes Bachman, 1837, in his landmark monograph on the North American Soricidae (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla), in which he recognized 13 uniquely New World species. Characters he attributed to S. fimbripes resulted in its being interpreted as a tiny, semi-aquatic species and contributed to the complexity of its subsequent taxonomic history. The status and location of the holotype, which should aid in resolving questions about the nature of S. fimbripes, instead have added to the confusion. Originally studied by Bachman in South Carolina, the holotype was later thought to have been identified in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), and it is currently considered to be in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Washington, D.C. To clarify the identity of the species and its holotype, I compared descriptions of the holotype and the ANSP type with the USNM specimen and with eight species of eastern North Amer...

Bibliography of James Bond (1900–1989) - American ornithologist - with new taxa described

James Bond (1900–1989), an ornithologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), authored 150 publications dealing with the ornithology of the West Indies and the Americas. His “Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies” was published beginning in 1947, with many subsequent editions. Between 1927 and 1977 he scientifically described 63 bird taxa, the types of which are located at ANSP and United States National Museum of Natural History (USNM). All his publications and type specimens are listed in this first James Bond bibliography.

THE GARDEN EEL HETEROCONGER LONGISSIMUS GÜNTHER (PISCES: ANGUILLIFORMES, CONGRIDAE) IN THE VENZUELA COASTS

The brown garden eel Heteroconger longissimus had been reported for Venezuela only by observations of sport divers. In this work we confirm the species for Venezuela based on the examination of four leptocephalous specimens deposited in the fish collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) and five adult specimens collected recently by the authors and deposited in the Museo de Historia Natural La Salle (MHNLS), Caracas. In addition, we comment on the taxonomic status, distinctive characters, and habitat of the species.

On the authorship and types of three Ogasawara helicinids (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

During a review of the molluscan type specimens at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) it was discovered that in 1909 Anton Wagner inadvertently validated one of Henry Pilsbry's manuscript names for a helicinid species from the Ogasawara islands in Japan, and designated its holotype. In a 1956 paper, Tokubei Kuroda unintentionally validated two further Pilsbry manuscript names for taxa in this fauna. In 1980, Hiroshi Minato published a synopsis of the Helicinidae of the Ogasawara Islands, in which he introduced all three names as new.A review is given here of the history of the three names, with selections and figures of two lectotypes. Taxonomically this is an unusual and interesting case, as ICZN Articles 11.6.1 and 50.7 are cited. The status of the apparently unpublished name subdiscrepans is reviewed.

A New Critical Estimate of Named Species-Level Diversity of the Recent Mollusca*

Modern estimates of species-level diversity in the recent Mollusca range from 34,000 to 120,000 described species, with total diversity including undescribed species often cited as 200,000. Most estimates are unverifiable, not being based on reproducible methods. Ultimately the best way to gauge diversity is explicit enumeration: actual listing of known species. Comprehensive lists of species are valued as a basis for systematic revisions and for comparing diversity across taxa, but it is less appreciated that they also provide a means for statistical sampling of biodiversity databases. I assessed the completeness of molluscan species listings in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) by comparing it to a standardized inventory of the species represented in the Malacology collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). Random samples of names were scored for presence or absence in WoRMS, with standard errors calculated from the binomial distribution. The WoRMS database has about 1,200 duplicate or extraneous listings for mollusk species and is missing about 1,300 (3%). Overall marine molluscan diversity is estimated at 43,600 ± 900 species, where 900 is a 95% confidence interval. The validity of this confidence interval depends on the WoRMS database and the ANSP collection not having correlated weaknesses. Lack of relatively complete species databases prevents similar assessments for terrestrial and freshwater mollusks, but, using less rigorous methods, I estimate that there are 70,000 to 76,000 described species of recent Mollusca.The low end of this estimate, 70,000 species, is similar to the number of recent chordate species, 69,000, so it is possible that the Mollusca are not the second most diverse phylum of animals in terms of recognized recent species. Naming rates for chordate are currently higher than for mollusk, 750 versus 600 species per year, although the Mollusca are regarded as having higher undescribed diversity. The Mollusca have long been considered the most species-rich marine phylum, but the estimate of 43,600 is substantially below the 56,000 species of Arthropoda listed in WoRMS. Globally, the ratio of marine gastropod to marine bivalve species in WoRMS is 4:1, which is higher than in any regional fauna, suggesting that gastropods have smaller geographic ranges on average than bivalves. The main remaining gaps in WoRMS are among opisthobranchs (8% missing) and Indo-Pacific marine mollusks (6%). The most diverse molluscan genus in WoRMS is Turbonilla, with more than 1,000 species listed as accepted.

Pseudopaludicola ternetzi (Anura: Leiuperidae): two lectotypes for the same taxon

Pseudopaludicola ternetzi was described on the basis of an undefined number of syntypes, but involving males and females (Miranda-Ribeiro 1937). Since Miranda-Ribeiro described this species, several taxonomic considerations were made on it. First, Bokermann (1966) considered P. ternetzi as a synonym of P. ameghini (Cope 1887), without giving any evidence to support this decision. Although some authors followed this proposal (like Gallardo 1968), others continued considering P. ternetzi as a good species (e.g., Frost 1985; Lynch 1989). Haddad and Cardoso (1987) provided bioacustic and morphometric evidence to consider P. ameghini as a junior synonym of P. mystacalis (Cope 1887). In 1996, Lobo reviewed the type specimens of P. ameghini, P. mystacalis, and P. saltica described by Cope (1887) and housed at the ANSP (Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia), and redescribed P. ternetzi based on four vouchers collected by Dr. Ternetz in December of 1923, deposited in the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (MNRJ). In coincidence with Haddad and Cardoso (1987), Lobo (1996) considered P. ameghini as a junior synonym of P. mystacalis, assigned a lectotype for P. ternetzi (MNRJ 5462, male), and designated as paralectotypes the vouchers MNRJ 477, MNRJ 5460, and MNRJ 5461 (all females). Lobo choose the only male syntype examined by him as lectotype considering that the detailed description by Miranda-Ribeiro (1937) of a male matched with the size and morphology of this specimen, while only reported some details of a female. Such taxonomic decision was based on the article 74 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1985).

Chironomidae Types (Insecta: Diptera) at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The type specimens of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) representing 183 species deposited at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) are listed. The type collection includes holotypes for 87 species of Chironomidae, 86 of these designated by S. S. Roback. Species represented only by paratypes an additional 96 species, with 12 of these designated by Roback and 50 by H. Townes. Notes are provided on the life stage, method of preservation and current status.

Mayamaea cahabaensissp. nov. (Bacillariophyceae), a New Freshwater Diatom from Streams in the Southern United States

ABSTRACT. A new diatom species, Mayamaea cahabaensis, was observed during analysis of algal samples collected from Alabama (USA) by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Subsequently, other populations of the same species were found in material collected for a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) project also from Alabama streams. A review of NAWQA materials at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) revealed that the species was also found in Arkansas, Arizona and Texas. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) features reveal an affinity of the new taxon with Mayamaea Lange-Bertalot. Some of these features include elliptical valves with rounded ends and parallel to radiate striae composed of round areolae, which are occluded by a hymen positioned toward the external opening of each individual areola. The valves are slightly asymmetrical about the median transapical plane. The asymmetry of the valves and the clari...

A new species of the diatom genus Adlafia (Bacillariophyceae) from the United States

A new diatom species is described from the Willamette River, Oregon, USA. The characteristics of this taxon at the light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) levels favor its placement in the genus Adlafia Moser, Lange-Bertalot et Metzeltin. Thus, the name Adlafia multnomahii Morales et Le is proposed. Analysis of additional samples currently deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) Diatom Collection yielded other populations of the new taxon from Arkansas, California, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The new taxon is characterized by a lanceolate shape with conspicuously capitate to rostrate ends, distal and proximal raphe ends deflected in opposite directions, round areolae occluded by a perforated velum located on the outer periphery of the areola, and closed girdle bands with one row of areolae, which becomes biseriate toward the apices of the valves. A comparison of the new taxon with other morphologically closely related taxa and its ecological requirements are discussed in the light of existing data and literature.

Describing a New Environment: Lewis and Clark and Enlightenment Science in the Columbia River Basin

KristenPeterson,photographer (detail),courtesy Missouri Historical Society The Lewis and ClarkNational BicentennialExhibition is currently at the Missouri Historical SocietyinSt.Louis.TheOregonHistorical Society will hosttheexhibit from November 2005 throughMarch 2006 ? its only venue on theWest Coast. WilliamL. Lang Describing a New Environment LewisandHark andEnlightenment ScienceintheColumbia RiverBasin N august 1805, the Corps of Discovery topped the Continental Divide after a laborious journey up theMissouri River ? more than thirty-one hundred miles, byWilliam Clark's later reckon ing, from their departure point at the river'smouth.1 Tracing the Missouri to its sources marked the achievement of a major objective, but the view Meriwether Lewis took in as he looked west from Lemhi Pass startled him. "After refreshing ourselves," Lewis wrote on August 12, "we proceeded on to the top of the dividing ridge from which I discovered immence ranges of high mountains still to the West of us with their tops partially covered with snow." That view dashed the imagined geography Lewis and Clark had carried with them since leaving FortMandan inApril. They had expected thewest side of the divide tomimic the east side and to offer an unencumbered descent to the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. Looking into the sawtoothed Bitterroot Mountains put Lewis in a position he had endured before when the geography had surprised him and forced new decisions. As they had throughout the expedition, the co-leaders pondered their options, knowing that their destination might be more distant but also knowing that reaching itwas compelling and essential to the success of theirmission.2 The scene is familiar to students of the great exploration led byMeri wether Lewis andWilliam Clark into theAmerican West. It is amoment of adventure and challenge, the essence of the Lewis and Clark story,a saga of exploration that rivals John Wesley Powell's float of theGrand Canyon, JohnGlenn's orbit of the Earth, and Neil Armstrong's walk on themoon. 360 OHQ vol. 105, no. 3 ? 2004 Oregon Historical Society Ewell Sale StewartLibrary, The Academy ofNatural Sciences of Philadelphia ?? BPECOtL^ These specimens o/Mahonia aquifolium ? also known as Berber?s aquifolium, or shiny Oregon grape ? which Lewis collected at theGreat Falls of theColumbia, are part of the Lewis and Clark Herbarium. Lang, Describing a New Environment 361 Most Americans have been told the Lewis and Clark story as an adventure, and ithas been thatway from the first telling of their experiences byNicho lasBiddle in History ofthe ExpeditionunderCaptains Lewis andClark in 1814 to Stephen Ambrose's enormously successful Undaunted Courage in 1996. The expedition has been a story of accomplishment, often setwithin a patriotic context. Itsbackground, proximate causes, and stated objectives, however, are not well known to the general public. Even less known and understood are the exploration's scientific purposes. Although President Thomas Jefferson created the expedition for nationalistic, geopolitical, and economic reasons, he also had science inmind when he sent Lewis and Clark to the West two centuries ago.3 Science in the eighteenth century had developed principally as an in vestigation of natural phenomena and the diversity of life.Enlightenment scientists, historian Donald Worster has argued, pursued the description of nature while they also investigated the apparent harmony resident in the natural world. Lewis and Clark carried these Enlightenment scientific interests and assumptions with them as they explored theColumbia River Basin, and their journals disclose their comprehension of the environment as natural and human ecology. They saw the lands west of the divide, in part, as scientists, and as scientists they documented the relationships between people and environment for the scientific enterprise.4 A case can be made that Jefferson's interest in theAmerican West grew out of his fascination with the natural world and his pursuit of scientific information about regions west of theAppalachian Mountains. He had science on his mind in 1783, just after Britain and theUnited States signed the peace treaty,when he first articulated the idea for a western explora tion and tried to enlist George Rogers Clark as expedition leader. Clark was one of the young nation's most experienced soldiers, a veteran of Revolutionary War campaigns on the western frontier, an exponent of western expansion, and someone interested in scientific discovery. Writing to Clark inDecember...

Rediscovery of “lost” Triassic fossil plant types: Components of the Wilhelm Bock Collection in The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and in the Yale Peabody Museum

Wilhelm Bock (1897?-1972) was an engineer by profession who turned to paleontology in the later years of his life and became a research associate in the former Department of Geology and Paleontology of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). In the early 1960s Bock left the Academy and established “The Geological Research Foundation,” apparently at his home. When Bock left the institution he also retained a significant portion of his sizable collection, which contained numerous type and figured specimens. Recently, routine curation of the Paleobotany collection at ANSP has lead to the recovery of 62 specimens figured by Bock, which have been reported as “lost” since his death in 1972. Included in the recovered material are two paratypes of Ginkgoites milfordensis Bock, a taxon that has long been reported as having been based upon the single specimen that was destroyed while on loan in the early 1970s. Also rediscovered were the neotype and isoneotype of Diploporundus rugosus (Wanner ex Ward) designated by Bock in 1960.

A Redescription of Atheris squamigera (Serpentes: Viperidae) with Comments on the Validity of Atheris anisolepis

-We provide a redescription of the holotype of Atheris squamigera (Hallowell), which previously was reported as lost We show that characters used to differentiate A. anisolepis Mocquard are either present in the holotype of A. squamigera (a male), or are sexually dimorphic traits found in female A. squamigera. We consider A. anisolepis to be a junior synonym of A. squamigera. e etology, Vol. 34, No. 3, p . 386-389, 20 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles i i of theris squamigera (Serpentes: Viperidae) with t e alidity of Atheris anisolepis Atheris squamigera of Central Africa is a widespread species renowned for its variability (Spawls and Branch 1995). Since its description by Hallowell (1856), A. squamigera has had a tangled taxonomic history, incorporating numerous variously recognized synonyms and subspecies (reviewed in McDiarmid et al., 1999). Of particular contention has been the recognition of Atheris anisolepis Mocquard (1887). Recent treatments have recognized this taxon as distinct from A. squamigera (Broadley, 1996, 1998; McDiarmid et al., 1999), or as a subspecies (Golay et al., 1993). Trape and Roux-Esteve (1995) also supported the validity of A. anisolepis, but recognized the taxon as A. laeviceps Boettger (1887). Appearing at the end of 1887, Boettger's A. laeviceps is considered a junior synonym of A. anisolepis (reviewed in Broadley, 1998; McDiarmid 3 Present Address: Zoo Atlanta, 800 Cherokee Ave., S.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30315-1440, USA. t al., 1999). However, both McDiarmid et al. (1999) and Broadley (1996, 1998) have commented on the uncertainty that persists over the validity of A. anisolepis. Adding to the confusion surrounding Atheris squamigera and A. anisolepis, Hughes and Barry (1969) reported the holotype of A. squamigera (ANSP 6949) as lost. Apparently, no authority has re-examined and reported on the type of A. squamigera since its original description, leading to the tentative recognition of A. anisolepis by McDiarmid et al. (1999) and Broadley (1996, 1998). To address the status of Atheris anisolepis Mocquard, we examined 31 specimens of A. squamigera, including the holotype re-discovered in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and topotypic A. anisolepis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Characters in the description and systematic account follow those used in recent treatments 386 This content downloaded from 207.46.13.146 on Tue, 23 Aug 2016 05:04:13 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms REDESCRIPTION OF ATHERIS SQUAMIGERA of the genus by Broadley (1998) and Lawson (1999). Features of scalation were examined by holding preserved specimens under a dissecting microscope. Scale terminology generally is that of Klauber (1956), except for the terms suprarostrals, interoculabials, and interorbitals in keeping with Broadley (1998). Interrictal counts were made by counting scales across the back of the head between the posterior supralabials. Dorsal scale rows were counted approximately one head-length posterior to the head, at midbody, and approximately one head-length anterior to the vent. Color descriptions in preservative are based on the standard of Smithe (1975). Snout-vent length (SVL) and tail length were measured to the nearest mm using a meter stick. Other standard measurements were taken to the nearest 0.1 mm using a dial caliper held under a dissecting microscope. Museum abbreviations refer to Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). A list of specimens examined is given in Appendix 1. To clarify confusion surrounding the highly variable Atheris squamigera and the variously recognized A. anisolepis, we provide the following redescription and diagnosis of A. squamigera.

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR FLUCTUATION IN LEVELS OF HYBRIDIZATION.

Evolutionary biologists have long researched the dynamics of hybrid zones to determine how reproductive barriers between species originate and become established. It is unknown, however, to what extent hybrid zones persist through time. Do hybrid zones eventually disappear with perfection of isolating mechanisms or by fusion of the taxa, for example, or do they continue to exist, perhaps stretching and shrinking with environmental fluctuation (Wallace, 1889; Dobzhansky, 1951; Grant, 1963; Mayr, 1963; Lewis, 1966; Remington, 1968; Harrison, 1983)? Clearly, historical information is necessary for an adequate understanding of the evolution of isolating mechanisms, but such information has only been available on a scale of decades. Here, fossil evidence is used to propose that two freshwater bivalve species that now hybridize readily did not do so about 200,000 years ago. Isolating barriers are hypothesized to have been perfected in sympatric populations in the past, but then to have been lost when these adapted populations were eliminated by advancing glaciers. Reproductive isolation between related species could therefore have been a transient phenomenon. North America contains one of the richest freshwater clam faunas (family Unionidae) in the world (Burch, 1975; Davis and Fuller, 1981; Kat, 1984), but fossils necessary for interpretation of the origins and species diversity of this fauna through time are scarce (Simpson, 1895; Baker, 1920; Henderson, 1935; LaRoque, 1966; Kat, 1983a). Unionacean fossils are uncommon in the Interior Basin (IB), a faunal region that essentially covers the entire Mississippi River drainage, and very rare on the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP). For example, of the 122 Pleistocene freshwater molluscan faunas described by LaRoque (1966) from seven IB states, only six faunas contained unionid fossils. One exception to this trend occurs in the Fish House fauna from Camden, New Jersey (Fig. 1). This ACP fauna contains bivalves morphologically resembling ten extant species, at least three of which are presently restricted to the IB (Kat, 1983a). The Fish House fauna was first described by Lea (1868) and Whitfield (1885) and appears not to have been examined since the turn of the century. Lea and Whitfield both assumed the fossils to be of Cretaceous age, but more recently the Fish House clays have been correlated with the Accomac beds on the Delmarva Peninsula and with beds near the mouth of the Rappahannock River in Virginia as deposits 187,000 ? 20,000 years old (J. P. Owens, pers. comm.; see Cronin et al., 1981; McCartan et al., 1982). No radiometric dates are available directly from the Fish House clays. The climate at that time, as inferred from pollen analyses and plant remains, was warm temperate and suggestive of interglacial conditions (Woolman, 1896; see also Cronin et al., 1981). A sewage disposal facility at the Fish House site prevents further collection from this locally exposed deposit, but a number of Lea's type specimens as well as specimens from subsequent collections are housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP). In the Fish House fauna, fossils phenotypically similar to recent IB Anodonta grandis and ACP A. cataracta (Fig. 2) occur in the same stratum (Whitfield, 1885). Collections at the ANSP consist of 22 specimens preserved as articulated valves or interior casts, and while there is no information about orientation of the specimens in the sediment (i.e., if they were found in life position), the presence of articulated specimens suggests that postmortem transport, if any, was minimal. Ofthe 22 specimens, 7 resemble A. cataracta and 15 resemble A. grandis. Shell shapes of unionids can be quantified by analyses of curvature along the shell outline. Shell outlines are digitized, and the coordinates of 300400 points stored in a computer. Circles are then fit to sets of points along the outline of the shell using the best-fit criterion of Bookstein (1978), involving a multiple linear regression of X2 + y2 as the dependent variable against x and y as independent variables (Kat, 1983a). Centroids of point clusters along the outline were determined by the points of intersection of lines, rotated through predetermined numbers of degrees from the umbo, and the shell edge. The results of such analyses indicate significant differences in curvature at several points along the shell edge when specimens of Recent Anodonta cataracta and A. grandis are compared (Fig. 3A). Previous analyses unequivocally classified all fossil specimens as either A. cataracta or A. grandis (Kat, 1983a). Use of soft-part, shell microstructural, and electrophoretic data has clarified the taxonomy of Recent ACP and IB anodontines (Kat, 1983b, 1983c, 1985), and the cataracta and grandis phenotypes cannot be confused with other extant species. Today, Anodonta cataracta and A. grandis hybridize extensively where their geographic ranges, newly expanded after the retreat of Wisconsinan

Contact Zones and Hybridization in the Jamaican Hummingbird, Trochilus polytmus (L.)

Jamaica (4411 square miles) in the West Indies is the smallest island in the Western Hemisphere on which a bird species is known to have differentiated into taxonomically distinct populations (Bond 1956:95). One race T. p. scitulus of the endemic Jamaican Hummingbird Trochilus polytmus (L.) is confined to the extreme eastern end of the island, while the other, T. p. polytmus, occurs widely over the rest of the island. Here, we examine the geographical relationships of these two forms with particular emphasis on the zones of contact. Our study is based on the examination of museum specimens in the collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), U.S. National Museum (USNM), the Institute of Jamaica in Kingston (JI), and on the results of field studies in eastern Jamaica in January 1971.

Recent Eupera (Pelecypoda; Sphaeriidae) in the United States

The taxonomic history of the sphaeriid clam genus Eupera is reviewed, and the morphological relationships of Eupera to other genera are examined. The presence of separate siphons, byssal threads, and the unusual marsupial development of the embryos require the establishment of a new subfamily, Euperinae. Eupera singleyi (Pilsbry) is synonymized under E. cubensis (Prime) which is redescribed in detail. The specific distribution of E. cubensis, the single Recent member of the genus in the Nearctic Region, is in the Atlantic and Gulf 'Coastal Plains from North Carolina to Mexico, and the Valley and Ridge Province in central Alabama. IN1TRODUCTION Most published information on the ovoviviparous and hermaphroditic freshwater clam family Sphaeriidae concerns the taxonomy, life history, and distribution of the genera Sphaerium Scopoli, Musculium Link (frequently considered congeneric with, or a subgenus of, Sphaerium), and Pisidium C. Pfeiffer. Aside from the original descriptions, little is known of the highly localized monotypic genera Byssanodonta d'Orbigny (Rio Parana, Provinz Corrientes, Argentina) and Pseudocorbicula Dautzenberg (Lake Victoria, Kenya). Eupera Bourguignat is widespread in the Ethiopian and Neotropical Regions with one species, E. cubensis (Prime), occurring in North America. The present report is concerned with the systematics and distribution of E. cubensis in the Nearctic Region. The life history and anatomy of this species will serve as the subject of a later report. I am indebted to F. G. Thompson of the University of Miami Department of Zoology, J. C. Dickinson of the Florida State Museum, H. Rehder and J. P. E. Morrison of the U.S. National Museum, and H. van der Schalie of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology for their kindnesses in providing material for examination. Special appreciation is extended to W. J. Clench of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) and to R. T. Abbott of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) for the loan of Prime's cotypes of Sphaerium cubense and Pilsbry's holotype and paratypes of Sphaerium (Limosina) singleyi, respectively. TAXONOMIC HISTORY Bourguignat (1854a) divided Pisidium C. Pfeiffer (1821) into two large series (subgenera?): (1) Pera Leach (1852) in which the ligament is on the shortest side of the beaks, and (2) Eupera I This investigation was supported (in part) by research grant 5 TI AI 41-05 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, U.S. Public Health Service.