National Museum Of Natural History Research Articles

Вадим Топачевський — видатний зоолог та організатор науки (з нагоди 90-річчя від дня народження)

The life of Vadym Oleksandrovych Topachevsky and his contribution to the development of science is considered. V. O. Topachevsky was the most famous palaeomammalogist of Eastern Europe, long-term head of the palaeontological department of the now National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, director of Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology of the Ukrainian SSR, founder and editor-in-chief of a number of important Ukrainian zoological publications, and academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Vadym Oleksandrovych was at the origins of systematic palaeontological expeditions to key sites of the Quaternary period, participated in the development of serial collections of small mammals and of the research techniques of faunal complexes based on the analysis of samples characterising the micromammal fauna of a particular section. Research by V. O. Topachevsky is devoted to such fundamental branches of zoology as taxonomy, phylogenetics, historical faunistics, evolutionary morphology, and zoogeography. The scientist paid much attention to biostratigraphy and palaeogeography. He solved complex issues of taxonomy and parataxonomy in relation to extinct and modern representatives of fauna, justified the establishing of a number of new to science taxa of extinct mammals. Among the outstanding achievements of Vadym Topachevsky of great importance is the creation of a comprehensive association scheme of development of communities, which explains the changes in the fauna of small mammals of the late Pliocene, Eopleistocene and Pleistocene of the Northern Black Sea Region, as well as the development and justification of the biozonal stratigraphic scheme of the late Miocene and Pliocene of the Eastern Paratethys. He is the author of 8 monographs and supervisor of 11 candidate and 2 doctoral dissertations. Vadym Oleksandrovych formed a powerful scientific department and prepared a worthy scientific change, the works of which are well known to specialists. His achievements were awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor, the titles of Academician of the NAS of Ukraine, Honoured Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, and he won the I. I. Schmalhausen Prize of the NAS of Ukraine. The palaeontological exhibition of the National Museum of Natural History NAS of Ukraine was named after the scientist in 2005. The list of Vadym Topachevsky’s main scientific works is given as well.

Elasmobranch (Chondrichthyes) assemblages from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of Ukraine

Sampling of six horizons of quartz-glauconite sands in Kaniv dislocations in Ukraine yielded more than three thousand vertebrate specimens, including elasmobranch teeth, chimaera dental plates, actinopterygian and sauropsid teeth and bones. Our study represents the first illustrated and detailed description of elasmobranch teeth from Ukrainian Albian deposits since Rogovich (1861), whose specimens were still preserved in the collections of the Kiev National Natural History Museum of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Twenty-three elasmobranch species belonging to eight orders were identified in our samplings and in some of Rogovich's material. This paper provides new data on the systematics of Cretaceous elasmobranchs and assesses the taxonomic status of Rogovich's species. Sampled assemblages include hybodonts, synechodontiforms, hexanchiforms, squaliforms, squatinifroms, orectolobiforms, heterodontiforms and lamniforms. The latter dominate the assemblages, both in terms of species and number of specimens with small odontaspidid species, early pseudoscapanorhynchids and archaeolamnids as well as large carnivorous sharks Cretoxyrhina and Cretolamna. Most importantly, Paraisurus macrorhizus and Cretoxyrhina vraconensis findings indicate a late Albian age for the sampled deposits, which were so far considered Albian–Cenomanian.

El registro geológico inédito de Bonpland sobre la turba malvinera

El presente trabajo se centró en la identificación y puesta en valor histórico de los registros geológicos, vinculados a las Islas Malvinas y Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, que enumera y describe en su Catálogo Geológico, individualizado como manuscrito MS 210, el naturalista francés Aimé Bonpland (1773-1858). Éstos fueron examinados por primera vez por esta investigación en el año 2018 durante un estudio sobre los Archivos Bonpland no digitalizados y depositados en el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, París, Francia. Los registros mencionados tuvieron su origen en las muestras geológicas entregadas por el Sr. Luis Vernet (1791-1871), primer gobernador y comandante argentino de las Islas Malvinas, cuando ambos coincidieron con su presencia en Buenos Aires en el año 1832. Estas muestras fueron estudiadas, clasificadas e incorporadas al Catálogo de Geología General del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de París, como Turba de color marrón de las Islas Malvinas, y Rocas de la Isla de los Estados, pertenecientes a la Colección Bonpland y como país de origen Argentina. Del mismo modo, se documenta el mencionado catálogo geológico, y se analizan las cartas de Bonpland a Humboldt de 1832, en orden al contexto e interés que las mismas representan para la historia de la República Argentina.

Ultrablack skin shrouds deep sea fishes

In the darkest depths of the ocean, bioluminescence can make a creature stand out like a sore thumb—or tasty snack. Now, researchers have discovered that deep sea fishes have evolved a way to blend in using ultrablack skin. Their findings could inspire new synthetic black materials. Karen Osborn, a marine biologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, was inspired to investigate the skin of deep sea fishes after having difficulty photographing specimens. “It didn’t matter how I set up the camera,” she says. “All I got were these incredible silhouettes.” After analyzing skin samples from 16 species of deep sea fishes, Osborn’s team found that their skin reflected less than 0.5% of light (Curr. Biol. 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.044). This ultrablack coloration has never been found in aquatic organisms. Other animals such as birds and insects achieve ultrablack coloration by embedding melanin in a matrix of keratin or chitin

Kristianides, A New Genus of Scale Worms from the Northern Gulf of Mexico and New Records of Phyllohartmania taylori (Annelida: Polychaeta: Polynoidae).

Phyllohartmania Pettibone, 1961 is a monotypic genus in the subfamily Polynoinae Kinberg, 1856. It is characterized by having lateral antennae with ventral ceratophores, cephalic peaks and neuropodia with pre-chaetal lobes being longer than post-chaetal lobes. Phyllohartmania taylori Pettibone, 1961 was described using only one specimen collected at Bird Point, Seahorse Key, Florida. During a study of Polynoids from the Grand Caribbean to corroborate features and records, the holotype and additional material of P. taylori housed at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution were examined and an unknown genus of Eulagiscinae Pettibone, 1997 confused with Phyllohartmania was found; the present study erects this as a new genus. Kristianides gen. nov. is distinguished by having prostomium without cephalic peaks, lateral antennae inserted terminally on indistinct ceratophores and notopodia and neuropodia with projecting acicular lobes well developed. Kristianides cylindricum sp. nov. differs from the other species of Eulagiscinae by having ventral lamellae; 15 pairs of elytra with fringe of papillae, surface with sclerotized microtubercles and macrotubercles; being conical the microtubercles and cylindrical the macrotubercles. In addition, two records of P. taylori from the northern Gulf of Mexico are published herein, as is a taxonomic key to differentiate Kristianides gen. nov. from its congeners in Eulagiscinae. This finding also increases the number of species with ventral lamellae, a convergent feature.

Totem symbols in decorative traditions of the peoples of pre-Columbian America: conflict or harmony?

The object of this research is a totem symbol in decorative tradition of the peoples of pre-Columbian America. The subject of this research is the images of jaguar in the art of the Aztecs of Mesoamerica. The images of a human and jaguar are captured on the metal, stone and clay artifacts of pre-Columbian civilizations that are available to the public in Mexico City National Museum of Anthropology, Peruvian Museum of the Nation in Lima, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D. C. The research methodology is based on compilation of the results of fundamental research of the leading scholars of North American School of Anthropology. The article conduct a general systematization and brief analytics of scientific records on the specificity of Mesoamerican decorative tradition of totem symbols throughout an extensive period of time: 1500 BC – 400 AD (Olmec Civilization), III century BC – VII century AD (Teotihuacan Civilization), 900 BC – 200 AD (Chavín Civilization), 750 BC – 100 AD (Paracas Civilization), 2300 – 1200 BC (Kotosh Civilization), 1250 – 1470 AD (Chimú Civilization). The presented materials substantiate the thesis that jaguar as a totem symbol carried out the functions of unification and identification of ethnoses of Mesoamerica, reflecting relevant sociocultural trends at various stages of anthropogenesis. The novelty of this work consists in scientific systematization of the facts that the nuances of fusion of the images of human and jaguar in art objects of Aztec culture reflect a harmonious or turbulent frame of mind in pre-Columbian era.

Colección ?Casanova-Gatto?: contribución al estudio de la historia de las investigaciones de la quebrada de La Cueva (Humahuaca, Jujuy) y la reconstrucción de su pasado

Prácticamente ?hasta finales del siglo XX?, la historia de las investigaciones de la quebrada de La Cueva (departamento de Humahuaca, provincia de Jujuy), se construyó a partir de la conformación de una colección, fruto de las exploraciones realizadas en 1931 por Eduardo Casanova y Santiago Gatto ?comisionados por el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural ?Bernardino Rivadavia??. El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar la trayectoria de formación de la colección ?Casanova-Gatto?, actualmente dividida al estar depositada en el Museo Etnográfico de Buenos Aires ?Juan B. Ambrosetti? y en el Instituto Interdisciplinario Tilcara (instituciones dependientes de la Universidad de Buenos Aires). Además, abordaremos los alcances y límites del soporte material (cerámico, lítico, óseo, metálico, etc.), y el escaso registro documental sobre dicha colección, para reconstruir la historia de su formación y evaluar el lugar que ocupó y ocupa en la construcción de narraciones y/o interpretaciones sobre el pasado de la quebrada de La Cueva. Algunas de esas narraciones tomaron como base la interpretación original de Casanova de los años treinta, a pesar de la distancia temporal y teórica que separaba dichas instancias de investigación. Otras narraciones interpretaron e interpretan el pasado de la quebrada de La Cueva desde perspectivas diferentes. Esto se debe a cambios en los enfoques teórico-metodológicos y los nuevos datos que surgen del estudio de los sitios arqueológicos y de otras colecciones previamente conformadas, pero recientemente estudiadas (como la colección que sobre la misma zona armó Benjamín Muniz Barreto, a partir de los trabajos realizados por Karl Schuel en 1919). El trabajo muestra cómo la historia de estas investigaciones y el contexto socio-histórico disciplinar en el que se insertan, incide en el desarrollo y en los resultados de los estudios de éste sector del Noroeste Argentino.

Taxonomical account of the Indian spiny clam shrimps (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Spinicaudata) from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA.

I present taxonomical re-descriptions of two Indian spinicaudatan species deposited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA, emphasizing on a few characters not highlighted in the original descriptions. Specimens collected from South India and deposited in the museum forty years ago were assessed and re-described. The study shows that the Cyzicidae species deposited as Caenestheriella sp. is Ozestheria indica while the Eulimnadia species is the widely distributed Eulimnadia michaeli. Many of the taxonomical characters were variable and did not exactly match the earlier description for both the species. Ozestheria indica could be distinguished from other valid Indian species on the telson characters and its occurrence proximity to the type locality of the species. This species is currently restricted to Peninsular India. Eulimnadia michaeli could be identified based on its characteristic egg surface morphology, though, the inner layers of the egg did vary when compared with the western Indian population. Using museum material, the validated species tally of Indian spiny clam shrimps now stands at 8 while 15 still await re-examination.

Some adult and larval nematodes from fishes off New Caledonia.

A collection of nematodes from the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History), Paris, France, was studied. The nematodes had previously been collected from a range of marine fish hosts. The aim of this study was to investigate the identity of these nematodes. Detailed body measurements of the nematodes were taken via light microscopy and where possible first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA were subjected to PCR, purified and sequenced. Six species and three larval types were found from a range of fish species and included 13 new host records and two new geographical records. Of the taxa found, Hysterothylacium kajikiae is the only species which may have zoonotic potential. The majority of host fish in this study are edible species, commercially and recreationally fished and frequently incorporated into the cuisine of New Caledonia as raw fish dishes. This study will allow better understanding of the diversity, life cycles, distribution and host-parasite relationships in the New Caledonia area.

The type specimens of Papilionoidea in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia (Lepidoptera)

This paper comprises a catalogue of the type material of true butterflies (Papilionoidea) kept in the National Museum of Natural History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia. The collection contains types of nine nominal species group taxa, described by S. Abadjiev, S. Beshkov, I. Buresch, H. Rebel, and K. Tuleschkow. Lectotypes have been designated for Colias myrmidone balcanica Rebel, 1901, Erebia tyndarus macedonica Buresch, 1919, E. gorge pirinica Buresch, 1919, Euchloe gruneri macedonica Buresch, 1921, Sathyrus [sic] arethusa strumata Buresch, 1919, and Doritis apollinus var. thracica Buresch, 1915. One new synonym has been established: Papilio arethusa arethusa [Denis et Schiffermüller], 1775 = Sathyrus [sic] arethusa strumata Buresch, 1919, syn. nov.

The Origins of Oceanography in France: The Scientific Expeditions of Travailleur and Talisman (1880–1883)

This article describes the earliest French oceanographic expeditions dedicated to investigating the deep sea. Though these expeditions, conducted from 1880 to 1883, were quite successful in terms of both science and what today we call “outreach,” they are often overlooked in histories of oceanography or mentioned only in passing. They produced a substantial literature of over 100 scientific publications. Participants’ descriptions of 176 new species are still considered valid today. Among the remarkable scientific discoveries were culturable and pressure-tolerant bacteria in deep-sea sediment samples, which led to the origin of deep-sea microbiology, and iconic deep-sea fish such as the gulper eel. Specimens, instruments, and equipment from these expeditions were on display for the general public at an exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris in early 1884. Between 1885 and 1891, expedition scientists authored three mass-market books on deep-sea life and the expeditions. Following a summary of the expeditions and their results, some speculation is provided as to why such an auspicious nineteenth century beginning of oceanography in France did not lead to a sustained interest in oceanography. A supplementary file contains a bibliography of expedition publications and a list of the species described from expedition collections.

American Tischeriidae (Lepidoptera) from the Collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.

We examine five Tischeriidae species from the collection of the National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Washington, D.C. We discovered among the holdings and describe two new species from Arizona, U.S.A: Astrotischeria bucera Remeikis and Stonis, new species and Astrotischeria tucsonica Remeikis and Stonis, new species. Host plants of both species are unknown. All specimens available for the study were collected at light by R. S. Wielgus in 1990. The new taxa are illustrated with photographs of the adults and their genitalia. Additionally, we provide the first photographic documentation of Astrotischeria omissa (Braun, 1927) (feeding on Althaea L., Malvaceae), A. heliopsisella (Chambers, 1875) (feeding on Ambrosia L. and Heliopsis Pers., Asteraceae), and C. confusa (Braun, 1972) (feeding on Fragaria L., Rosaceae). Another Fragaria-feeding tischeriid species, Tischeria inexpectataBraun, 1972, is synonymized with Coptotriche confusa. We briefly discuss the Malvaceae-feeding Astrotischeria Puplesis and Diskus, and discovery of a modified, hitherto undocumented ovipositor of A. bucera and A. omissa, a novel character for the family Tischeriidae.

The Last Biped Standing? Climate Change and Evolutionary Exceptionalism at the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins

The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins, housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, is one of the most visited science exhibits in the world, but it has sparked controversy since its opening. Critics have worried that ties to Koch Industries have distorted the exhibition's presentation of evolutionary and climate science, but few have undertaken a detailed analysis of these and other influences on the exhibition. I argue that the evolutionary story presented at the Hall constitutes a problematic form of Anthropocene advocacy that minimizes climate concerns. The evolutionary narrative is woven together from a peculiar and somewhat dubious mix of scientific, religious, and metaphysical investments that, taken together, bolster claims of human exceptionalism and species unity, and encourage complacency about our present climate crisis. The Hall of Human Origins advances a religiously inflected notion of what it means to be human that naturalizes climate change as a reservoir of human creativity, intelligence, and innovation, and that sets our species apart from the natural world, even as it seeks to place humans within evolutionary history and deep time.

The Hydrozoan Taxa (Cnidaria) of Addison Emery Verrill (1839–1926), with a Checklist of His Records of Hydroids and Hydromedusae

A review is given of the zoological names and current taxonomic status of two genera and 21 species-group taxa of hydroids attributed in this work to Addison Emery Verrill of the United States. Information is provided on type localities of his new species, and on locations and kinds of type material known to exist. The genus BlastothelaVerrill, 1878 is held to be congeneric with Candelabrumde Blainville, 1830, and its type species, B. roseaVerrill, 1878, is provisionally assigned to the synonymy of C. phrygium (Fabricius, 1780). Syntypes of Halecium robustumVerrill, 1873a, once thought lost, have been rediscovered at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and an earlier neotype designation of the species is set aside. Sertularia achilleae Verrill, in Coues and Yarrow, 1878, a widely overlooked nominal species, is taken to be conspecific with Tridentata marginata (Kirchenpauer, 1864). Sertularia carolinensisVerrill, 1872b, another poorly known species, is recognized as valid and a senior synonym of Thuiaria plumuliferaAllman, 1877. A review is given of the taxonomic and nomenclatural status of the polyseriate sertulariid genera PericladiumAllman, 1876 and PolyseriasMereschkowsky, 1877. Authorship and date of the binomen Laomedea angulata, usually attributed to Thomas Hincks with a date of 1861, is shown to have been made available earlier by Hincks in an 1859 article. Plumularia gracillimaG.O. Sars, 1873, assigned at present to the halopteridid genus PolyplumariaG.O. Sars, 1874, is taken to be a plumulariid. It is provisionally returned to PlumulariaLamarck, 1816, although that genus is considered polyphyletic and in need of revision. Bibliographic work was undertaken to determine, as accurately as possible, dates of publication of the 47 papers authored by Verrill containing information on hydroids and hydromedusae. An annotated checklist of 138 species of hydrozoans reported in those works, including 47 anthoathecates, 90 leptothecates, and 1 trachymedusa, is included as an appendix.

A chomped chimp: New evidence of tooth marks on an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus).

To describe and interpret previously unreported marks on the dry cranium of an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) from Côte d'Ivoire at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (USNM 450071). All marks on the cranium were documented and assessed through physical examination of the specimen, photography, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and 3D laser scanning. Pits and punctures were measured with digital calipers for comparison with published carnivore tooth mark measurements. The cranium shows perimortem or postmortem damage to the temporal, occipital, and maxillary regions that is not recent. Size and color variation in the marks suggest two damage events, possibly involving chewing by different animals, at least one of which was a large-bodied mammal. The 22 tooth pits and punctures (0.89-8.75 mm in maximum length and 0.88-6.63 mm in breadth) overlap in size with those inflicted by wild leopards, the most significant predators of common chimpanzees due to their largely overlapping ecological distributions. Based on qualitative and quantitative evidence, we conclude that leopards are the most likely cause of the most prominent marks on the cranium. However, we cannot rule out the additional possibility of other chimpanzees, although there are no published studies of chimpanzee tooth marks for direct comparison. This study is the most extensive documentation to date of a modern adult chimpanzee skull exhibiting tooth marks by a large mammal, thus providing new evidence to help identify and interpret other events of predation and scavenging of large-bodied apes in the modern and fossil records.

Treehopper voucher specimens collected in from Benton, Josephine, and Yamhill Counties, Oregon

Treehopper insect populations (Hemiptera: Membracidae) were surveyed in 2018 in Benton, Josephine, and Yamhill Counties, Oregon to determine their potential roles in the epidemiology of Grapevine red blotch virus. Stictocephala basalis and Tortistilus albidosparsus were identified through a taxonomic assessment of samples collected by hand near vineyards and in a natural area. Historical presence of Spissistilus festinus in the Willamette Valley is discussed. Voucher specimens were deposited in the Oregon State Arthropod Collection and at the United States National Museum of Natural History.

Histopathologic Prevalence and Severity of Testicular Oocytes in Smallmouth Bass from Two Archival Collections.

During recent decades, survey studies have documented the widespread presence of oocytes in the testes of male Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu collected from surface waters throughout the United States. There are few published reports of testicular oocytes (TO) in Smallmouth Bass before the 1990s, so it is difficult to know how long this has been occurring. Consequently, this study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and severity of TO occurrence in whole fish specimens from two archival collections-the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Suitland, Maryland, and Cornell University's Museum of Vertebrates in Ithaca, New York. Gonads were excised from 167 preserved male Smallmouth Bass that were originally collected between 1875 and 2004, and routine histologic sections were prepared and examined. The severity of TO was determined using a semiquantitative scoring system. Overall, 52.1% of male Smallmouth Bass were found to have TO. Affected fish had been collected in 11 of the 18 represented states, and TO were found in specimens harvested during decades as early as the 1880s and 1900s. Unfortunately, the small number of samples acquired at the earliest time periods precluded analyses of prevalence and severity trends over time. The results of this study demonstrated that the phenomenon of TO in male Smallmouth Bass is at least a century old and confirmed the widespread nature of this finding throughout the species' historic range. Further research efforts should focus on determining the baseline prevalence of TO in laboratory-reared male Smallmouth Bass that have not been exposed to endocrine active substances or the effects of experimental estrogen exposure on such fish.

Landlocked Pacific Lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus in the Middle Fork Willamette River, Oregon

Pacific Lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus is an anadromous fish native to the west coast of North America and the Pacific coast of Asia. In the 1950s, construction of dams on the Middle Fork Willamette River blocked upstream migration of adult Pacific Lamprey which resulted in their extirpation from otherwise suitable habitats. We report evidence of landlocked Pacific Lamprey surviving for >40 years after the construction of two high-head flood control dams (Dexter and Lookout Point) in the Middle Fork Willamette River 355.0 and 360.3 km upstream of the Pacific Ocean, respectively. In 2001, six putative Pacific Lamprey (two juveniles and four larvae) were captured using an electro shocker during a stream survey, 21.7 km upstream of Lookout Point Dam (the uppermost of these dams) and were entered into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s Division of Fishes collection. We re-examined these specimens, and their morphometric measurements and dentition are consistent with Pacific Lamprey. Additional evidence supports the existence of a landlocked population of Pacific Lamprey that resided upstream of these two impassable dams for approximately five generations. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Pacific Lamprey surviving for multiple generations upstream of impassable impoundments. However, no Pacific Lamprey have been detected in recent targeted surveys, indicating that this population has since been extirpated or exists in very low numbers.

Type specimens of Acari (Arachnida) in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia. I. Acariformes (Acaridida and Prostigmata)

The present list contains data on type material of 109 mite species (Acaridida and Prostigmata) from Bulgaria (species, described by I. Vassilev, M. Kolebinova, P. Beron) and many foreign countries: Greece, Suriname, the Netherlands, New Guinea, Cuba, Mexico, Chile, USA, Canada, Madagascar, Gaboon, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Morocco, Tunisia, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, China, and the Philippines (species, described by M. Kolebinova, P. Beron, F. Lukoschus, A. Fain, C. Welbourn, F. Dusbabek, K. Samsinak, K. R. Orwig, W. Atyeo and other authors). The type material housed in the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia includes species from the families Acaridae, Glycyphagidae, Canestriniidae, Proctophyllodidae, Trouessartiidae, Syringobiidae, Dermationidae, Ereynetidae, Cytoditidae, Myocoptidae, Chirodiscidae, Gastronyssidae, Myobiidae, Ophioptidae, Demodicidae, Smarididae, Erythraeidae, Neotrombidiidae, Eutrombidiidae, Trombiculidae, Leeuwenhoekiidae, Walchiidae, and Vatacaridae. All Bulgarian and foreign acarologists are kindly invited to submit type specimens under their care in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History in Sofia. This material will be properly housed and well used.

Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World

Outbreak Epidemics in a Connected World Heidi Morefield "Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World,"National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 05 18, 2018– 11 2021 A common frustration among historians of medicine is the way in which the media tends to treat each new epidemic as an alarming anomaly, divorced from the context of outbreaks past. It was therefore refreshing to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's latest temporary exhibit, "Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World," where the public can explore this history firsthand. The exhibit centers on the concept it calls "One Health." Akin to the World Health Organization's "planetary health," One Health considers human health to be inextricable from the health of animals and the environment. The argument the panels and displays put forth was that anthropogenic changes to the environment have caused humans, animals, and their viruses to interact in new ways. This transfer of zoonotic diseases has led to a series of new disease outbreaks, from the Hanta virus and pandemic influenza to HIV, Zika, and Ebola. The threat and opportunity of our interconnected world are common themes—while diseases like SARS and MERS were able to travel rapidly between countries due to globalized air travel, international collaborations represent our best hope for outbreak detection, response, and containment. Outbreak asks its audience to become "disease detectives." Interactive displays showcase the various ways humans have altered the environment—including increased demand for meat, which led to factory farming and animals kept in too-close captivity enabling disease spread and mutation, to deforestation and climate change, bringing wild animals into close contact with humans—and invite the public to look for "clues" as to how these changes contribute to disease outbreaks. What risk factors do they see in this scenario? How would they diagnose patients lining up with a mysterious disease? Another interactive game drives home the message of collaboration, wherein up to three people can role-play, video game-style, a disease outbreak response, each with different talents and skills. Current and recent outbreaks—of Zika and Ebola, for example—are well-situated within the longer history of epidemics. A timeline near one entrance documents human changes to the environment back to 9000 BCE with the rise of animal domestication and agriculture. Urbanization, trade, colonialism, and the world wars are highlighted as having contributed to specific pandemics, if somewhat simplistically given space constraints. Patient voices are given significant space, however. Portraits and quotes from survivors of the 1918 influenza pandemic, HIV/AIDS, and recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa were featured prominently, and a wall display was dedicated to the history of HIV/AIDS activism. A small sign near the main entrance warns that "this exhibition contains human remains, images, and content about disease symptoms, transmission, fatalities, and prevention that may not be suitable for all audiences." Indeed, though situated in a museum known to be extremely child-friendly, this exhibit may be somewhat disturbing (as Ilearned firsthand) to even the most intrepid seven-year-old. Germophobes and hypochondriacs may also want to steer clear. Some images and displays of confined, sick, and dead animals may also warrant caution to animal-lovers, [End Page 519]though—as my son pointed out—it is housed in a museum otherwise full of dead animals. Apart from one moment at the end of a video newsreel, which proclaimed that an "outbreak anywhere is a threat everywhere," the exhibit did a nice job of veering away from the alarmist rhetoric so often associated with epidemics. "Outbreak" is certainly worth a visit for those in or stopping by Washington, D.C. It presents a historically informed take on the current state of disease in the Anthropocene, and will, I hope, inspire many to reconsider their relationship to the environment and our animal neighbors. [End Page 520] Heidi Morefield Princeton University Copyright © 2020 Johns Hopkins University Press