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Beginning with the Jeffersoniana series of publications, the museum is offering free, online downloads.  We will be adding more in the future, but don't forget to view the online store for additional publications for purchase.

A new Crataegus-feeding plant bug of the genus Neolygus from the eastern United States
Jeffersoniana #17

Thomas J. Henry

ABSTRACT
The new species Neolygus crataegi is described from two counties in southwestern Virginia where it was collected in June on flowers of hawthorn, Crataegus spp. Dorsal and lateral digital images and a habitus illustration of the adult, scanning electron photomicrographs of selected structures, and illustrations of male genitalia are provided to help distinguish N. crataegi from other species of the genus.

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Barstovian (middle Miocene) Land Mammals from the Carmel Church Quarry, Caroline County, Virginia
Jeffersoniana #18

Alton C. Dooley, Jr.

ABSTRACT
Excavation of marine sediments of the Calvert Formation at the Carmel Church Quarry has resulted in the collection of remains of several land mammals. These include the first reports from the upper Calvert Formation of the family Dromomerycidae and of the equid Calippus cf. regulus as well as the tayassuid “Prosthennops” xiphidonticus and a tapirid. The presence of Calippus cf. regulus and “Prosthennops” xiphidonticus indicate a late Barstovian age for this deposit, which is consistent with previous assessments based on diatoms.

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Unusual Cambrian Thrombolites from the Boxley Blue Ridge Quarry, Bedford County, Virginia
Jeffersoniana #19

Alton C. Dooley, Jr. 

ABSTRACT
Three unusual thrombolites were collected in June 2008 from the Late Cambrian Conococheague Formation at the Boxley Materials Blue Ridge Quarry in Bedford County, Virginia. These specimens are isolated low domes with a thrombolitic core and a pustulate, stromatolitic outer layer. The two largest domes have a distinctive thickened rim around their margins. There are apparent traces across the upper surfaces of the domes that may indicate grazing by invertebrates.

The overall structure and morphology of the Boxley specimens is reminiscent of modern thrombolites forming in Lake Thetis, a saline lake in southwestern Australia. The low domes and thickened rims in Lake Thetis specimens seem to be a result of growth in a protected setting, with shallowing water levels. Based on the similarities with the Lake Thetis specimens, the Boxley thrombolites may have formed in a protected lagoonal setting with gradually dropping water levels, followed by relatively rapid inundation and burial.  ISBN 1061-1878.  (Distributed as a PDF download only).

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Injuries in a Mysticete Skeleton from the Miocene of Virginia, With a Discussion of Buoyancy and the Primitive Feeding Mode in the Chaeomysticeti
Jeffersoniana #20

Brian L. Beatty and Alton C. Dooley, Jr.

ABSTRACT
A mostly complete skeleton of a mysticete from the Carmel Church Quarry displays some injuries, including a fractured and partially-healed left mandible, previously not reported in any fossil mysticete. The mostly healed nature of this non-union impaction fracture indicates that the animal died a significant amount of time after the injury. Additional injuries of the postglenoid process and left premaxilla, as well as the nature of the impaction fracture in the mandible suggest that the cause of this was some impact from the left anterior aspect.  Possible scenarios for how this injury could have happened include intraspecific aggression and, more likely, impact with the seafloor during benthic feeding.  The ribs of this individual are heavily osteosclerotic from dorsal to ventral ends, which would suggest that this taxon was a benthic feeder. In comparison with a sample of ribs from fossil mysticetes, it appears that Diorocetus may have been one of the last mysticetes with rib osteosclerosis, a feature possibly primitive to Mysticeti. Although this remains speculative, the presence of osteosclerotic ribs in primitive mysticetes suggests that the feeding mode employed by the earliest Chaeomysticeti was one of benthic feeding.

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Morphometric and Allozymic Variation in the Southeastern Shrew (Sorex longirostris)
Jeffersoniana #21

Wm. David Webster, Nancy D. Moncrief, Becky E. Gurshaw, Janet L. Loxterman, Robert K. Rose, John F. Pagels, and Sandra Y. Erdle

ABSTRACT
Morphometric and allozymic variation was examined in specimens of Sorex longirostris to assess the status of S. l. fisheri, which is thought to be restricted to the Great Dismal Swamp region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Significant geographic variation was detected in all cranial and external measurements and in body mass. Shrews from southeastern Virginia and throughout eastern North Carolina (S. l. fisheri Merriam 1895) are large overall but they have relatively narrow crania. Shrews from southern Georgia and Florida (S. l. eionis Davis 1957) also are large but they have relatively short tails. Shrews from elsewhere in the range of the species (S. l. longirostris Bachman 1837) are relatively small in all cranial and external dimensions and in body mass. Five of 25 genetic loci examined by starch-gel electrophoresis were variable, with one allele (MPIC) occurring only in shrews from southeastern Virginia and several sites in eastern North Carolina. Allozymic evidence for intergradation was demonstrated through the presence of the MPIC allele in specimens from central North Carolina that morphologically were assigned to S. l. longirostris. Shrews from the Lower Coastal Plain of eastern North Carolina were allozymically more similar to animals from the Great Dismal Swamp, the type locality of S. l. fisheri, than to shrews from western North Carolina and Virginia (S. l. longirostris). Thus, based on morphometric and allozymic information, we conclude that shrews referable to S. l. fisheri are distributed widely in the North Carolina Coastal Plain, well beyond the historic Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia.

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Karyotype designation and habitat description of the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda, Say) from the type locality
Jeffersoniana #22

Cody W. Thompson and Justin D. Hoffman

ABSTRACT

The karyotype of the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) has been studied extensively across its range, revealing polymorphisms as a result of Robertsonian fissions/fusions. However, no karyological data have been reported at the type locality due to disagreement on its location. This information is vital given the proximity of a contact zone with the Elliot’s short-tailed shrew (B. hylophaga). Recent evidence has indicated that the type locality of B. brevicauda is situated at the western edge of this species’ distribution in eastern Nebraska. Therefore, it is now possible to establish a karyotype of specimens found at this location. Specimens were collected in 2006 at the type locality and field karyotyped. Chromosome morphology was consistent with previous reports. Two specimens collected from the type locality had a diploid number of 50 and a fundamental number of 48. Further investigation may reveal additional karyotypes at this location.

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Diatom biostratigraphy and paleoecology of vertebrate-bearing Miocene localities in Virginia
Jeffersoniana #23

Anna R. Trochim and Alton C. Dooley, Jr.

ABSTRACT
Silicieous microfossil samples were obtained from sediment collected with cetacean remains from three localities in eastern Virginia: the Carmel Church Quarry in Caroline County (CCQ), Westmoreland State Park in Westmoreland County (WSP), and the Rappahannock River in Richmond County (RMC). While the WSP and RMC deposits have been correlated with the upper part of the middle Miocene Calvert Formation based on past studies of diatoms and macroinvertebrates, the assignment of CCQ to the upper Calvert has been based primarily on lithostratigraphy and land mammal biostratigraphy.

Among these samples, CCQ exhibited the greatest diatom diversity with 28 species from 19 genera. At RMC 15 species from 12 genera were identified, while 19 species from 11 genera were found at WSP, which had the greatest abundance of diatoms. In addition, a single silicoflagellate taxon, Dictyocha crux, was identified at each site.

At CCQ, the co-occurrence of Stephanopyxis grunowii and Delphineis biseriata indicates a correlation with Bed 15 of the Calvert Formation. At RMC, the co-occurrence of D. biseriata and D. penelliptica also indicates a correlation with Bed 15. Useful marker diatoms were rare at WSP. Even so, the co-occurrence of D. penelliptica and D. novaecaesaraea combined with the absence of D. biseriata suggests a correlation with Beds 12-15 of the Calvert. Published reports based on mollusks from WSP indicate that this unit correlates with Beds 14-15.

All three sites contained abundant specimens associated with or tolerant of brackish water, including Coscinodiscus rothii at CCQ and WSP, Hyalodiscus laevis at CCQ and RMC, and Paralia sulcata at all three sites. There was a mix of both warm- and coolwater taxa (Actinoptychus senarius, P. sulcata) at all three sites. All three sites also included benthic taxa, suggesting that water depths throughout the area were no greater than 20 meters.

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A middle Miocene beaked whale tooth Caroline County, Virginia (Cetacea: Ziphiidae) from the Carmel Church Quarry, Virginia, and implications for the evolution of sexual dimorphism in ziphiids
Jeffersoniana #24

Alton C. Dooley, Jr.

ABSTRACT
An apparent right apical mandibular tooth from a beaked whale (Family Ziphiidae) was collected at the Carmel Church Quarry, Caroline County, Virginia in August 2009. The occurrence of this specimen in Bed 15 of the Calvert Formation marks only the second report of a ziphiid from the Calvert Formation. Moreover, this specimen represents, along with the Peruvian Nazcacetus and Messapicetus, the earliest known occurrence of an enlarged mandibular tooth in a ziphiid. The complete closure of the pulp cavity indicates that this tooth derived from a fully mature animal, while the lack of wear on the crown indicates that the tooth had not erupted from the gums, suggesting that the animal was a female. The presence of unerupted mandibular teeth in a fully mature female suggests that, even by the middle Miocene, ziphiids had already evolved modern behavioral patterns in which enlarged mandibular teeth are used exclusively for intraspecific combat between competing males.

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Antiquity of Southern Appalachian Grass Balds:  The Role of Keystone Megaherbivores
Chapter from Special Publication #7 - Proceedings of the Appalachian Biogeography
Symposium

Peter D. Weigl
Department of Biology
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC 27109

Travis W. Knowles
Department of Biology
Francis Marion University
Florence, SC 29501

ABSTRACT
The origin and persistence of the high elevation grass balds of the southern Appalachians have been the subject of a long standing controversy that now threatens the preservation of this community, with its unique array of plants and animals.  Those who claim that the balds are teh result of recent, anthropogenic factors are content to allow successional procesesses to obliterate most balds.  On the other hand, those who believe that balds are, in many cases, natural and quite ancient communities, argue for their study and preservation.  On the basis of information drawn from regional history, community ecology, agricultural studies and paleontology, we hypothesize that open grasslands probably always existed locally in mountain landscapes and elsewhere in the Southeast during the Pleistocene and that these areas were maintained and modified initially by large keystone herbivores, later by bison, elk and deer and, since about 1840, by domestic livestock.  The rapid decline of the grass balds today ma be largely attributed to the absence of large herbivores, and the best method for restoring them and conserving their rare biota may involve the reintroduction of wild or domestic animals in the future.

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Reconnaissance Mineralogy of the Eocene Mole Hill Diatreme, Rockingham County, Virginia

Jeffersoniana #25
Published 2010
James S. Beard

ABSTRACT
The Mole Hill diatreme consists of picrobasalt with abundant megacrysts (0.5 mm to 2cm in maximum dimension) of clinopyroxene, Mg-Al-Fe spinel, and (less abundant) olivine. Cognate minerals include microphenocryst and groundmass plagioclase, olivine, clinopyroxene and Fe-Ti-(Cr) spinel. Clinopyroxene is the most abundant megacryst phase. Overall, the clinopyroxene in the megacryst cores is a high-Al, low-Cr augite with Mg# 78-88. Sieve textured rims approach groundmass clinopyroxene compositions. Olivine occurs as megacrysts and also as small (0.1- 0.5 mm) crystals of indeterminate origin. These may be phenocrysts, xenocrysts, or both. All non-groundmass olivine is zoned, becoming Fe- and Ca-rich (and approaching the composition of groundmass olivine) rimward. The most primitive olivine has Fo~90 and NiO as high as 0.75wt.%. More typically, olivine is Fo78-88 with NiO <0.5 wt.%. The megacryst/xenocryst olivine cores have higher Mg# and lower CaO than groundmass olivine. Megacrystic spinels are notably low in Cr, with Cr# <1, and variable Mg# ranging from 52-74. This variation is appears to be continuous, despite the lack of zoning in individual spinel xenocrysts. Plagioclase occurs only as a microphenocryst phase, with uniform An75 cores and rims as sodic as An58. Cognate clinopyroxene (Mg#67-78) is enriched in Ca and Ti relative to the megacrysts. Groundmass olivine has low NiO and high (0.3-0.6 wt.%) CaO. Groundmass spinels have ulvospinel contents near 50%, initially rising with Mg# (in Cr-rich microphenocrysts) then dropping. Although the lack of context for the megacrysts precludes a definitive understanding of their origin, megacryst chemistry (especially the low-Cr spinels and the overall abundance of clinopyroxene) suggests a clinopyroxene-rich source in the upper (e.g. spinel zone) continental lithosphere. This source is likely similar to the Al-augite suite clinopyroxenites and wehrlites that occur as xenoliths and as intrusive veins in composite xenoliths from alkali basalt provinces worldwide. Cognate mineral (groundmass minerals and microphenocrysts) compositions are consistent with crystallization from a slightly evolved alkali basalt melt.

Free Jeffersoniana #25

Systematic Revision of the Northern Short-tailed Shrew, Blarina brevicauda (Say)

Memoir #10
Wm. David Webster, Nancy D. Moncrief, Jerry R. Choate, and Hugh H. Genoways
Published 2011

Short-tailed shrews, genus Blarina, are common inhabitants of a variety of terrestrial habitats in most of eastern North America. Of the 4 species currently recognized, the northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda (Say, 1823), is the most widely distributed, occurring from southern Canada southward to the central Great Plains and the Appalachian Mountains into Georgia and Alabama and along the East Coast as far south as southeastern North Carolina. It has been more than 65 years since geographic variation within this species has been studied. Accordingly, the objectives of this study were to examine geographic variation in Blarina brevicauda and to revise its intraspecific taxonomy as needed.

A total of 12,390 Holocene specimens of Blarina brevicauda from throughout the geographic range of the species and the fossil material of Blarina fossilis, B. ozarkensis, and B. simplicidens were examined during the course of this study. Nine cranial and mandibular measurements were taken from 2,736 Holocene specimens, which were grouped into 114 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for statistical analysis. We used a single classification ANOVA to test for significant differences among means of OTUs and a principal component analysis (PCA) to extract eigenvectors and generate a 2-dimensional plot of OTUs.

Our analysis demonstrates that B. brevicauda consists of 7 well-defined subspecies. Two subspecies, the large-bodied B. b. brevicauda and the medium-sized B. b. talpoides, occupy almost the entire geographic range of the species, with restricted gene flow between these 2 subspecies where their geographic ranges abut in the vicinity of the Mississippi River and its valley. The other 5 subspecies occupy small to modest geographic ranges at the periphery of the range of the species and in isolated geographic areas—an undescribed subspecies on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee and adjacent Kentucky, B. b. knoxjonesi along the southeastern coast of North Carolina, another undescribed subspecies on the southern two-thirds of the Delmarva Peninsula, B. b. aloga on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island, and a third undescribed subspecies in the Kaw River Valley in northeastern Kansas. In each of these geographic areas, gene flow has been stopped or greatly restricted. We have chosen to recognize these 7 subspecies because we believe that each has begun to follow its own evolutionary path. These taxa are arranged in a geographic configuration that fits the pattern termed centrifugal speciation, or the development of small isolated peripheral and sometimes relictual populations as the parent taxon undergoes normal population expansion and contraction cycles. The fact that at least 3 of these peripheral populations are now partially in contact with the parental populations and have not been swamped out genetically indicates to us that they are adapting to their local conditions and are able to maintain their genetic identities. Our morphological data and mitochondrial DNA analyses by other workers indicate that these peripheral subspecies, with the possible exception of the 1 along the Kaw River valley, are derived from B. b. talpoides. These data also indicate that B. b. brevicauda and B. b. talpoides are semi-species.

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Potential impacts of the invasive herb garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) on local ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) communities in northern temperate forests. 

Jeffersoniana #26
Published 2011
Kaloyan Ivanov and Joe Keiper

ABSTRACT
Garlic mustard, an invasive shade-tolerant species introduced to North America from Eurasia in the late 1860s, now is widely distributed throughout the US and Canada. The presence of garlic mustard results in displacement of understory species and subsequent decline in native plant diversity. By displacing native plants, garlic mustard can affect resource availability and habitat quality, and thereby affect animals across different trophic levels. However, these impacts have been documented infrequently. Our study focused on the small-scale effects of garlic mustard invasion on an abundant and important group of forest-floor arthropods. We evaluated the effects of garlic mustard on forest ant assemblages in invaded and non-invaded areas of two mesophytic forest fragments of northeastern Ohio. Plots invaded by garlic mustard showed reduced leaf litter depth, and an increased abundance of nonnative Amynthas earthworms. Sample-based rarefaction and similarity analyses revealed that the presence of garlic mustard, and the associated decrease in leaf litter depth, had no detectable effect on the observed and expected ant species richness and community composition. Rank-abundance distributions also were largely unchanged in garlic mustard invaded plots. Our results suggest that regional sylvan ant communities are unaffected by the generally presumed negative effects of garlic mustard invasions, or these effects may be more subtle or confounded by other dominating factors.

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The Effects of Fire on Lycopodium digitatum strobili.

Jeffersoniana #27
Published 2011
Stephanie I. Vogel, Bryan T. Piatkowski, Alton C. Dooley, Jr., and DorothyBelle Poli

ABSTRACT
Lycopodium is a commonly ignored plant in the forest understory and in fire ecological studies in spite of the well-documented explosive nature of their spores. Therefore, in order to understand how fire may affect Lycopodium, burn studies were carried out on varying sporophyte life cycle stages. Strobili exhibited varying degrees of sporophyll opening and closing in response to the burning and age was directly correlated to the length of the burn. Spores that were burned and plated on axenic media showed a decrease in germination time, from 9 months to 3 weeks, after being subjected to fire. Beyond providing baseline understanding of the effects of fire on Lycopodium

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