44 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



a narrow shallow stream would be the prey of muskrats, minks, 

 etc., the entire length and width of the beds. 



On the trip mentioned above, about a mile below Lost Lake a 

 fine example of Lampsilis iris was found. This is the farthest up 

 stream any species of mussel was obtained, and as this species is 

 fairly common in both lakes and abundant in the Tippecanoe River, 

 we have here the nearest approach to a continuous fauna. Some 

 dead shells but no living examples of Quadrula imdulata were 

 found a little farther down. Farther down stream, from a quarter 

 to half a mile, a short distance above the second cross-road south of 

 the lake, was found a small mussel-bed of about '40 or 50 mussels, 

 the great majority of which were Quadruki nudulata. A few liv- 

 ing Lampsilis iris, two dead Symphynota compressa, one living 

 Symphynota costata (gravid), and a few dead shells of Quadrula 

 coccinea, complete the list. Below this point no mussels were 

 found until near where the Outlet joins the Tippecanoe. Here, a 

 few rods up the Outlet, a fair bed of Quadrula coccinea was found. 

 Of the five species of mussel found in the Outlet, only two, L. iris 

 and Q. coccinea, are found in the lake, the latter but rarely. The 

 form and general appearance of the Q. 2indulata of the Outlet is 

 quite peculiar and they can be picked out at once in collections 

 from the various rivers of the country. They are unusually elon- 

 gate, in this respect representing some of the Tippecanoe mussels 

 but differing from them in being' thinner, and in having the fur- 

 rows between the plicae unusually deep and sharp. The costse on 

 the postero-dorsal slope are very marked, and the epidermis jet 

 black. The umbones are considerably eroded. 



Distribution of Mussels in the Lake 



In rivers, where there is a great variety of conditions, such as 

 differences of current, bottom, etc., one finds the different species 

 of mussels inhabiting different localities and different situations. 

 In the lakes, where we have comparatively few species of mussels 

 and not such important differences of environment, the distribu- 

 tion of the various species is much the same. The same condi- 

 tions, such as rather shallow water and moderately firm bottom, 

 are equally suitable for all. A few important exceptions may be 

 noted ; as for example, the less common species of the lake are often 

 more or less local in distribution. The only well-marked bed of 

 Quadr^ula ruhiginosa in the lakes is in the Lost Lake mussel-bed 

 below the Bardsley cottage, and this is the only place where Lamp- 

 silis subrostrata can be collected in any considerable numbers. 

 Lampsilis gkms has a marked preference for the shallow water at 



