The Vertebral Column - Smithsonian...

JANUARY, 2010 VOL. 23, NO. 1

The Vertebral Column...

NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

VZ Loses Jewel Joy Pearl Gold Retires

By Don E. Wilson In November, 1976, two weeks into her new job, Vertebrate Zoology’s Joy Gold was confronted with masses of letters, so many she began to think of herself as the “Dear Abby” or “Ann Landers” of the Department. Letters from the general public, from libraries, from universities, from researchers, from whole classes of young school children who believe the Smithsonian knows everything about everything. In ’76 the “hot” topic was Sharks. Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, the book that spawned a movie about a menacing, man-eating white shark ter-rorizing a beach town, probably never realized that he was contributing to the death of a plethora of trees cut down to supply the paper that came to Joy’s office. We didn’t even have a recycle bin in those halcyon days. Remember that in 1976 there was no e-mail so a quick reply was not available and conserving paper was not on the radar. In the ensuing years desktop computers have become commonplace and e-mail allows for faster responses. Even so, the mail, both serious and silly, still arrives for Joy to respond to and indeed she does—refereeing bar bets, locating or not locating specimens that some-

one’s grandfather donated years ago, commenting on a young person’s sketches of a submarine shark hunter, consulting with curators on classification and identifi-cation questions, and preparing bibliographies and leaflets as additional sources of information. Joy’s

motto is not “search and destroy” but rather search and inform; even if humor-ous, hypothetical situations are posed by a caller. The Smithsonian prides itself on answering its letters and/or suggesting other sources for such answers. And that was Joy’s initial job. So who is Joy? JOY GOLD, Technical Information Specialist, has been with

NMNH for some 38 years: first as a docent in Paleobiology and then as a permanent employee in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology. Joy grew up in a business district of Philadelphia, with a loving mother, father, and brother. She graduated from Germantown High School and envisioned becoming a veterinar-ian. Like many other young people, she kept dogs, fishes, turtles, gerbils, guinea pigs, birds, and various pets as part of her household throughout her life. Joy and her husband Archie have been married for 54 years and they have two children who have grown up to be bright, independent women who gave them three wonderful grandchildren. As a college student she was fascinated by tropical fish and had 8 or 9 aquaria crowding her rooms. She

attended Penn State University from 1948-50, where she majored in biology, but when illness struck the family, dreams of Vet School were put aside and she returned to Philadelphia to graduate from Temple University in 1953 as a high school teacher of biology, English, history, and mathematics. Fortunately, she was hired by the Philadelphia school system and appointed to Germantown High, the very school where she had graduated. She taught there for some 5 years and was responsible for the first accelerated biology class in the school. This meant her classes were filled with cages of snakes, frogs, guinea pigs, insects, and of course fish. It also meant the class could go to the nearest park for field trips and sometimes even do dissections, which was a very big deal for a public school. With the arrival of children, motherhood took prece-dence. For 10 years Joy and her family lived in New Jersey. When the family moved in 1966 to the Wash-ington area, Joy decided to become active in various

ways: she was co-leader of a Girl Scout troop; she taught English classes for diplomats through The Hos-pitality and Information Service; she attended Mont-gomery College to bring herself up to speed on current biological happenings. After all, she graduated from college the year Watson and Crick described the structure of DNA, and tectonic plates were still moving along undetected. She did some substitute teaching in 1975, and fortunately for us, she became part of the docent program here in Natural History and enjoyed introducing students to the Paleobiology Halls. With her children in High School Joy anticipated obtaining a job, and she was most fortunate that an opening occurred in the Vertebrate Zoology Department of NMNH. Although Joy’s duties included using her scientific background to answer letters, she also responded to various requests by the staff. Because of her competence, she was asked by two of our distinguished VZ curators to co-author books.

DEADLINE FOR NEWS

VZ staff will submit news items to Division Contacts by April 16, 2010 DEADLINE FOR DIVISION

CONTACTS

All news items to Joy by April 23, 2010

All News items on diskette or e-mail

EDITORIAL STAFF Chairman Don Wilson Editor Joy Gold

DIVISION NEWS CONTACTS

Fishes Dave Smith 238-1742 Jeff Williams 238-1736 Tom Munroe 633-1293 Herps Steve Gotte 633-0728 Birds Christina Gebhard 633-0789 Mammals Helen Kafka 633-1254 MSC Helen Wimer 238-1180 Library Courtney Shaw 633-1675

One + years old Six years old

Growing Pains: a chubby 11

Our present contributors, STEVE GOTTE, JEFF WILLIAMS, TOM MUNROE, DAVE SMITH, CHRISTINA GEBHARD, HELEN KAFKA, HELEN WIMER, and COURTNEY SHAW deserve a big Thank You from all of us.”

Sharks in Question with VIC SPRINGER, published in 1989, was the first, and Whales and Dolphins in Question with JIM MEAD, followed in 2002. The shark book was also translated and published in Japa-nese. Joy is justifiably proud of these accomplish-ments, and her co-authors are grateful for her efforts. Joy continued responding to inquiries, adding refer-ence lists to the Smithsonian Encyclopedia Web site, and also taking on the Weekly and then Monthly reports required by the Secretary of the Smithsonian. Joy has been admirably adaptable, working with 8 different Department Chairs as her supervisor: GIBBS, ZUG, HEYER, THORINGTON, JOHNSON, PARENTI, VARI, and WILSON. In 1988, when Dick Thorington decided to initiate a newsletter, Joy became the Backbone editor and publisher. Our first primitive com-puters assisted and the initial issue appeared in September of that year. Now we operate with more sophisticated programs, publish quar-terly in color, and have a representa-tive news contributor in each of our 4 divisions. According to Joy, “without those contributors we would not have a newsletter; they have been the real ‘backbone’, reporting all the activi-

In June, 2004 Joy was honored for her excellence by the Smithsonian with an UNSUNG HERO Award and her name was entered into the Award Plaque. She is grateful for this recognition by the Smithsonian community, just as we are grateful for her continued efforts. So as we enter yet another decade, Joy has retired; sleeping late, going fishing, but not yet saying

goodbye. Fortunately for us, she can’t quite cut the tie and has vol-unteered her services to continue editing and overseeing publication of the Backbone. The whole De-partment wishes her the very best in the Golden years of retirement, and we look forward to continuing to see her at least weekly as she articulates the Backbone. (See the last page for pictures of Joy in retirement!)

Dr. Vic Springer and Joy Gold Dr. James Mead and Joy Gold

2004 Unsung Hero Award

VZ NEWS

NMNH AWARDS PRESENTATION DECEMBER 15, 2009

2009 Career Service Awards

Honorees in Vertebrate Zoology 40 Years of Service: Richard W Thorington Jr.

30 Years of Service: James Dean, Jeremy Jacobs, Michael D Carleton

Don Wilson, presenter, Richard Thorington Jr., and Christián Samper, Director, NMNH

Photo by Chip Clark.

2nd Left of center, Jeremy Jacobs; 3rd right of center, James Dean. Photo by Chip Clark.

James Dean. Photo by Joy Gold

Jeremy Jacobs. Photo by Joy Gold

20 Years of Service: Carla Dove and Carol Youmans

Carla Dove. 5th from right. Inset Photo by

J. Gold

Christina Gebhard, 5th from right. Tom Orrell, 5th from

leftt. Photo by Chip Clark

FISHES by Jeff Williams, David Smith, and Tom Munroe

Notes and moves– Work has now begun on the renovation of the West Wing ground floor. The Fish Division personnel who used to be there are now relocated to the second floor. All telephone numbers and the MRC address are the same. Significant Publication To unravel the com-plex shared history of the Earth and its life forms, biogeographers analyze patterns of biodiversity, species distribution, and geo-logical history. So far, the field of biogeogra-phy has been frag-mented into divergent

systematic and evolutionary approaches, with no over-arching or unifying research theme or method. In this text, LYNNE PARENTI and Malte Ebach address this discord and outline comparative tools to unify bio-geography. Rooted in phylogenetic systematics, this comparative biogeographic approach offers a compre-hensive empirical framework for discovering and deci-phering the patterns and processes of the distribution of life on Earth. The authors cover biogeography from its fundamental ideas to the most effective ways to implement them. Real-life examples illustrate concepts and problems, including the first comparative biogeographical analy-sis of the Indo-West Pacific, an introduction to bio-geographical concepts rooted in the earth sciences, and the integration of phylogeny, evolution and earth his-tory. (See citation: Parenti, L.R. and M.C. Ebach on last page – Publications.) New species - CAROLE BALDWIN spent a week at the Smith-sonian Marine Station in Ft. Pierce working with post-doctoral fellow AMANDINE VASLET on mangrove fishes and collecting Bathygobius gobies for revision-ary work on the genus with Texas A&M master’s stu-dent LUKE TORNABENE. Three species of Bathygo-bius are currently recognized in the western Atlantic, but DNA Barcoding and subsequent morphological

work suggests there are six. Two species are new, including one from the Ft. Pierce area. (photo at-tached). The paper in which the new species is de-scribed will be submitted for publication in early 2010.

VZ LUNCH SEMINARS Please contact DON WILSON (633-1265 or E-Mail) to schedule a seminar or suggest speakers for the up-coming year. All seminars are held in the Waldo Schmitt rm., W218 from 12:00-1:00 PM . See E-Mail and elevator for subjects as the date approaches. February 10 –Wednesday JENNIFER SCHULTZ, University of Hawaii - The criti-cally endangered Hawaiian monk seal: a mysterious past and an uncertain future. February 24 – Wednesday DAN MULCAHY, Division of Amphibians and Reptiles – Systematics, Biodiversity, and Western North American Biogeography: Herpetological Examples.

DIVISION NEWS

New species of Bathygobius

Outreach - CAROLE BALDWIN hosted the Gonzaga College High School (Washington, DC) AP Biology class and the Hockaday Girls’ School (Dallas, TX) 7th grade class at NMNH and gave tours of the Sant Ocean Hall to board members of Oceana and to MARILYN LINK, VIP guest of SMS Director, VALERIE PAUL. On Nov. 4, 2009 and Dec. 10, 2009, BRUCE COLLETTE represented NOAA at meetings of the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections to plan future actions of the group. Bruce participated in a reception at the Cornell Center for Cornell students taking an interterm course on En-vironmental and Natural Policy Processes, Jan. 8, 2010. Bruce also answered questions from the public during the "Scientist Is In" program in the Sant Marine Hall, Jan. 12, 2010. Travel and meetings.— As Chair of the IUCN Tuna and Billfish Specialist group, BRUCE COLLETTE helped to organize and then chaired the Tuna and Billfish section of the IUCN West Pacific Marine Red List Assessment Workshop, held at Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Nov. 30 - Dec. 4, 2009. Bruce also presented a paper "Why Red List Tunas and Billfishes?" (with Kent E. Carpenter) at the introductory session of the Workshop. DAVE SMITH traveled to Taiwan in October-November, 2009 to study eels at the Academia Sinica in Taipei. He spent most of his time in residence at the Academia but also made two side trips. He gave a talk at a symposium on Marine Biodiversity and Conserva-tion in the southern city of Kaohsiung, and later spent a week at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in southern Taiwan. In addition to studying specimens in the collection, he accompanied students on periodic visits to fishing

ports where the commercial trawlers bring their catch every day. Many interesting and unusual fishes turn up in the bycatch, and the scientists get to take their pick.

Dave managed to get 300 tissue samples and vouchers for the museum. These fishes represent a valuable addition to our fish collection. Visitors.- ERIC HILTON and graduate student TODD CLARDY from VIMS visited Bruce Collette to out-line Todd’s dissertation topic, a revision of the family Stichaeidae, so Bruce could sign forms as a member of Todd's Ph.D. committee. Research Associate HARRY GRIER, Florida Marine Research Institute, and Professor MARIA DEL CAR-

Kelp Forest exhibit at the National Aquarium, Taiwan. Photos by Dave Smith

Fish market in Taiwan

MEN URIBE, UNAM, Mexico City, visited the Fish Division on November 2 to meet with Lynne Parenti and Helen Wimer on several fish reproductive morphology projects underway. Other visitors include the following: TOM FRASER, Mote Marine Lab, Florida, working on cardinalfishes. BILL ARDEN, USFWS, Vermont, working on historical records of Thymallus arcticus. LUKE TORNABENE, Texas A&M University, working with Carole Baldwin on Atlantic Bathygobius. JOSE TAVERAS, University of Santa Cruz, California, working on the family Haemulidae.

AMPHIBIANS and REPTILES by Steve Gotte

Publication of Interest - A coffee-table book was published in São Paulo in December 2009 by the Brasilian artist José Cláudio da Silva documenting an expedition in 1975 on the Rio Madeira, State of Amazonas, organized and led by PAULO E. VANZOLINI. The book, “100 Telas, 60 Dias & um Diário de Viagem – Amazonas, 1975” con-tains sketches and finished paintings made by da Silva together with a diary that he kept on the expedi-tion. The scientific staff of the expedition consisted of P. E. Vanzolini (general zoology, but particularly fishes and reptiles), Francisca Carolina do Val (insects, especially flies), and MIRIAM and RON HEYER (amphibians). There are a few frog pictures in the book. Miriam and Ron contributed pictures taken during the expedition. From Ron’s perspective, he could well have been on an entirely different expedition from the one documented in da Silva’s di-ary accounts. Ron was impressed with the forests and the frogs. José Cláudio was impressed with Van-zolini’s conversations, conversations with the crew, and perceptions of the towns encountered along the Rio Madeira. The expedition was supported by

FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) and all of the 100 paintings that José Cláudio made belong to the State of São Paulo and were exhibited for several years in the State Gover-nor’s Palace. The exhibition was moved to the Palácio dos Bandeirantes in the city of São Paulo and opened in December 2009, coinciding with publication of the book by José Cláudio. MIRIAM and RON HEYER should be reporting on a combined museum data-taking and herpetological con-gress in Argentina that was to take place last October/November. Ron’s two stair-step fall at home resulted in a broken fibula and torn tendon of the left ankle and his recovery took priority over the planned Argentina trip. They are now at the point where they can start planning further museum trips to take data on the Leptodactylus ocellatus species complex. Trips and Meetings - KEVIN DE QUEIROZ was in Toronto, Canada (21-27 November) for the conference “150 Years After Origin: Biological, Historical and Philosophical Per-spectives” sponsored by the University of Toronto. He presented a talk in the symposium on Species titled “Charles Darwin and the evolution of the species con-cept”.

Participants in the Species symposium at the conference “Origin of Species at 150” held at the University of Toronto (November 23, 2009). From left to right, Kevin de Queiroz

(NMNH), John Beatty (University of British Columbia), Ronald de Sousa (University of Toronto), and Marc

Ereshefsky (University of Cagary). Photograph by Howard M. Huynh.

KEVIN DE QUEIROZ will be in New York, New York / American Museum of Natural History to present a research seminar (29 March). Outreach and Presentations – STEVE GOTTE (USGS) gave a tour of the herp Di-vision at the MSC to a group of IT professionals from Walter Reed (29 October 2009). STEVE GOTTE (USGS) and JEREMY JACOBS will be giving tours of the Lab/Pod 5 herp collections to four groups of Smithsonian Associates 28 January 2010. Miscellaneous – KEVIN DE QUEIROZ was included in a photograph in the most recent issue of Herpetological Review (40(4):383, Fig. 5) as one of the board members of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) toasting the award given to the Journal of Herpetology (a publication of the SSAR) by the Spe-cial Libraries Association. Visitors - The Division hosted more than 32 visitors from 8 states (CA, DC, MI, MD, NJ, NY, TX and VA), Brazil and Colombia for a total of over 41.5 researcher-days, since the last Backbone. In addition several local re-searchers and students visit the division on a regular basis. Students, RAs, Fellows - SAYANTAN BISWAS (GWU Ph.D. student) is in the home stretch of writing up his dissertation research on the herpetofauna of the Western Ghats, India. ROSARIO CASTAÑEDA (GWU Ph.D. student) is also close to completing her dissertation on the sys-tematics and evolution of the Dactyloa subclade of

Anolis lizards. Rosario recently presented a seminar on her research to the biology department at George Washington University. JUAN D. DAZA (Research Collaborator) continues his research on the cranial morphology of gekkotan lizards. He will soon be returning to Tucumán, Argen-tina, to continue his postdoctoral fellowship at the Fundación Miguel Lillo. ALEXANDRA HERRERA MARTÍNEZ (GWU Ph.D. student) continues her second year of classes at GWU and will soon begin studying for her written and oral exams. DAN MULCAHY (SI postdoctoral fellow) is working on several projects on the systematics of squamate reptiles, including his postdoc project on morphologi-cal variation and species boundaries in Nightsnakes (Hypsiglena) and Cat-eyed snakes (Leptodeira).

BIRDS

by Christina Gebhard Meetings and Talks - HELEN JAMES gave a seminar at the University of Maryland on November 30. She was hosted by the BEES Program (Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, Sys-tematics). Helen was offered adjunct faculty status within the BEES program. MERCEDES FOSTER served on the panel to re-view the Scholarly Studies and Endowment grants. General News - STORRS OLSON entertained a visit this fall from geologist colleague PAUL HEARTY so they could put the finishing touches on a megamanuscript on subgenus Poecilozonites land snails of Bermuda that was submitted to Palaeo3. In early January Olson

Geological Survey (USGS), U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Friends of Patuxent, the festival offered scientific displays, research tours and activities for all ages. Scientific organizations participating included USGS at the Smithsonian, NASA and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Live animals included birds of prey, wood ducks, turtles and Sandhill Cranes. CLAUDIA ANGLE attended with museum specimens to illustrate how scientific research collections are used. She had several of the museum skins that were used during the judging of the Federal Duck Stamp competition at the Visitor Center the week before. The winning paint-ings were still on display next to Claudia’s set up which added to the visitor’s interest in the use of mu-seum specimens. Donation- Kudos to RICHARD C. BANKS who recently do-nated his extensive collection of scientific books and journals in ornithology, mammalogy, wildlife biology, and systematics to the Florida Gulf Coast University Library. The University magazine, Pinnacle, featured an article titled, “Rare Specimens” by Jerome A. Jack-son that tells of Banks’ career, his interest in the estab-lishment of a library and how important his donation is in terms of providing many older resources and the benefits, particularly to the FGCU graduate program in environmental science. Travels,and Research - GARY GRAVES and BRIAN SCHMIDT surveyed populations of the rare endemic Jamaican Crow (Corvus jamaicensis) in the Cockpit County of western Jamaica, 2-18 December 2009.

visited Paul in Wilmington, NC, to continue work on 3 or 4 other manuscripts on fossil Bermuda land snails and one fossil marine snail that actually sheds light on the velocity of the Gulf Stream during the Pleisto-cene. On the way south he visited his old mentor HORACE LOFTIN in Beaufort, NC, and they contin-ued their interviews of Harkers Island residents for their paper on the cultural ornithology of the loon hunting tradition in Carteret County. Media event- Feather Lab appeared on Animal Planet November 29th, – Untamed and Uncut – “Mayhem and Miracles” episode about the US Airways Flight 1549 crash into the Hudson River. Briefing and tours – Feather Lab participated in a briefing and behind the scenes tour for a board member from the National Transportation Safety Board on December 9th. The Lab gave two behind the scenes tours of the Divi-sion of Birds scientific collection in January, one for Andrews Air Force Base and the other for winter in-terns at SI Outreach – CARLA DOVE presented a talk on the 6th of Novem-ber to the Harford Bird Club (Harford County, MD) on Feather Identification at SI. JIM WHATTON hosted a tour of the Bird Division, December 3rd, to biology students from George Mason University Patuxent Wildlife Festival- The annual Patuxent Wildlife Festival took place Oc-tober 24, 2009 at the National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel, MD. This annual event sponsored by U. S.

Habitat of Jamaican Crow in wet lime-stone forest in Barbeque Bottoms.

Gabon In partnership with Shell-Gabon CHRISTINA GEBHARD, CHRISTOPHER MILENSKY of the NMNH Division of Birds and DAVE ZIOLKOWSKI with USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center trav-eled to Gabon October/November to deliver a 6-day long training course in the monitoring, assessment and collection of avian species.

The course was held at Ecole National de Aux de Foret (ENEF) a technical community college for for-estry. During the implementation of the course, field collecting of specimens, as well as demonstration of field collecting and assessments techniques in general, was conducted in a research forest near the ENEF campus, providing a unique hands-on learning experi-ence for the students, as well as providing important animal collections from an otherwise poorly surveyed region. Immediately before the course, Christina, Chris and Dave monitored a site of the long-running National Zoo’s Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability (CCES) field program in southwestern Gabon, located within the Gamba Complex of Protected Areas.

Gabon, ENEF: Chris Milenshky and Dave Ziolkowski holding banner. Photo by Christina Gebhard

New Caledonia HELEN JAMES and former SI postdoctoral fellow ALISON BOYER travelled to New Caledonia, Dec. 2-19, to begin a program of field research there. During her postdoctoral fellowship, Alison had worked up a collection of New Caledonian bird bones from Me Aure Cave that had been sent to Storrs Olson for study. While on the island, the pair surveyed the modern birds and habitats near Me Aure Cave, obtain-ing data to enhance their paper about the site, and sur-veyed two karst regions for new cave sites. They found several caves with good potential for fossil pres-ervation and made arrangements for future collabora-tion with local archaeologists and ornitholo-gists. Their next step will be to seek funding for a re-turn trip, to excavate the new sites. Visitors - The Division of Birds hosted 64 visitors since the last edition of the Backbone. Two of our visitors arrived from the following countries: Colombia and Sweden. The remaining visitors were domestic from the follow-ing states: CA, DC, MD, MI, NJ, NY, NC, and VA. .

ENEF classroom. Photo by Dave Ziolkowski

MAMMALS by Helen Kafka

General Notes - KRIS HELGEN became Curator in Charge of the Division of Mammals on December 1, 2009, succeeding DICK THORINGTON, who fol-lowed JIM MEAD in that role after Jim’s retire-ment in July 2009. ROB VOSS (AMNH) and MIKE CARLETON are co-editors of a festschrift in honor of Guy Musser, curator emeritus in the Department of Mammalogy at the AMNH (Bulletin of the Ameri-can Museum of Natural History, no. 331.) Both Mike and AL GARDNER (USGS) were substan-tive contributors to the Festschrift as well (see list of publications in this issue of the Backbone.) All personnel in SI Mammals and the USGS BRD Mammal Lab who had office space overlooking Constitution Avenue are moving into new offices on the 6th floor, West Wing. This consolidates all Mammals staff in one area, except LOUISE EMMONS, DICK THORINGTON and MARESSA TAKAHASHI who will remain in their current offices. Everyone hopes that after this move, we can all stay put for a very long time!

Trips and Travel: KRIS HELGEN visited the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia), the Australian Wildlife Collection (Canberra), the Queensland Museum (Brisbane), the Western Australian Museum (Perth), the University of Adelaide (Adelaide), and the Australian Museum (Sydney) for collabo-rative research on Australian and Pacific mammals during December and January. Media coverage- KRIS HELGEN’S expedition to Mt Bosavi in Papua New Guinea in February 2009 was selected by TIME Magazine and CNN as one of the “50 Moments of 2009” in December: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1949870,00.html The Bosavi Woolly Rat, an undescribed species collected by Kris during the Mt Bosavi expedi-tion, was listed in the final 2009 issue of TIME magazine as the #1 new species of 2009, beating out a miniature tyrannosaur, a titanic snake, and all other contenders. JESÚS MALDONADO was recently interviewed by the National Zoo’s PR department on the results of a paper that is about to come out in the Journal Inmuno-genetics entitled” Major histocompatibility complex variation and evolution at a single expressed DQA locus in two genera of elephants” by E.A. Archie, T. Henry, J. E. Maldonado, C. J. Moss, J. H. Poole, S. Murray, S. C. Alberts and R. C. Fleischer. Here is Jesús’ summary of his response: “We are the first group of researchers that has de-scribed the variability of genes that are crucial to an elephant’s ability to resist disease. This new knowl-edge can help us predict how elephants in Zoos and in

Al Gardner’s moving and bid-ding farewell to various papers and publications.

Photo by J. Gold

the wild may be able to fight diseases such as herpes, encephalomyocarditis, salmonellosis, and anthrax. Also, because MHC genes have been implicated in the ability of other mammals to recognize individuals that are close kin, our new findings may soon help us un-derstand if elephants use this same mechanism to avoid mating with close relatives and consequently decrease inbreeding, which in turn can have detrimen-tal effects on the long term viability of captive and wild elephant populations. Elephant conser-vation is a high priority at the Smithsonian par-ticularly at the National Zoo as exemplified by the work that many scientists, curators and zoo-keepers conduct here with our cap-tive population but also with the re-search that we conduct with wild threatened populations. This project was possible, in large part, because we have such a great network of people that are concerned with the well being of elephants here at the National Zoo and in other zoos. People should care and be aware that even the basic genetic research that we are conducting on genes that help elephants fight disease give our scien-tists and veterinarians the knowledge to make ade-quate management recommendations for elephants in captivity and in the wild. In these days when whole genome sequences of many mammals are being quickly characterized, I personally find it very exciting and rewarding to be a member of a team of researchers that were the first to characterize the genetic diversity of this locus in African and Asian

elephants. This, by the way, was also the first Afrotherian mammal to be characterized for this im-portant gene region. I also get very excited about the prospects of how we can use this information for un-derstanding the evolutionary mechanisms that act to maintain the diversity of MHC loci in elephants and the potential that it may be used for kin recognition.” KRIS HELGEN was a co-author of a paper in Genome Research in November in which a plan to sequence the genomes of more than 10,000 vertebrate species was proposed; news coverage of the initiative (the Genome 10K initiative) included profiles in Na-ture, Science, and dozens of magazines, newspapers, and websites. See http://www.genome10k.org/ for more information on Genome 10K. Awards- JESÚS MALDONADO received funding from Smithsonian restricted endowement funds to conduct the project entitled: “The critically-endangered Darwin’s fox: Using non-invasive genetic techniques for its conservation management in the Nahuelbuta Mountain Range, Chile.” PI: JESÚS E. MALDONADO (Research Geneticist, Center for Con-servation and Evolutionary Genetics) Co-PIs: JAIME JIMENEZ (Univ. de los Lagos, Chile), MATTHEW E. GOMMPER (Univ. of Missouri), EDUARDO SILVA (University of Florida) Outreach, Tours, Talks: KRIS HELGEN provided an overview of his research program to the NMNH Board in the form of a tour of the Division of Mammals on November 6. Assistance was provided by LINDA GORDON and LAUREN HELGEN. Also, on the evening November 17, KRIS HELGEN provided a tour of Division of Mammals research and collections for a group of visitors including USGS Director Marcia McNutt, NOAA Administrator Janet

Elephants at the National Zoo. Photo by Mehgan Murphy, NZP

Lubchenco, and incoming Smithsonian Undersecretary of Science Eva Pell. JESÚS MALDONADO was invited to give a talk on October 14th 2009 to the Biological Sciences Depart-ment at the University of Missouri entitled “Non-invasive methods for genetic analysis applied to eco-logical and behavioral studies of wild canids.” For the fall semester in 2009, JESÚS MALDONADO co-taught a course with Dr. SCOTT SILLET (NZP) a graduate level seminar for George Mason University entitled “Evolutionary Ecology & Conservation.” SUZANNE PEURACH (USGS) gave behind the scenes tours of the Division of Mammals to a group of 14 vertebrate zoology students from George Mason University on 3 December 2009, and a tour to 25 win-ter break interns on 21 January 2010.

KRIS HELGEN and ROB FLEISCHER attended a workshop on conservation genomics at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. At the request of the Australian government, KRIS HELGEN produced a detailed report of on the taxon-omy of Indo-Australian pipistrelles in November, with the aim of understanding the taxonomic status of the Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi), which probably became extinct in 2009. KRIS HELGEN was an invited speaker at the Annual Grosvenor Council meetings of the National Geo-graphic Society in November, and also participated in the Recovering Voices workshop at NMNH in Nov. Visitors: ESTRELLA MOCINO-DELOYA and KIRK SET-SER from the Universidad de Granada, Spain, are working in the Division of Mammals January 6 – 22nd with SUZANNE PEURACH (USGS) on the identifi-cation of small mammals in scats and stomach con-tents of rattlesnakes from the highlands of central Mexico.

From October through December 2009, Mammals (SI and USGS combined) hosted 64 research visitors. Of these, 53 were from the United States and11 research-ers from foreign countries - Argentina, Australia, Bra-zil, Japan, Panama, and Spain.

Kris Helgen makes a new friend, Giraffa camelopardalis, at the San Diego Wild

Animal Park. Photo by Devin Locke The Genome Center, Washington University.

Taxonomy 101 with Jonathan Fink, Cristián Samper, and Sandra Day O'Connor.

Photo by J. DiLoreto.

Estrella Mocino-Delova and Kirk Setser. Photo by Suzanne Peurach

Meetings and Presentations -

Interns: NUWANTI LIYANAGE, Virginia Common-wealth University, who worked in the Division of Mammals last summer as an intern, joined the Di-vision again for a winter break internship working with KRIS HELGEN on Papua New Guinea mammals and colugos. In addition to her work with Kris, she assisted with the processing of Kris’ 2009 Papua New Guinea material, updated specimen tray storage in the rodent genus Micae-lamys, and re-curated of much of our hamster (Cricetinae) collection. JOELLE MINTZ is interning from the George Washington University Masters of Museum Studies program with SUZANNE PEURACH (USGS). She will be working with the collections January 12-May 22.. Photo by Suzy Peurach.

TING-GENG (TINA) KUO is interning from the Tainan National University of the Arts, Graduate

of Museology, Taiwan with SUZANNE PEURACH (USGS) 19 January - 22 February. Tina will be proc-essing and installing a small collection of mammals from Wisconsin. Photo by Suzy Peurach. JUAN PABLO AVILA GUILLEN from Unitropico, Yopal, Colombia, has a shared internship with LINDA

GORDON and SUZANNE PEURACH (USGS) from 19 January - 22 March. Juan Pablo will be work-ing on bat curation and assisting as needed with col-lections care. Photo by Suzy Peurach.

Marine Mammal Program

“Dutch Antilles Marine Mammal Stranding Response Training Workshop”

CHARLEY POTTER attended a workshop in Curacao, the Netherland Antilles, 5-7 November 2090, held at the Curacao Aquarium. The meeting was at-tended by government and ngo representatives from the Dutch Antilles who were either responsible for responding to marine mammal events or were inter-ested in seeing that these events were properly docu-mented and recorded in a central data base. Attendees from the United States included Charley, Nathalie Ward, Eastern Caribbean Cetacean Network, Andrea Bogomolni, ECCN, John Reynolds, Mote Marine Lab and US Marine Mammal Commission, and Dana Wetze, MML. Charley made two oral presentations and assisted with a training dissection of two dolphins that had stranded earlier on Curacao. The meeting was an apparent success with to a series of recommenda-

tions for the Dutch and local governments. Immediately following the workshop, attendees from the workshop be-gan sharing information on sightings of killer whales and other noteworthy marine mammal events. Funding for Charley’s travel and attendance were provided by a grant to NATHALIE WARD from NOAA Fisheries. Media - Along with several museum staff persons, Charley Potter was mentioned in the January 2010 French magazine, Sci-ence and Vie. The issue which is devoted to Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, features the Museum Support Center quite prominently. CHARLEY POTTER, marine biologist and his work as collection manager of marine mammals at NMNH was pro-filed in West Virginia’s The Herald-Mail on November 30, 2009. The article, “West Virginia ‘Whaleman’ specializes in specimens” by Richard F. Belisle describes Potter’s travels to examine beached whales, his collection of specimens for the Museum, lectures he pre-sents at various marine facilities, and currently, his endeav-ors to establish training networks of marine biologists who will carry on and expand the research and collection that S.I. scientists have performed in the field. New Publication- Former graduate student and employee with NMNH Public Programs, MOLLIE SUE OREMLAND published a paper in Marine Mammal Science (MMS, 26(1): 1-16 (January 2010)) entitled ‘Mandibular fractures in short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala marcrorhynchus’. Co-authors in-clude JIM MEAD, CHARLEY POTTER and research associates PHIL CLAPHAM and DEE ALLEN. This paper which was drawn from Mollie’s Masters thesis describes mandibular fractures from two mass strandings of pilot whales Potter and Mead responded to in North and South Carolina. Crania and other specimens from every individual pilot whale involved in these events were collected and are in the research collection at our Suitland campus.

Meetings and talks - Don Wilson attended the North American Symposium on Bat Research in Portland, OR in November. Items of Special Interest – Robert Baker and colleagues at Texas Tech University named a new species of bat Eumops wilsoni, with the fol-lowing Etymology section:

“Don E. Wilson has made outstanding contributions to many different areas of the science of mammalogy, in-cluding conservation and systematics, as well as education of professional mammalogists, natural historians, and the general public. His work on the production of a thorough and consistently updated list of mammals of the world con-tinues to have a worldwide impact. It is our pleasure to name this species for him in recognition of his significance to mammalogy. We propose the common name for this spe-cies be Wilson’s bonneted bat.” Stop by Don’s office to see a beautiful oil painting of the new species – it looks just like him. Awards - Outreach, Tours, Talks – DON WILSON gave a presenta-tion on Field and Museum Biology at Oak View Elementary School’s Career Day in November.

PUBLICATIONS Baldwin, C.C., L.A. Weigt, D.G. Smith, and J.H. Mounts. 2009. Reconciling Genetic Lineages with Species in West-ern Atlantic Coryphopterus (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Pp. 113-140. In: M A. Lang, I. G. Macintyre, and K. Rützler (eds.) Proceedings of the Smithsonian Marine Science Symposium, Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences, No. 38. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC. Britz, R. and Johnson, G. D. 2010. Occipito-vertebral Fu-sion in Actinopterygians: Conjecture, Myth and Reality. Part 1: Non-teleosts. In: Nelson, Joseph S., Schultze, Hans-Peter, & Wilson, Mark V. H. (eds.). Origin and Phyloge-netic Interrelationships of Teleosts Honoring Gloria Arra-tia: 77-94; München (Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil). Cardoni, D.A., J.E. Maldonado, J. P. Isacch, and R.S. Greenberg. 2009. Subtle Sexual Dimorphism in the Bay-Capped Wren-Spinetail (Furnariidae) UncoveredTthrough Molecular Sex Determination, Ornitologia Neotropical, 20:347-355. Carleton, M.D. 2009. They Sort Out Like Nuts and Bolts: A Scientific Biography of Guy G. Musser. Pp. 4–32 In R. S. Voss and M. D. Carleton, eds.,Systematic Mammalogy: Contributions in honor of Guy G. Musser. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 331: 450 pp. Carleton, M.D., and J.Arroyo-Cabrales. 2009. Review of the Oryzomys couesi complex (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sig-modontinae) in Western Mexico. Pp. 94–127, In: R. S. Voss and M. D. Carleton, eds., Systematic Mammalogy: Contri-butions in honor of Guy G. Musser. Bulletin of the Ameri-can Museum of Natural History, 331: 450 pp.

Donegan, T.M., P.Salaman, and J. Dean. 2009. Overlooked First Record of Leach’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma leucor-hoa for Colombia. BOC Bulletin, 129 (4):198 – 201. Gardner, A.L.,and M.D. Carleton. 2009. A new species of Reithrodontomys, subgenus Aporodon (Cricetidae: Neotomi-nae), from the highlands of Costa Rica, with Comments on Costa Rican and Panamanian Reithrodontomys. Pp. 157–182, In R. S. Voss and M. D. Carleton, eds., Systematic Mam-malogy: Contributions in honor of Guy G. Musser. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 331: 450 pp. Genome 10K Community of Authors (K.M. Helgen listed as co-author). 2009. Genome 10K: a Proposition to Obtain Whole Genome Sequence for 10,000 Vertebrate Species. Journal of Heredity, 100: 659-674. Helgen, K.M., and L.E. Helgen. 2009. Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Moss-mice of New Guinea: a Taxonomic Revision of Pseudohydromys (Rodentia: Murinae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 331: 230-313. Heyer, M.H., W.R. Heyer,. and R.O.de Sá. 2009. Bibliogra-phy of the Frogs of the LeptodactylusClade - Adenomera, Hydrolaetare, Leptodactylus, Lithodytes (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae). Volume 2. Indices. Smithsonian Herpeto-logical Information Service, Special Publication 2., 2: 1-167. Heyer, M.H., R. Heyer, and R.O.de Sá. 2009. Bibliography of the Frogs of the Leptodactylus Clade - Adenomera, Hydrol-aetare, Leptodactylus, Lithodytes (Ampbibia, Anura, Lepto-dactylidae). Volume 1. References. Smithsonian Herpetologi-cal Information Service, Special Publication 1, 1: 1-677. Heyer, W.R. and C.L.Barrio-Amorós, 2009. The Advertise-ment Calls of Two Sympatric Frogs, Leptodactylus litho-naetes (Amphibia: Anura: Leptodactylidae) and Pristimantis vilarsi (Amphibia: Anura: Strabomantidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 122(3): 282-291. Heyer, W.R. and A.A. Giaretta. 2009. Advertisement Calls, Notes on Natural History, and Distribution of Leptodactylus chaquensis (Amphibia: Anura: Leptodactylidae) in Brasil. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 122(3): 292-305. Isler, M.L., P.R. Isler, B.M. Whitney, K.J. Zimmer, and A. Whittaker. 2009. Species Limits in Antbirds (Aves: Passeri-formes: Thamnophilidae): an evaluation of Frederickena un-duligera (Undulated Antshrike) Based on Vocalizations. Zo-otaxa, 2305:61-68. Iwaniuk, A.N., S.L. Olson, and H.F. James. Extraordinary Cranial Specialization in a New Genus of Extinct Duck (Aves: Anseriformes) from Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. Zo-otaxa, 2296: 47-67.

James, H.F. 2009. Repeated Evolution of Fused thoracic Vertebrae in Songbirds. Auk.126(4): 862-872. Javonillo, R., L.R. Malabarba, S.H. Weitzman, and J.R. Burns, 2010. Relationships among Major Lineages of Characid Fishes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characiformes), Based on Molecular Sequence Data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.54(2) 498-511. Johnson, G.D. and R. Britz. 2010. Occipito-vertebral Fu-sion in Actinopterygians: Conjecture, Myth and Reality. Part 2: Teleosts. – In: Nelson, Joseph S., Schultze, Hans-Peter, & Wilson, Mark V. H. (eds.). Origin and Phyloge-netic Interrelationships of Teleosts Honoring Gloria Arratia: 95-110; München (Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil). Kays, R. W., and D. E. Wilson. 2009. Mammals of North America. 2nd Edition. Princeton Field Guides. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford. 248 pp Kirchman, J.J., C.C.Witt, J.A. McGuire, and G.R. Graves. 2010. DNA from a 100-year-old Holotypr Confirms the Validity of a Potentially Extinct Hummingbird Species. Biology Letters, 6(1): 112-115. Llambías, P.E., V. Ferretti, D.A. Cardoni, and J.E.Maldonado. 2009. Breeding Success and Social Mating System of the Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail (Spartonoica maluroides), The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 121(4):803-807. Micklich, N. R., J. C. Tyler, G. D. Johnson, E. Świdnicka and A.F. Bannikov. First Fossil Records of the Tholichthys Larval Stage of Butterfly Fishes (Perciformes, Chaetodontidae), from the Oligocene of Europe. Paläon‐tologische Zeitschrift, 83 (3): 479-497.

Olson, S. L. 2009. Lectotype and Type Locality of Turdus trichas Linnaeus, 1766, (Aves: Parulidae: Geothlypis). Pro-ceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 122(4): 464-465.

Olson, S. L. 2009. A New Diminutive Species of Shear-water of the Genus Calonectris (Aves: Procellariidae) from the Middle Miocene Calvert Formation of Chesapeake Bay. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 122(4): 466-470. Olson, S. L., and J. P. Hume. 2009. Notes on Early Illus-trations and the Juvenile Plumage of the Extinct Hawaii Mamo Drepanis pacifica (Drepanidini). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 129(4): 206-212. Olson, S. L., and P. A. Meylan. 2009. A Second Specimen of the Pleistocene Bermuda Tortoise Hesperotestudo ber-mudae Meylan and Sterrer. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 8(2): 211-212.

MAILING LIST

To be added to the Backbone mailing list send an e-mail to [email protected] or, call Joy Gold at 202-633-1283 or address your request to Backbone, Joy Gold Rm. 369A NHB, MRC 109, Box 37012 Smithsonian Insti tution, Washington, DC 20013-7012

Parenti, L.R., and M.C. Ebach. 2009. Comparative Biogeog-raphy. Discovering and Classifying Biogeographical Pat-terns of a Dynamic Earth. 2. University of California Press, Berkeley. 295 pp. Spiering, P.A., M.S. Gunther, D.E.Wildt, M.J Somers, and J.E. Maldonado. 2009. Overcoming sampling and genotyp-ing error for non-invasive genetic analyses of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), Conservation Genetics, 10:2005-2007. Torres-Carvajal, O., and K. de Queiroz, R. Etheridge. 2009. A New Species of Iguanid Lizard (Hoplocercinae Enyalioides) from Southern Ecuador with a Key to Eastern Ecuadorian Enyalioides. ZooKeys, 27:59-71. Velazco, P.M. and A.L. Gardner. 2009. A New Species of Platyrrhinus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from Western Colombia and Ecuador, with Emended Diagnoses of P. aquilus, P. dorsalis, and P. umbratus, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 122(3):249-281. Voss, R. S., and M. D. Carleton (editors). 2009. Systematic Mmammalogy: Contributions in Honor of Guy G. Musser. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 331: 450 pp., 154 figures, 51 tables. Wiley, E.O & Johnson G. D. 2010. A Teleost Classifica-tion Based on Monophyletic Groups. – In: Nelson, Joseph S., Schultze, Hans-Peter, & Wilson, Mark V. H. (eds.). Origin and Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Teleosts Hon-oring Gloria Arratia: 123-182; München (Verlag Dr. Frie-drich Pfeil). Wijnker, E., and S. L. Olson. 2009. A Revision of the Fossil Genus Miocepphus and other Miocene Alcidae (Aves: Charadriiformes) of the Western North Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 7 (4): 471-487.

JOY IN RETIREMENT

Photos by Archie Gold

Woodman, N., and B .N. Athfield, 2009. Post-Clovis Sur-vival of American Mastodon in the Southern Great Lakes Region of North America. Quaternary Research 72(3):359-363 Woodman, N. and R.B. Stephens. 2010. At the Foot of the Shrew: Manus Morphology Distinguishes Closely-Related Cryptotis Goodwini and Cryptotis griseoventris (Mammalia: Soricidae) in Central America. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 99(1): 118-134. Yamanoue, Y., G. D. Johnson and W. C. Starnes. 2009. Redescription of a Poorly Known Acropomatid, Verilus sordidus Poey 1860, and Comparison with Neoscombrops atlanticus Mochizuki and Sano 1984 (Teleostei: Percifor-mes). Ichthyology Research, 56:400–406

Fishing

Socializing

Exercising

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FISHES CAROLE C. BALDWIN I. Continuing to work with LEE WEIGT and DAVE SMITH on DNA Barcoding of Caribbean fishes for the purposes of (1) reanalyzing species diversity; (2) resolving complex taxonomic issues; (3) identifying early life history stages; and (4) amassing genetic data and voucher specimens for future investigations of evolution of western Central Atlantic shorefishes. Field sites for collecting fishes and tissue samples for DNA for this project in 2009 included the Bahamas, Florida, Tobago, and Turks & Caicos. In 2010 we will return to some of those sites and possibly Belize and Cuba. Recent results include publication of a paper reconciling genetic lineages and species in the goby genus Coryphopterus and manuscripts in development on a new species of the soapfish genus Rypticus; a revision of western Atlantic Bathygobius (with mas-ter’s student LUKE TORNABENE of Texas A&M University); identification of Belizean larval Apogon (with master’s student ÁNGEL BALAM JIMÉNEZ from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), description of several new species of the blennioid genus Starksia (with NMNH intern CRISTINA CAS-TILLO); and resolution of several taxonomic issues in gobiesocid clingfishes (with NMNH volunteer in-tern DONALD GRISWOLD).

Newsletter of the Department of Vertebrate Zoology National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Institution

Supplement VOL. 22, NO. 1 RESEARCH PROJECTS - 2010

II. Recently had a manuscript on the development of larval mandarin fish, Synchiropus splendidus, with Florida Institute of Technology graduate student MATTHEW WITTENRICH, accepted for publication. III. Recently submitted a manuscript on a new species of deepwater scorpaenid from Galápagos (with STU-ART POSS AND JOHN MCCOSKER). IV. Begin-ning to work with NMNH volunteer SEAN YA-NOSH, Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, and Encyclopedia of Life on web-page design for peer-reviewed descriptions of early life history stages of fishes. BRUCE B. COLLETTE - Current research projects include: (1) a chapter on epipelagic fishes for a book on reproduction of marine fishes being edited by KASSI COLE; (2) a chapter on Beloniformes with STEVE WALSH for a book on North American freshwater fishes being edited by MEL WARREN and BROOKS BURR; (3) phyloge-netic position of Oxyporhamphus, halfbeak or flying-fish?; (4) apparent extinction of a Taiwan endemic halfbeak (with KWANG-TSAO SHAO); (5) phyloge-netic position of the genus Percarina in the Percidae (with former intern MALORIE HAYES); (6) comple-tion of threat evaluation for all species of Scombridae, Istiophoridae, Xiphiidae, and Coryphaenidae for the IUCN Red List; (7) updating Fishes of Bermuda with WILLIAM SMITH-VANIZ and BRIAN LUCK-HURST; (8) updating Fishes of the Gulf of Maine with KARSTEN HARTEL; (9) sections on Belonidae, Scomberesocidae, and Hemiramphidae for Fishes of the Western North Atlantic; (10) FAO world catalogue

JANUARY 2010

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of beloniform fishes (with NIK PARIN); (11) sexual dimorphism in the southeast Asian freshwater needle-fish, Xenentodon (with MAURICE KOTTELAT); (12) faunal study of the fishes of the West Wind Drift is-lands and sea mounts; (13) continued collection of tissue samples Gulf of Maine region for the Bar Code of Life project; and (14) continued participation in refinement of ITIS, the Integrated Taxonomic Infor-mation System (http://www.itis). Travel plans include participating in the 90th annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Providence, RI in July; teaching my summer ichthyology course, The Diversity of Fishes, at the Shoals Marine Laboratory in July; and helping organize a Red Listing workshop for Atlantic tunas and billfishes sometime later in the year. Long‑range studies continue on the systematics of the Scom-broidei, Xiphioidei, Belonidae, Hemiramphidae, Zen-archopteridae, and Batrachoididae. DAVE JOHNSON Osteology and systematic affinities of Parastromateus niger (Bloch 1795) (Perciformes: Carangidae), with comments on the dorsal gill arch skeleton of carangid fishes, with ERIC HILTON and WILLIAM F. SMITH-VANIZ; Illustrated Identification Key and Field Guide to Larval Whalefishes (Family Cetomimidae, formerly Mirapinnidae) with JOHN PAXTON; ontog-eny and homology of the sucking disc of remoras (Echeneidae: Teleostei) with RALF BRITZ; descrip-tion and relationships of a new primitive family of eels – co-authors to be revealed upon publication (in other words, we’re keeping this one under our hats for now – Top Secret!); descriptions of the gill arches and cau-dal skeleton of Stomiidae (Teleostei) and phylogenetic implications, with NALANI SCHNELL; upper jaw development in early stage holocentrids: a unique on-togenetic trajectory, with NALANI SCHNELL; ontog-eny of the beak of gymnodonts (Tetraodontiformes) and fixation of the ethmopalatine articulation, and on-togeny of the caudal fin skeleton of Tetraodontiformes (Teleostei), with PETER KONSTANTINIDIS; de-scription of the first known larval specimens of the lampridiform veliferids, Velifer and Metavelifer, dis-covered in the collections of the National Science Mu-seum, Tokyo, with JOHN OLNEY; first description of the larva of Grammicolepis brachiusculus (Grammicolepidae) with comments on a surprising ontogenetic shape trajectory – with JOHN OLNEY; a remarkable rib/swimbladder association in the Moon-

fish, Mene maculata (Menidae) with JULIAN HUMPHRIES; photography of NSMT larval fish specimens for planned book with RALF BRITZ on larvae of marine fishes. LYNNE PARENTI HARRY GRIER, Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, and I continue our broad surveys of gonad morphology of bony fishes expanded to include basal osteichthyans and a limited number of tetrapods and basal vertebrates, including hagfishes. This year, we are also working with JULIE MOUNTS to develop a website on fish gonad mor-phology. JIAKUN SONG, University of Maryland, and I continue our investigation of comparative neu-roanatomy among fishes. Other projects are under-way on the systematics and biogeography of fishes and other taxa from the western Pacific, in particular Indonesia and Taiwan. I have been invited to give the keynote address at the annual meeting of the In-donesian Ichthyological Society in Cibinong, Java in June 2010 and also plan to conduct fieldwork in Su-lawesi. DAVID G. SMITH Research this year will be concentrated in the fol-lowing areas. 1) Eels of Taiwan, based on material studied and collected during a visit there in October-November 2009. 2) Eels of New Zealand, based on material studied during a visit there in February, 2010. 3) Eels of Moorea, French Polynesia, based on the Moorea Biocode project, with fieldwork carried out in 2006 and 2008. 4) Larvae and barcodes of Caribbean shore fishes, in collaboration with CAROLE BALDWIN and LEE WEIGT. In addi-tion, I am completing a paper with colleagues in Tur-key on the heterenchelyid eel, Panturichthys fowleri. VICTOR G. SPRINGER Research summary: Intrafamilial classification of the Carangidae and description of new genera, with W. F. SMITH-VANIZ; Finalizing biography of the artist Charles Bradford Hudson, with KRISTIN A. MURPHY. RICHARD VARI Ongoing projects include higher level phylogenetic studies of the order Characiformes (with C.

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MOREIRA), studies of various groups of electric knifefish from the Amazon and Orinoco river basins (with former SI predoctoral fellow D. de SANTANA), studies of alternative methods of species discrimina-tion and allometry in the family Anostomidae (with B. SIDLAUSKAS and J. MOL), studies on the genus Cyphocharax from Brazil (with former SI postdoc-toral fellow A. ZANATA) and Suriname (with B. SIDLAUSKAS and P-Y Le BAIL), revision of the Neotropical armored catfishes of the genus Dolichan-cistrus (with former NMNH intern G. BALLEN), analysis of African catfishes of the Doumea chappuisi complex (with research associate C. FERRARIS and P. SKELTON) and a study of the endemic Sulawesi fish genus Lagusia (with R. HADIATY). Longer term projects include revisionary and phyloge-netic studies of various groups of African and South American freshwater fishes of the orders Characifor-mes, Siluriformes, and Gymnotiformes. JEFFREY T. WILLIAMS Current work: description of four new species of Hel-cogramma from the western Pacific; description of new species of Manonichthys and Pseudochromis (Pseudochromidae) from the Philippines (with Tony Gill); description of two new species of blennies from the Red Sea (Entomacrodus) and South Africa (Cirripectes); revisionary studies on the Indo-Pacific blenniid genera Alticus and Andamia (Blenniidae); a chapter on Blenniidae for a book on the fishes of the western Indian Ocean has been written with Vic Springer. Species descriptions are in progress for sev-eral new species of Pacific marine shore fishes col-lected on recent expeditions. Expeditions to survey the shore fish biodiversity and to obtain specimen photographs and tissue samples from fishes collected at the Gambier Islands in the central Pacific will be carried out with French col-leagues in September-October 2010 as part of the CORALSPOT Program.

BIRDS DICK BANKS Dick Banks is determined to finish up work on his long-term project on variation and nomenclature of White-fronted Geese during this year. He will also

work on various topics relative to the AOU Check-list, and dabble in other projects TERRY CHESSER Terry Chesser’s plans for the next year involve con-tinuing studies of genetic and vocal variation in Amazonian antwrens (Myrmotherula spp.); patterns of seasonal distribution of South American austral migrant birds tyrant-flycatchers (Tyrannidae); sys-tematics and evolution of the Furnariidae (ovenbirds), with special attention to the radiation of the genus Cinclodes; phylogeny and biogeography of the Turnicidae (buttonquail); and phylogeography of various Neotropical bird species. CARLA DOVE Carla Dove, with assistance from the staff in the Feather Identification Lab, continues to work on im-provements to the Birdstrike Identification program by researching molecular and morphological tech-niques to identify species of birds from fragmentary evidence. Current projects include enhancement of the DNA ‘barcode’ database, refining DNA extrac-tions from degraded material, testing DNA field col-lecting methods, and adding comparative specimens to the collections. The Feather Lab continues to col-laborate on studies that identify prey remains, an-thropological artifacts, and other interagency pro-jects. MERCEDES FOSTER I will continue to analyze and write-up data related to lek behavior and frugivory in tropical birds. I am analyzing data from a 20-year population study of Dwarf-tyrant ma-nakins as a contribution to a book on manakins. I also am analyzing the results of a 10-year experimental study of growth in seedlings and saplings of two tropical tree spe-cies (Ormosia spp.) whose seeds are dispersed by differ-ent feeding guilds of birds. This will constitute the next paper in a series of articles on this tree genus. I will con-tinue my studies of nutritional aspects of fruit with par-ticular attention to their ability to meet the calcium re-quirements of birds. I need one final season to finish the collection of field data and will then confine myself to laboratory work. I also hope to return to Paraguay to make additional specimens collections as part of my con-tinuing studies of life cycles of birds in one of the west-ernmost remnants of “Brazilian” Atlantic Coastal for-est. Finally I will continue collaborations with Dr. Johanna Choo on molt and breeding overlap in birds.

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GARY GRAVES The primary focus of my research is the ecology and evolution of birds. Current research interests range from the population genetics and ecology of Jamai-can streamertail hummingbirds, the breeding ecol-ogy of wood warblers, to the analyses of continental species richness gradients and the application of null models to macroecological questions. Fieldwork is a prime component of most of my research activities based on the premise that natural history is best learned where it takes place. MORTON AND PHYLLIS ISLER Morton and Phyllis Isler’s research program for 2010 will continue their reexamination of species limits in antbirds and antpittas (Thamnophilidae and Grallarii-dae) as a basis for long-term ecological and conser-vation research as well as ongoing studies of phylog-eny. HELEN JAMES Helen’s continues to study the causes of ecological collapse following human settlement of islands, the biogeographic origins and evolutionary history of the Hawaiian avifauna, adaptive radiation in the Hawai-ian finches, and the evolution of morphological di-versity in songbirds and waterfowl. JOE JEHL Joe Jehl’s research plans for 2010 will include his continuing field work in Western US on saline lake avifauna. He plans on doing body composition stud-ies on migrating birds. STORRS OLSON I plan to continue work on various aspects of the ge-ology and paleontology of Bermuda including de-scriptions of new species of birds, and stratigraphy and systematics of land snails. The fossil collecting trip to Mona Island, Puerto Rico, was postponed but will take place this year it is hoped. I have initiated a new collaborative effort with Spanish colleagues to conduct joint investigations of vertebrate paleontol-ogy of the Azores, Madeira, and the Cape Verde Is-lands.

MAMMALS MICHAEL D. CARLETON: My research foci continue as before: systematics and biogeography of muroid rodents, in particular neotropical (Neotominae, Sigmodontinae), afrotropi-cal (Murinae, Otomyinae), and Malagasy (Nesomyinae) groups. Data collecting, analyzing, mapping, and-or writing for current projects include: (1) review of molecular differention among popula-tions of montane Hylomyscus in eastern Africa (with Bill Stanley and Julian Kerbis, FMNH, and Rauri Bowie, MVZ) (2) variation among and status of populations cur-rently assigned to Praomys delectorum from SE Af-rica (with Bill Stanley, FMNH) (3)revision of the Otomys typus species complex in east Africa (with Peter Taylor, Durban Natural Sci-ence Museum) (4))generic and specific accounts of Oecomys (with G.G. Musser, AMNH retired) for the rodent volume in Mammals of South America. ALFRED L. GARDNER: My research is on the systematics of New World mammals. Currently, most of my efforts are on completing a detailed synonymy of terrestrial Mexican mammals. I am also compiling information for volume 3 of the Mammals of South America (primates, carnivores, manatees, marine mammals, ungulates, and rabbits). Other activities include limited mammal surveys in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maine. KRISTOFER M. HELGEN: I continue to work on studies in mammalian biologi-cal inventory, alpha-level and revisionary taxonomy, ecomorphology, Quaternary paleontology, molecular phylogenetics, comparative genomics, disease ecol-ogy, and conservation biology. Selected papers in press or in progress include taxo-nomic revisions of New Guinea giant rats, Sulawesi and New Guinea cuscuses, Neotropical procyonids (raccoons, olingos, coatis), small Asian bats

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(pipistrelles), and Malagasy falanoucs (Eupleres); a paper on nomenclature of higher-level eutherian clades; contributions to the understanding of Tasma-nian devil genetics and disease; and overviews of the extinct giant rat fauna from the Quaternary of Timor. Currently my most active research foci include: (1)ollaborative efforts in comparative genomics (2)efforts to identify global priorities for mammal con-servation (3)efforts to document ongoing mammalian extinc-tions in real time (4)biological surveys and biodiversity training in Melanesia (5)projects on the systematics of small carnivores in the Neotropics, Asia, and Madagascar (6)several projects in the ecology, evolution, and ge-netics of Old World carnivorous marsupials (7)many ongoing projects on the systematics and bio-geography of Australasian bats (8)systematic overviews of most mammal genera of New Guinea. Fieldwork in 2010 will include expeditions to Papua New Guinea; I will also travel to East Africa, Austra-lia, and elsewhere. All specimens from our 2006 field-work in Ecuador, 2005-2007 fieldwork in Malaysia, and 2008-2009 fieldwork in Papua New Guinea have now arrived at NMNH, so study of this material is also an active focus. Studies of mammal specimens col-lected during my 2003-2008 expeditions to New Guinea and other Pacific localities continue as well, and I am working with staff in the Division of Mam-mals to fully curate and georeference the Old World marsupial, colugo, and flying-fox (Pteropus) holdings in the collection. JESÚS MALDONADO: Listed here are some of the projects that I am currently working on: --Connectivity and population dynamics of ele-phant populations in a human-dominated land-scape. I will continue to work on this project in col-laboration with my former Post doc, Marissa Ahlering and graduate student, Melissa Roberts (GMU Dept. of Environmental Science and Policy), Robert Fleischer (NZP, Center Head, CCEG), Janine Brown (NZP, Center for Species Survival), Suzan Murray (NZP, Animal Health, Chief Veterinarian). --Genetic defense against disease in an Urban

Population of Endangered San Joaquin Fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica). this project is in collabo-ration with Katherine Ralls (NZP, CCEG), Patrick Gillevet, Ph.D. (Dept. of Environmental Science and Policy GMU), Tammy Henry (CCEG/GMU Gradua-te Student) --Using Fecal DNA to Examine the Population Dynamics of the Recently Colonized Coyote (Canis latrans) at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Northern Virginia: this project is in collaboration with Ph.D. student Christine Bozarth and Dr. Larry Rockwood (Dept. of Environmental Science and Po-licy GMU) --Phylogeographic Study of the Critically Endan-gered, Central American River Turtle, Dermate-mys mawii. How humans can influence the current genetic distribution patterns. This project is in collaboration with Mexican Ph.D. student Gracia P. González-Porter and Dr. Oscar Flores-Villela (from the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico) --Genetic variation and its influence on the fitness and success of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in South Africa. My collaborators in this project are Ph.D. student Penny Spiering and Dr. Michael J. Somers (Centre for Wildlife ManagementUniversity of Pretoria), Dr. David E. Wildt (SI-NZP), Micaela Szykman (Humboldt State University and Former SI post doc. RICHARD W. THORINGTON: During 2009, Dick Thorington completed his section of Squirrels of the World, which he is co-authoring with JOHN KOPROWSKI AND MICHAEL STEELE. This will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press. He is also writing a book on Natu-ral History in the Suburbs, covering various subjects such as cicadas, butterflies, and of course, squirrels. Included in the book will also be a variety of tales about marking squirrels with colorful collars in his neighborhood, and the reactions of his neighbors. In June, he attended the 2009 meeting of the Ameri-can Society of Mammalogists in Fairbanks, Alaska. There he and Jennie Miller gave a talk titled “Comparison of wrist bones between ground, tree and flying squirrels using MIMICS image processing software.” He and his wife Carey also attended the

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International Mammal Society Congress in Men-doza, Argentina in August 2009 where he presented a poster, also on the wrist bones of squirrels. He and Maressa Takahashi plan to attend and present at the upcoming American Society of Mammalogists in June, 2010 at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. DON WILSON - DON will be working with KRIS HELGEN, DEEANN REEDER and DENNIS HASCH to com-plete the Website for the new Third Edition of Mam-mal Species of the World. He is working with ER-ICA SAMPAIO and ELISABETH KALKO on CHARLES HANDLEY’s book on Amazon Bats. He is working with SUE RUFF on a Handbook of Mammals of the World. They expect to have Vol-ume two completed this year. He and Sue are also working on a sequel to their children’s book “Artie and Merlin.” Don is also working with DK on a new edition of “Animal.” NEAL WOODMAN During the past few years, I have been studying the potential use of x-raying the forefeet of traditional dry skin preparations of mammals, especially shrews, to be able to examine and describe the struc-ture of the forefoot skeleton. Work with two RTP students (James Morgan and Ryan Stephens) showed that the bones are sufficiently distinct that estab-lished species can be distinguished, and I recently described two new species, in part using evidence of structural differences in the forefeet. My work with x-rays is expanding, and I am collaborating with two colleagues from Yale University to examine the forefeet of tupaiids. I am also hoping to begin a collaboration with a colleague at the Field Museum that will lead to a study of African soricids. In addition, I am working with Jesús Maldonado on a combined molecular/morphological phylogenetic treatment of New World shrews test my hypotheses regarding the timing and pattern of dispersal of shrews from North America toward South America.

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

KEVIN DE QUEIROZ My research in 2010 will focus primarily on com-pleting two projects (books) concerning the develop-ment of a phylogenetic system of biological nomen-clature: the International Code of Phylogenetic No-menclature, commonly referred to as the PhyloCode (with PHIL CANTINO of Ohio University) and an edited “companion” volume that will establish the names of various clades according to the rules of the PhyloCode (with Phil Cantino of Ohio University, JACQUES GAUTHIER of Yale University, and nu-merous contributing authors). In addition, I will continue working on various pro-jects on lizard biology, including studies on the com-munity of Anolis lizards at Soroa, Cuba (with LOURDES RODRIGUEZ SCHETTINO of the Insti-tuto de Ecología y Sistemática [Cuba] and several other collaborators), the systematics of the Dactyloa clade of Anolis lizards (with current Ph.D. student ROSARIO CASTAÑEDA), and the taxonomy of hoplocercine iguanid lizards (with former postdoc-toral fellow OMAR TORRES CARVAJAL of la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and my former M.S. advisor RICHARD ETHERIDGE of San Diego State University). STEVE GOTTE (USGS) Steve is working with GEORGE ZUG and JER-EMY JACOBS on the systematics of the Python curtus group and with Brazilian colleagues on the taxonomy of Leptophis stimpsoni. He and ROBERT REYNOLDS (USGS) have begun a new type catalog on a subset of the NMNH squamata types. RON HEYER There are several papers that need to be written for which molecular data were produced with support of a NSF grant with RAFAEL DE SÁ. Foremost is a paper on the phylogeny of 80% of the known species of Leptodactylus that includes both molecular and morphological data. Miriam and Ron must visit sev-eral museums in order to take data on specimens of the Leptodactylus ocellatus complex. Key museums

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have huge holdings of these large frogs, and we must go to those collections rather than have the specimens loaned for examination at the MSC. The Leptodactylus ocellatus complex is the only group of Leptodactylus species for which morphological data have not been evaluated by Ron. ROY MCDIARMID (USGS) Roy is working with RON ALTIG (Research Asso-ciate, Mississippi State University) on the manu-script for their latest book titled Handbook of Larval Amphibians of the U.S. and Canada. This compen-dium, to be published by Cornell University Press, will provide accounts of the larvae of all species of frogs and salamanders recorded from the U.S. and Canada and include keys to eggs, salamander larvae, and tadpoles. Most species will be illustrated with color photographs. Roy continues writing and edit-ing contributions from several authors for a book titled Reptile Biodiversity: Standard Methods for Inventory and Monitoring. Included is a chapter on voucher specimens that BOB REYNOLDS and Roy are co-authoring. Roy and SHABMAN (SHAB) MOHAMMADI (former Intern and current graduate student at Old Dominion University) are working on vols. 2 and 3 of the catalogue of Snake Species of the World. Roy will continue his review and documentation of the publication dates of volumes 1-22 of the Pro-ceedings of The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, an important source for original de-scriptions of many species of North American am-phibians and reptiles. This work, when completed, will serve as a useful resource for systematists working on other taxa in addition to amphibians and reptiles. Roy and JAY SAVAGE (Research Associ-ate, San Diego) continue working on a review of the published works (1858-1881) of the Italian snake systematist Georges Jan. When finished, this vol-ume will be published by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Roy will continue his work on several research projects with DIEGO CISNEROS-H. (Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, former Research Training Program intern), RON ALTIG (Research Associate, Mississippi State University), STEVE GODLEY (Tampa, FL), RON HEYER and GEORGE ZUG

(Smithsonian Institution), and JULIAN FAIVO-VICH, DARREL FROST, and CHARLES MYERS (American Museum of Natural His-tory). BOB REYNOLDS (USGS) Bob is working with ADDISON WYNN describing two new species of blind snakes (Rhamphotyphlops) from Micronesia. He and ROY MCDIARMID are authoring a chapter on voucher specimens for a forthcoming book on reptile biodiversity. He is also collaborating with JAY COLE and CAROL TOWN-SEND (American Museum of Natural History) and ROSS MACCULLOCH and AMY LATHROP (Royal Ontario Museum) on an annotated and illus-trated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Guyana. He and STEVE GOTTE (USGS) have begun a new type catalog on a subset of the NMNH squamata types. KEN TIGHE Manuscript of a type catalog of USNM salamanders and caecilians has been accepted by SI Scientific Press for the Smithsonian Contribution series, and is in the final stages of revision. Continues research on the eel family Chlopsidae including systematics of the genus Kaupichthys with a description of three new species in preparation and the redescription of the Indo‑Pacific eel Xenoconger fryeri with JACK RANDALL. Also, he is looking at the genus Chilorhinus (working with ANDREW STEWART of National Museum of new Zealand) with a possible new deep-water species from off Tonga. Other eel research continues as time permits. GEORGE ZUG My research will continue to focus on Pacific lizard systematics and systematics and ecology of the Myanmar herpetofauna.

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