Winter 2006 - Department of Invertebrate Zoology - Smithsonian ...

WINTER 2006 

VOLUME 20, NUMBER 1 

From the Chair: 

Have crayfish and other freshwater invertebrates, need attention... 

NEWSLETTER 

NO BONES 

is published quarterly by the 

Department of Invertebrate Zoology 

National Museum of Natural History 

Smithsonian Institution 

contents: 

cover story 

gallery 

awards 

a thank you 

research & travel 

workshop 

seminars 

visitors 

kudos 

iz on the web 

publications 

in the media 

library 

spotlight on staff 

page: 

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2 

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4 

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One of the recent topics of conversations of the Chairs with our Museum 

director was how to expand relationships with affiliated government 

agencies. The Oceans Initiative has provided one opportunity to do this with 

NOAA/NMFS, to the benefit of marine invertebrates. However, IZ contains 

a significant component of freshwater collections that must not be forgotten. 

For example, when IZ curator Horton H. Hobbs, Jr. passed away in 1993, he 

left us with the largest freshwater crayfish collection in North America, approximately 

280,000 specimens in 40,100 lots. The importance of this collection 

is augmented 

by the fact that the 

United States is home 

to 64% of the world’s 

crayfish species. Furthermore, 

50% of 

the crayfish fauna in 

the United States is 

known to be in need 

of conservation attention. 

IZ still has about 

84,000 crayfish specimens 

in 12,000 lots that 

Procambarus leitheuseri Franz & Hobbs Photo: H.H. Hobbs 

have not been catalogued or entered in the database. Many of these specimens 

remain unidentified, and thus the data associated with them is unavailable 

to the scientific community. We are fortunate that at least a good 

number of crayfish researchers visit us every year to examine specimens, 

help us identify material, and update data. These researchers also continue 

to deposit types as well as duplicate specimens in our collections. 

As the conservation and management of freshwater aquatic ecosystems, 

and the field of bioinformatics become more and more important, 

the IZ freshwater collections, in general, will represent an invaluable resource, 

and the Museum will have the opportunity to take a leading role 

once again. How can we best engage affiliated agencies so that they become 

interested in collection-based freshwater research that produces the basic 

data so fundamental for their missions? Would it not be mutually beneficial 

to fund positions in such research held jointly with research labs in various 

states? If so, could we serve as coordinators to put together a grander goal 

of, for instance, producing a synthesis of the North American freshwater 

invertebrate fauna? We should strongly explore these and other avenues. 

1

WINTER 2006 VOLUME 20, NUMBER 1 

F R O M T H E C R U S T A C E A N G A L L E R Y 

Jocelyn Crane joined the New York Zoological Society as a research associate 

in 1930. She descended with William Beebe in the bathysphere to depths of up 

to 0.5 mile off Bermuda, and wrote articles on the results of these dives. She was 

awarded an honorary M.Sc. (1947) by Smith College, Massachusetts, and obtained 

a Ph.D. (1991) in Art History. She spent much of her career studying the morphology 

and behavior of fiddler crabs, culminating in her monumental monograph, 

Fiddler Crabs of the World (1975). She was Director of the New York Zoological 

Society (1963-1965), and Senior Research Zoologist with the Institute for Research 

on Animal Behavior. Jocelyn also studied mammals from Kurdistan, and had expertise 

in fishes, spiders, and mantids. 

Torben Wolff recounted an anecdote about her resourcefulness in an article 

in the November 2000 The Ecdysiast which is retold here: 

Jocelyn Crane 

11 June 1909 – 16 December 1998 

NEWSLETTER STAFF 

Rafael Lemaitre 

Chair, IZ 

Elizabeth Nelson 

editor 

nelsone@si.edu 

Rose Gulledge 

assistant editor 

gulledgr@si.edu 

Ron Lindsey 

library 

LindseyR@si.edu 

Please submit news or articles via 

email or disk by the 15th of June. 

Publication in this newsletter does 

not constitute publication in a taxonomic 

or any other scientific context. 

On her way back from Puerto Rico some years ago, Dr. Crane brought with 

her, for further study in New York, a bunch of fiddler crabs which were very much 

alive. She was stopped by a brusque officer when passing through New York customs. 

The officer knew his regulations regarding introduction of living animals 

which at that time were classified according to number of legs: Two legs and four 

legs: No! Six legs and eight legs: Certainly not! Many legs (millipedes, etc.): Impossible! 

Jocelyn smiled sweetly and asked the officer to count the number of legs 

on a crab. Ten was not included in the custom regulations. She picked up her 

crabs, beamed at the officer, and passed unimpeded through customs. 

EXTERNAL 

A W A R D S 

Cheryl Bright: $35,000. MARPAT Foundation. Geocoding and Digitizing 

Logs from Blake and Albatross Expeditions [Co-PIs Maria-Elena 

Gutierrez and Karen Avery]. 

Kristian Fauchald: $4,985. U.S. Department of the Interior/USGS. 

Disposition of Biological Specimens from the Outer Continental Shelf 

and Continental Slope. 

Robert Hershler: $207,392. Idaho Power Company. Mid-Snake River Snail 

Genetics. 

INTERNAL (NH Central Collections Care Fund) 

Jon Norenburg et al.: $12,210. Collection Storage Equipment–Purchase 

of ultra-cold freezer. 

Marilyn Schotte and Elizabeth Nelson: $4,479. Cataloging orphaned 

collections of amphipod crustaceans into the EMu database. 

Frank Ferrari and Chad Walter: $24,460. Humes’ Copepod Collection. 

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N O B O N E S


A P P R E C I A T I O N 

A Thanks for the Portrait 

Molly Kelly Ryan 

In our Gallery of Carcinologists 

hangs a portrait of Dr. Boman 

F. Chhapgar, an internationally 

renowned marine biologist 

and one of two Indian carcinologists 

we have displayed. 

In 2003, Dr. Ashok S. Kothari, 

friend and colleague of Dr. 

Chhapgar in India, and his nephew, 

Dr. Ajay P. Kothari of Maryland, 

visited me. They were happy 

to see our gallery and to enhance 

the biographical information we 

had on Dr. Chhapgar. 

This year, Dr A. P. Kothari 

returned from a visit to India with 

the gift of a book from the Bombay 

Natural History Society, Treasures 

of Indian Wildlife, by Drs. Chhapgar 

and Kothari. 

I quote from the back leaf of the 

book: 

“…brings together articles, drawings, 

and paintings from valuable old 

books, journals, and gazetteers in the 

collection of the Bombay Natural History 

Society (BNHS). The historical 

writings of wildlife and bird enthusiasts 

of the past paint a vivid picture of 

India’s rich flora and fauna, in urgent 

need of protection today. Paintings, 

mostly of birds, and lithographs and 

sketches of animals and trees, scenery 

and monuments, many of which are 

The old lithographs are particularly enjoyable. This titled: The Tiger Tracked Down done in 1840. 

One of numerous color plates: Himalayan 

Flameback from 1832. 

recognized as classics of their type, 

are mainly the work of eminent European 

wildlife artists of the 19 th 

and 20 th centuries. In the substantial 

section at the end of the book, 

gleanings from the miscellaneous 

notes section of early issues of the 

Journal of the BNHS provide lively 

snippets of information on species as 

wide ranging as red ants, mongoose, 

monitor lizard, python, cobra, cheetah, 

and darter. With the descriptive 

text and stunning visuals, this 

volume, like its predecessor, Sálim 

Ali’s India, will be a prized possession 

for anyone with an interest in 

India and its natural history.” 

The NMNH library was delighted 

to accept this beautiful 

book. 

N O B O N E S 3


P R E S E N T A T I O N S , R E S E A R C H & T R A V E L 

Carrie Bow Cay Marine Field Station looking East. Photo: A. O’Dea 

On January 24 Allen Collins gave a talk for the volunteers and staff at the Invertebrate House of the National Zoo. The 

talk was titled, Beyond Cartoons – Why Sponges Are Cool, and Allen reports it was quite fun! 

Martha Nizinski attended the Mid-Atlantic Malacologists Meeting at the Delaware Museum of Natural History on 

March 4 and gave a short presentation. She also took several examples of gastropods and bivalves that have been collected on 

and around the deepwater Lophelia reefs off the southeastern coast of the United States for demonstration and consultation 

purposes. The meeting was hosted by Elizabeth Shea, a former post-doc in the NMFS Systematics Laboratory working with 

Mike Vecchione. 

Klaus Rützler and three Smithsonian colleagues participated in the first Belize National Marine Science Symposium in 

Belize City, January 19–20. The conference brought together over 50 scientists, conservationists, and fisheries experts working 

on marine organisms from reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, and blue water, including commercial species and farming. 

The participants came primarily from Belize, Canada, the UK, and the USA. 

The NMNH Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program (CCRE) was represented by four papers, including one by Klaus, 

Director of CCRE: Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems: 30 Years of Smithsonian Marine Science in Belize. Condensed versions of 

the papers have been published as extended Abstracts (see Publications section). Klaus also presented eight posters by CCRE 

staff and associates (Klaus was a co-author on three of these) and the display by Duran and Rützler (Ecological speciation in a 

mangrove-reef sponge) won first prize in the poster competition. 

As President of the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) Mike Vecchione (Director of NMFS National 

Systematics Laboratory) provided leadership for the triennial international cephalopod meetings from February 2–10 in Hobart, 

Australia. Along with the Governor of Tasmania, Mike opened the general symposium, and at the end he closed the 

meetings. During the symposium he chaired two sessions, presented an oral paper and a poster, and co-authored three other 

oral presentations. He also participated in a workshop on Southern Ocean cephalopods prior to the symposium. Throughout 

the entire time Mike lead a series of Executive Council meetings dealing with a broad range of scientific topics. The conclusion 

of the meetings marked the end of Mike’s three-year term as CIAC President. Clyde Roper also attended. 

Rafael Lemaitre traveled March 15–17 to Long Beach, California, invited by the Aquarium of the Pacific to participate 

in a team of crustacean experts planning a crustacean exhibit. 

On March 29 Mike Vecchione presented an invited talk at the French Embassy on Seeing Life in the Deep Sea. The talk was 

part of a seminar jointly organized by Galatée Film and the Census of Marine Life. The seminar, entitled New Ways of Seeing Life 

in the Oceans: Views from Science and Film, provided an introduction to the plans for the new Galatée film Oceans, and to discoveries 

and methods of the Census of Marine Life research program. The event brought together researchers and staff members 

of the project Oceans, the new film that French Director Jacques Perrin has started shooting in the same spirit as his previous 

world-acclaimed works Winged Migration and Microcosmos. 

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N O B O N E S


A T O L W O R K S H O P 

S E M I N A R S 

Jody Martin (Natural History 

Museum of Los Angeles 

County). March 22, Global 

Biodiversity: Implications 

from historical trends in 

Crustacean systematics 

In connection with the search 

for the Sant Chair, staff also enjoyed 

other seminars on a wide variety of 

topics: 

Front row (seated), left to right: Jody Martin, Keith Crandall, Megan Porter; second row (seated): David 

Waugh, Rodney Feldmann, Carrie Schweitzer; back row (standing):Dale Tshudy, Rafael Lemaitre, Regina 

Wetzer, Rafael Robles, Darryl Felder, Sammy de Graves. (Absent: Chris Tudge) 

Photo: R. Gulledge 

Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Grant and Workshop 

Rafael Lemaitre, IZ Chair and Curator/Research Zoologist, and Chris 

Tudge, SI Research Associate, are collaborators in a recently funded $3-million, 

5-year NSF grant. Their project, entitled Collaborative Research: AToL: 

Morphological and Molecular Phylogeny of the Decapod Crustaceans, is part of 

the Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) effort. Participants of this grant include: 

Keith A. Crandall, PI (Brigham Young University), Rodney M. Feldmann 

and Carrie E. Schweitzer (Kent Sate University), Joel W. Martin (LA 

County Museum of Natural History), and Darryl L. Felder (University of 

Louisiana at Lafayette). 

The first of several summit workshops was held 22–24 March, 2006 

in IZ. Participants and collaborators met to discuss a work plan to analyze 

decapod phylogeny based on molecular, morphological, and paleontological 

characteristics, and to examine our vast decapod collections. There are as 

many views on the evolution of the Decapoda as there are experts willing to 

offer an opinion. The study being planned will be the first time a “total evidence” 

approach is used to study decapods, so hopefully clear relationships 

among the various subgroups will emerge. 

Present were: Rafael Lemaitre, Keith Crandall, Sammy de Grave, Megan 

Porter, Rodney M. Feldmann, Carrie E. Schweitzer, David Waugh, Joel 

W. Martin, Regina Wetzer, Darryl L. Felder, Rafael Robles, Dale Tshudy. 

(Additional details in Visitors section.) 

Allen Collins, National Systematics Laboratory of NOAA, is also 

working on an AToL effort, the Cnidarian Tree of Life Project, which was 

described in the Natural History News, volume 3, number 5. 

David K. Jacobs (University of 

California at Los Angeles), 

January 30, Genes, geology 

and biotic history of the 

Pacific Coast: 1) How 

paleoceanography led to 

the radiation of the modern 

coastal fauna, and 2) Human 

impacts and what is "natural" 

on the California coast? 

Gustav Paulay (University of 

Florida/Florida Museum 

of Natural History), 

January 31, Diversity and 

diversification of the reef 

fauna. 

Daphne G. Fautin (University 

of Kansas), February 3, 

Marine biodiversity: oceans of 

data. 

J. Emmett Duffy (Virginia 

Institute of Marine 

Science), February 1, 

Discovering social shrimp: a 

model system for integrated 

marine biodiversity research. 

Cindy L. Van Dover (College 

of William and Mary), 

February 21, Biogeography 

and biodiversity of 

chemosynthetic faunas in the 

deep sea. 

N O B O N E S 5


V I S I T O R S 

Keith Bayha, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, Alabama (01/26/2006–01/30/2006). Sponsor: Allen Collins 

Arthur Bogan, North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina; photographed freshwater 

gastropod type material, and conducted library research (02/16/2006). Sponsor: Bob Hershler 

Philippe Bouchet, Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France; collaborated with researcher on marine mollusks 

project (03/01–03/06/2006). Sponsor: Ellen Strong 

Nancy Budd, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; examined fossil corals and consulted with Dr. Cairns (01/09– 

01/10/2006). Sponsor: Steve Cairns 

Luis Carrera-Parra, ECOSUR, Chetumal, Mexico; studied eunicean polychaetes and eunicid types (03/27–04/10/2006). 

Sponsor: Kristian Fauchald 

Saggie Cohen, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; completed research on Glycymerididae (01/17–01/23/2006). Sponsor: 

Ellen Strong 

Keith Crandall, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; attended the Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop 

(03/22–03/24/2006). Sponsor: Rafael Lemaitre 

Sammy De Grave, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, United Kingdom; attended the Assembling 

the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop, and examined U.S. species of Palaemonetes in the Crustacea collections (03/20– 

03/24/2006). Sponsor: Rafael Lemaitre 

Susan DeVictor, SE Regional Taxonomic Center, Charleston, South Carolina; examined octocoral collection, and 

consulted with Drs. Bayer and Cairns (03/13–03/17/2006). Sponsor: Steve Cairns 

Darryl Felder, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana; attended the Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop 


Rodney Feldmann, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; used the Crustacea collections to compare fossil decapods to Recent 

decapods (01/03–01/06/2006); worked in the Crustacea collections (02/07/2006); attended the Assembling the Tree of 

Life (AToL) Workshop, and worked in the Crustacea collections (03/20–03/24/2006). Sponsor: Rafael Lemaitre 

Frank Gilbert, Pacific Conchological Club of Los Angeles, Bellflower, California; studied two mollusks families, Conidae & 

Mitridae (03/27/2006). Sponsor: Jerry Harasewych 

Peter Hovingh, Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt Lake City, Utah; examined western US and Canadian leech 

collection (background information for monograph) (03/06–03/07/2006). Sponsor: William Moser 

Danny Jones, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina; studied crayfish, Cambarus (Hiaticambarus) species (01/09– 

01/13/2006). Sponsor: Karen Reed 

Francis Kerckhoff, Flanders Marine Institute, Oostnde, Belgium; examined barnacles and used the barnacle collection at 

MSC (01/19–02/15/2006). Sponsor: Linda Cole 

Eric Lazo-Wasem, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; delivered echinoderm 

collection for identification by Cynthia Ahearn (03/16/2006). Sponsor: Cynthia Ahearn 

Jody Martin, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California; attended the Assembling the Tree 

of Life (AToL) Workshop (03/22–03/24/2006). Sponsor: Rafael Lemaitre 

Andre Morandini, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil; examined jellyfish collection, and conferred with Dr. 

Allen Collins (01/23–01/28/2006). Sponsor: Steve Cairns 

Thongchai Ngamprasertwong, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; examined USNM holdings of Thailand 

leeches and land leeches (family Haemadipsidae) (01/03–01/06/2006). Sponsor: William Moser 

Tatsuo Oji, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; examined USNM holdings of stalked crinoids (Echinodermata) (02/16). 

Sponsor: Cynthia Ahearn 

Anderson Oliveira, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; conducted faunistic studies of Brazilian 

fauna (02/27–03/03/2006). Sponsor: Kristian Fauchald 

Dennis Opresko, Oak Ridge, Tennessee; studied antipatharian collection (02/26/2006). Sponsor: Steve Cairns 

Gordon Paterson, The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom; studied deepwater polychaetes from the Pacific 

Ocean (03/27–04/07/2006). Sponsor: Kristian Fauchald 

Continued on p. 9 

6 

N O B O N E S


R E S E A R C H 

No sex please, we’re sand dollars 

Dave Pawson 

The common five-holed sand dollar, Mellita species, occurs in shallow water along the east coast of the US, 

and in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. IZ Research Collaborator Doris Vance, her sister Joyce McCullough, 

and I have been experimenting with hybridization of Mellita from off both coasts of Florida, and in the process 

we learned that this animal reproduces year-round. At any time of the year, spawning (release into the seawater 

of eggs or sperms) can be easily induced non-injuriously by injection of a little 0.5 molar potassium chloride (KCl) 

solution. While visiting the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Florida March 5-8, we traveled in the 

Sunburst and collected sand dollars just south of the Fort Pierce Inlet. We 

trawled up a dozen healthy-looking specimens and brought them back alive 

to the lab. 

Usually all of these animals would release clouds of sperm and many 

thousands of eggs immediately upon injection, and combining eggs and 

sperm would result in virtually 100% fertilization. I was astonished to find 

that, upon injecting our March 2006 animals with KCl, one specimen released 

a tiny amount of sperm after about five minutes, and another released 

about 50 misshapen eggs after about ten minutes. None of the other 10 animals 

showed any sign of spawning. As expected, when the sperm and misshapen 

eggs were mixed, no fertilization occurred. 

This dramatic “lifestyle change” in Mellita off Fort Pierce could not 

Mellita sp. 

be attributed to any unusual conditions of temperature or food availability 

(these animals eat sand!), and all we can suggest at present is that the October 2005 hurricane Wilma, which battered 

this area, causing tremendous wave action inshore and offshore, somehow traumatized these animals, and 

affected their ability to reproduce, at least for the time being. We plan to check on west coast Florida sand dollars 

sometime in the next few weeks. 

Photo: W. Lee, SMSFP 

Thanks much to Valerie Paul (Director), Hugh Reichardt, and Woody Lee, and all of our Smithsonian Marine 

Station at Fort Pierce, for their support and help. 

K U D O S 

Carol Butler, Registrar for NMNH, presented Chad Walter with the Registrar’s annual Order of the Paper Clip 

award. This recognition was a result of Chad’s tireless efforts over the past three years to resolve the problems with 

IZ’s legacy acquisitions and borrows, and formally close them. He has resolved documentation problems involving 

hundreds of old transactions, some dating back to the 1950s and early 1960s. According to the Registrar, IZ is not 

the only department with a transaction backlog, but we are, thanks to the efforts of Chad and those assisting him 

in this work, making tremendous progress in resolving them. 

N O B O N E S 7


I Z O N T H E W E B 

New features added to Isopod Website 

Marilyn Schotte 

Part of the Invertebrate Zoology Department website since 1995, The World 

List of Marine, Terrestrial and Freshwater Isopods (http://www.nmnh.si.edu/iz/ 

isopod/) has been growing for over 10 years. It currently lists the 10,401 species of 

isopod crustaceans known in the world. Updating, performed by Marilyn Schotte, 

is accomplished by scanning library journals and the Zoological Record, and recording 

information in reprints sent by colleagues. 

The list is searchable by suborder, family, genus and species names, as well as 

by type locality. There is a short video of a terrestrial species and a nascent photo 

gallery of common oniscidians (terrestrial species) that you may encounter in your 

backyard (see example). Miniposters of these images can be downloaded onto a 

personal computer and printed for classroom use. 

With the help of Jim Kochert from IT, the database is now downloadable to a 

PC so that researchers can obtain printouts of any part or all of the database. Most 

recently a list of links to other isopod websites enables the user to cruise through 

relevant sites to obtain general information and pictures. The site will be part of 

the museum’s Ocean Portal website, part of the new Ocean Sciences initiative. 

In preparation is an illustrated, interactive electronic key to isopods of the 

northwest Atlantic from northern Canada, along the eastern seaboard, and the 

Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula. This feature, hopefully to be added this 

year, will provide an on-line key to over 350 isopods with illustrations, depth and 

habitat information. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Britayev, T.A. and K. Fauchald. 

2005. New species of symbiotic 

scaleworms Asterophilia 

(Polychaeta, Polynoidae) from 

Vietnam. Invertebrate Zoology 

2(1): 15-22. 

Collin, R., M.C. Díaz, J. Norenburg, 

R.M. Rocha, J.A. Sánchez, A. 

Schulze, M. Schwartz and A. 

Valdés. 2005. Photographic 

identification guide to some 

common marine invertebrates 

of Bocas Del Toro, Panama. 

Caribbean Journal of Science 

41(3): 638-707. 

Collins, A.G., P. Schuchert,, A.C. 

Marques,, T. Jankowski, M. 

Medina, and B. Schierwater. 

2006. Medusozoan phylogeny 

and character evolution clarified 

by new large and small subunit 

rDNA data and an assessment 

of the utility of phylogenetic 

mixture models. Systematic 

Biology 55(1): 97-115. 

Leal, J.H. and M.G. Harasewych. 

2005. Tractolira delli, a new 

abyssal Volutidae (Gastropoda: 

Neogastropoda) from off eastern 

Antarctica. Zootaxa 1071: 39-45. 

Petit, R.E. and M.G. Harasewych. 

2005. Catalogue of the 

superfamily Cancellarioidea 

Forbes and Hanley, 1851 

(Gastropoda: Prosobranchia)— 

2nd edition. Zootaxa 1102: 1-161. 

Rützler, K. 2006. Caribbean 

coral reef ecosystems: Thirty 

years of Smithsonian marine 

science in Belize, pp. 52-53. 

Proceedings, Belize National 

Marine Science Symposium. Hugh 

Parkey Foundation for Marine 

Awareness and Education, Belize 

City, Belize. 

Schwartz, M. and J.L. Norenburg. 

2005. Three new species 

of Micrura (Nemertea: 

Heteronemertea) and a new type 

of Heteronemertean larva from 

the Caribbean Sea. Caribbean 

Journal of Science 41(3): 528-543. 

8 

N O B O N E S


VISITORS continued 

Gustav Paulay, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 

Gainesville, Florida; used the echinoderm library (02/09/2006). Sponsor: 

Christopher Mah 

Timothy Pearce, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania; examined the land snail collection at MSC (03/13– 

03/17/2006). Sponsor: Linda Cole 

Fredrik Pleijel, Tjaernoe Marine Biological Laboratory, Sweden (01/09– 

01/12/2006). Sponsor: Kristian Fauchald 

Megan Porter, University of Maryland at Baltimore County; attended the 

Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop (03/22–03/24/2006). 

Sponsor: Rafael Lemaitre 

Hector Reyes-Bonilla, Universidad Autonomica de Baja California Sur, La 

Paz, Mexico; studied eastern Pacific shallow water Scleractinia (02/22– 

02/25/2006). Sponsor: Steve Cairns 

Rafael Robles, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Louisiana; attended the 

Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop (03/22–03/24/2006). 


Guenter Schuster, Eastern Kentucky University; studied crayfish of Alabama 

(01/09–01/13/2006). Sponsor: Karen Reed 

Carrie Schweitzer, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; used the Crustacea 

collections to compare fossil decapods to Recent decapods (01/03– 

01/06/2006); worked in the Crustacea collections (02/07/2006); attended the 

Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop, and worked in the Crustacea 

collections (03/20–03/24/2006). Sponsor: Rafael Lemaitre 

Megumi Strathmann, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, 

Friday Harbor, Washington; examined USNM holdings of sea stars 

(Echinodermata) (01/10–01/13/2006). Sponsor: Cynthia Ahearn 

Richard Strathmann, Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, 

Friday Harbor, Washington; examined USNM holdings of sea stars 

(Echinodermata) (01/10–01/13/2006). Sponsor: Cynthia Ahearn 

Chris Taylor, Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Biodiversity, 

Champaign, Illinois; studied crayfish from Alabama (01/09–01/13/2006). 


Lori Tolley-Jorden, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama; photographed 

type specimens of Pleurocerids with Dr. Arthur Bogan (02/16/2006). 

Sponsor: Bob Hershler 

Dale Tshudy, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Pennsylvania; 

examined lobster specimens in the Crustacea collections for cladistic analysis 

(03/12–03/16/2006); attended the Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) 

Workshop, and worked on the Crustacea collections (03/22–03/24/2006). 


David Waugh, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; worked on the Crustacea 

collections (02/07/2006); attended the Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) 

Workshop, and worked on the Crustacea collections (03/20–03/24/2006). 


Regina Wetzer, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, 

California; attended the Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) Workshop 


IN THE MEDIA 

Photo courtesy of Michel Segonzac 

Rafael Lemaitre was quoted 

in the March 13 edition of 

news@nature.com. In the story 

Divers discover exotic crab writer 

Emma Marris described the capture 

of a blind white crab bristling with 

hairs from a hydrothermal vent located 

about 1000 km south of Easter 

Island. A team organized by the 

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research 

Institute led the expedition. 

Pictures of the specimen, 

named Kiwa hirsuta, were shown at 

the International Crustacean Conference 

in Glasgow in July of 2005. 

The function of the crab’s ‘hairs’ 

is still unknown, but Lemaitre believes 

they might be used to comb 

edible materials from water or mud. 

Although Lemaitre calls the 

find “amazing”, he is not so excited 

about the potential of the large crab 

(7” long) as food. “It probably does 

not have a lot of muscle to sink your 

teeth into, and things that live near 

hydrothermal vents that contain sulphur 

are probably not very tasty.” 

N O B O N E S 9


S P O T L I G H T O N S T A F F 

Invertebrates Now Showing 

Yolanda Villacampa 

On Saturday, March 22, IZ staff participated in the grand opening event 

of the deep sea IMAX movie, Aliens of the Deep. Cindy Ahearn, Linda 

Cole, Tyjuana Nickens and Yolanda Villacampa rolled out the outreach 

carts and displayed IZ specimens including vent worms and vent clams that 

were discussed in the movie. On view were many other specimens of echinoderms, 

mollusks and tunicates. The staff fielded questions from the numerous 

museum visitors who were curious and fascinated by the displays. 

Mollie Oremland, Education Specialist, coordinated this event. 

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE -The Invertebrate Gourmet 

Above, left: Cindy Ahearn awakens 

interest in echinoderms; above: 

Linda Cole shares her enthusiasm 

for tunicates. 

Photos: Y. Villacampa 

Left: Tijuana Nickens and Yolanda 

Villacampa with ‘the real thing’ 

– a sampling of vent animals like 

those featured in the film plus various 

mollusks. 

Photo: M. Oremland 

A menu item from a restaurant featuring “Nuevo Latino Cuisine” 

advertised “Grilled duck breast served with Puerto Rican style mashed planarians.” 

Must get recipe..... 

LIBRARY 

NEW TITLES: 

INVERTEBRATE LIBRARIES 

November 1, 2005 – March 27, 2006 

Eve, C. Echinoderms: keys and 

notes for the identification of 

British species. Synopses of the 

British Fauna, new series, 56. 

Shrewsbury: FSC Publications. 

2006. 

Gosteli, Margret. Environmental 

influence on shell characters 

in alpine Arianta arbustorum 

(Gastropoda, Helicidae). Bern: 

Naturhistorisches Museum Bern. 

2005. 

Gustavson, Kent, Huber, Richard M., 

and Ruitenbeek, Jack (Editors). 

Integrated coastal zone 

management of coral reefs : 

decision support modeling. 

Washington, D.C.: World Bank. 

2000. 

Hoff, C. Clayton. The ostracods 

of Illinois, their biology and 

taxonomy. Illinois Biological 

Monographs, 19. Urbana: 

University of Illinois Press. 1942. 

Maeder, Felicitas. Bisso marino: 

fili d'oro dal fondo del mare. 

Malano: 5 continents editions. 

2005. 

Rigby, J. Keith. Sponges of the 

Middle Cambrian Burgess 

Shale and Stephen Formations. 

ROM Contributions in Science, 

1. Toronto: ROM. 2004. 

Steiner, Gerhard, and Kabat, Alan 

R. Catalog of species-group 

names of recent and fossil 

Scaphopoda (Mollusca). Paris: 

Publications Scientifiques du 

Muséum national d'Histoire 

naturelle. 2004. 

Trilles, Jean-Paul. Les cymothoidae 

(Crustacea, Isopoda) du 

monde: prodrome pour 

une faune. Studia Marina, 

21/22(1/2). Kotor: [s.l.]. 1991. 

10 

N O B O N E S

Winter 2006 - Department of Invertebrate Zoology - Smithsonian ...

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