VMNH Memoirs
Evolution of Environments and Hominidae in the African Western Rift Valley Edited by Noel T. Boaz
An innovative multidisciplinary exploration of an important paleoanthropological site in the Rift Valley of eastern Zaire, extending in age from over two million years ago to the present. Members of the Semliki Research Expedition present and discuss the geology, paleoecology, paleontology, and archaeology of the Upper Semliki and nearby northern shore of Lake Rutanzige. Molluscan Biostratiraphy of the Miocene, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America Written by Lauck W. Ward
In spite of over one hundred years of attention to the Miocene geology of the Coastal Plain of the middle Atlantic states of North America, until the publication of this volume the area lacked a comprehensive biostratigraphic framework. In this volume, biostratigraphic concepts are reviewed and a zonation based on mollusks is proposed that covers the relatively complete Miocene section in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. A series of eight interval-zones are described, based on first-occurrence data of stratigraphically important mollusks, and the entire time sequence of the Miocene is represented. The mollusks used in the study are treated systematically, and their nomenclatural histories as well as their geographic and stratigraphic ranges discussed. Thirty-five new species or subspecies and seven new genera are named and described. This well-illustrated monograph on the Miocene strata and fauna will be an essential source for scientists, educators, students, and amateurs. The twenty-six excellent fossil plates and the thirty-two graphically depicted outcrop sections make the volume valuable both in the laboratory and field. This refinement of the molluscan systematics clears up much of the confusion in nomenclature of Maryland and Virginia fossils. Molluscan Assemblages of the Chowan River Formation, Part A Written by Lauck W. Ward and Norman L. Gilinsky
Biostratigraphic Analysis of the Chowan River Formation (Upper Pliocene) and Adjoining Units, the Moore House Member of the Yorktown Formation (Upper Pliocene) and the James City Formation (Lower Pleistocene). The Megaflora from the Quantico Locality (Upper Albian), Lower Cretaceous Potomac Group of Virginia Written by Garland R. Upchurch, Jr., Peter R. Crane, and Andrew N. Drinnan
The mid-Cretaceous Potomac Group of Virginia and Maryland preserves the best record of early flowering plant fossils in North America. The Potomac Group documents some of the earliest appearances of modern orders and families and illustrates the transition from an archaic Mesophytic flora dominated by ferns, cyadophytes, and conifers to a modern Cenophytic flora dominated by flowering plants and conifers. A Synopsis of the North American Centipede of the Order Scolopendromorpha (Chilopodoa) Written by Dr. Rowland Shelley, Curator of Terrestrial Invertebrates, North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences
The order Scolopendromorpha contains the largest members of the class Chilopoda, with individuals of the aptly named Scolopendra gigantea L. attaining a length of over 12 inches (300 mm). Essentially worldwide in occurrence but most diverse and abundant in tropical and semiarid regions, scolopendromorphs are often the dominant invertebrate predators in terrestrial ecosystems. Endowed with powerful fangs and a predisposition to bite on little provocation, the larger members are often implicated in painful encounters with humans, and in parts of the tropics constitute a public health problem of some importance. A Synopsis of the North American Centipedes of the Order Scolopendromorpha (Chilopoda) is the first comprehensive treatment of the North American fauna. In it, 27 species are recognized and distributed among nine genera and three families, and one generic and 23 species names are newly relegated to synonymies. Thousands of preserved specimens have been examined, including extant types of most newly proposed synonyms. The author has personally encountered the majority of our species alive under environmental conditions on field expeditions across the continental United States and Canada. Keys are provided to taxa at all levels, and taxonomic characters are fully illustrated. With this reference at hand, any North American naturalist working with scolopendromorphs should experience little difficulty arriving at reliable determinations. Detailed distribution maps, based on both reliable literature records and collection localities of preserved samples, provide precise images of the ranges as currently known. Ecological and ethological information is summarized for species where such exists. An extensive bibliography of 233 titles represents virtually the entire literature base relevant to the continental fauna. Dr. Rowland Shelley is Curator of Terrestrial Invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences. He has authored over 160 scientific papers on the classification and distribution of millipeds, centipedes, scorpions, and leeches, in which over 180 new species and subspecies are described. Systematics of the freshwater amphipod genus Crangonyx (Crangonyctidae) in North America Written by Jun Zhang and John R. Holsinger
Freshwater amphipods abound in a wide range of habitats: from icy springs and cave streams to rivers, lakes and swamps, frequently in vast numbers as both primary consumers and a food resource for many larger predators. Species of the Holarctic genus Crangonyx exemplify this condition, as important elements in many aquatic ecosystems, and must be factored into studies of such communities and in the formulation of environmental management protocols. This monographic revision, based on the examination of over 23,000 specimens, treats the classification, phylogeny, and distribution of the 42 North American species of this genus, 24 of them described as new. Structural details are copiously illustrated, locality records obtained from 2240 collections are represented on distribution maps, and computer-generated phylogenetic trees portray possible evolutionary tracks within Crangonyx. Such a comprehensive treatment renders the book indispensable to all students of the class Amphipoda and anyone investigating Nearctic freshwater ecosystems. It is the latest contribution from ongoing research on amphipods conducted by the second author, Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University, for over four decades.
Re-description and Revision of Smitts 'Floridan Bryozoa' in the Collection of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology, Harvard University.
This monograph describes and updates the nomenclature and classification of the "Floridan Bryozoa" collected in 1862-69 by L. F. de Pourtal's and named by F. A. Smitt in 1872-73. This material, now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, includes specimens of 68 species, upon which (in addition to those recognized by Smitt), are based 15 new species and four new genera. Four new families are also proposed to accomodate the new taxa in the modern classification of this group. All species are illustrated by large, detailed SEM images.
A New Species of Squalodon (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Middle Miocene of Virginia Written by Alton C. Dooley, Jr.
The large squalodontid whale Squalodon whitmorei is described from a nearly complete skeleton from the Calvert Formation (Middle Miocene), eastern Virginia. The technical description of skeletal elements is preceded by a review of relevant taxonomic literature, and the conclusion drawn that the nominal genus Kellogia (Mchedlidze 1976) is a junior subjective synonym of Squalodon. The status of other names proposed for apparently related whales is also discussed; S. whitmorei appears to be most closely allied to S. barbarus (Mchedlidze) from Oligocene strata in Azerbaidzhan. |
$20
$40
$18.00
$18.00 
$40.00
$30.00
$30.00
$20.00 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Information meeting for upcoming SW Piedmont Master Naturalist training course is July 15. |
Save Paper - Download your 2008 Summer Camps schedule (pdf) |
Sign up Today for VMNH Field Trip Adventures |
Visit VMNH Blogs covering Museum research, science and education. |