MUSSEL FAUNA OF MAUMEE RIVER. 



51 



Put-in Bay Island, Lake Erie, 10 small dwarfed examples were 

 found ; it appears to be common there. 



The Maumee Basin examples, especially those obtained in the 

 upper course of the river, differ from the usual type of the upper 

 Mississippi Eiver specimens in being considerably thicker, shorter, 

 and more inflated. Aspidogaster conchicola is a fairly common 

 parasite in the pericardial cavity, and the examples' seen at Grand 

 Eapids were infested with Atax to a remarkable degree, some in- 

 dividuals harboring nearly a hundred of the mites apiece. 



There is a great deal of variation in the color of the nacre of this 

 species, from pink to rich coppery red. Some of the shells were 

 beautifully iridescent. On account of its color and the thinness of 

 the shell it is of no use for buttons. 



In the upper Mississippi, where this species thrives in great num- 

 bers, it forms the bulk of the cull shells left on shore, and on beds 

 devoted to commercial purposes would probably be regarded as a 

 nuisance. Eichly colored baroques, usually of small size, occasionally 

 occur in this species. 



26. Lampsilis glans (Lea). This small, inconspicuous species is 

 very likely to be overlooked in collecting, and is probably more com- 

 mon and more generally distributed than reports would indicate. It 

 inhabits both ponds and rivers. In the Maumee Basin only 6 

 examples were secured — 4 in the feeder canal, 1 in the reservoir, 

 and 1 in the St. Joseph Eiver near its mouth. All were dead shells 

 picked up on shore. 



27. Lampsilis iris (Lea). This attractive little shell does not 

 appear to be common in the Maumee Basin. Two examples were 

 secured in the St. Marys Eiver above Bluffton Bridge, 4 in the St. 

 Joseph near the mouth, 2 in the feeder canal, and 1 at Maumee 

 Center Bridge, making 7 in all. It is probably more common 

 than collections would indicate, as it is frequently found in abundance 

 late in the fall after muskrats have begun collecting, where it has 

 been difficult to find in numbers before this. It seems to be one of 

 the favorite articles of diet with the muskrat. 



28. Lampsilis rectus (Lamarck). While not particularly abun- 

 dant, this is a fairly common and well-distributed shell in the Mau- 

 mee Basin. Its distribution is so general that it is unnecessary to 

 give details. It was quite common in the riffles in the St. Marys, and 

 present in the feeder canal, St. Joseph Eiver, along the Maumee, and 

 in the Auglaize. Nearly every example seen was kept. In all, 63 

 were taken in the Maumee Basin and 3 in Lake Erie at Put-in Bay. 

 Only a few young were seen, and a few gravid ones were obtained. 

 The young are more or less distinctly rayed ; in the adult the epider- 

 mis is about uniformly black, but the rays are represented by fine 



