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Paleosols Of The Oligocene Of Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Lloyd G. Tanner, Cyril Harvey

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Prominent paleosol ("buried" or "fossil" soil) complexes occur at the top of the middle Orella, upper Orella, lower Whitney, and upper Whitney in the Brule formation of Nebraska; and at the top of the "Lower Oreodon," "Middle Oreodon," "Upper Oreodon," and "Leptauchenia" beds in the Brule deposits of South Dakota. These paleosols have regional distribution and appear to be of value in stratigraphic correlations. Major faunal breaks seem to coincide with important buried soil zones, thus indicating that certain paleosols actually represent unconformities. Some of the soils were developed on old land surfaces where deposition was practically at a standstill …

North American Prairie, J. E. Weaver

Papers of John E. Weaver (1884–1956)

TO MOST AMERICANS, the word "Prairie" suggests either a romantic element in pioneer fiction or a vast expanse of level land which must be crossed in going from one coast to another. But to the botanist, the American Prairie is a wonderfully complex society of living organisms.

This book tells the story of that society-the variety of its inhabitants; the constitution of its several communities; the internal struggles for domination of the society; and the battles of the Prairie as a whole against its two most vicious enemies, drought and overgrazing. Most striking, perhaps, is the story of that portion …

An Annotated List Of The Orthoptera Of Nebraska Part Ii The Tettigidae And Acrididae, Harold A. Hauke

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This is the second of a series of papers on the Orthoptera of Nebraska. It is a continuation of the revision of an unpublished thesis on this subject by the author in 1934.

Influence Of Certain Soil-Proftle Characteristics Upon The Distribution Of Roots Of Grasses, R. L. Fox, J. E. Weaver, R. C. Lipps

Papers of John E. Weaver (1884–1956)

A method has been devised by Weaver and his coworkers (15) by which a root system may be sampled from the soil surface to a depth of maximum root penetration. The root system may then be separated from the soil without vertical displacement, photographed, and compared with soil profile characteristics. In the present investigation an attempt has been made to relate some chemical and physical properties of the soil to root distribution.

A Report On Drosophila Collections In Nebraska, David D. Williams, Dwight D. Miller

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Until rather recently little has been known of the Drosophila species of Nebraska. Sturtevant (1921) lists Nebraska as one of seven states from which no Drosophila had been reported. Patterson and Wagner (1943) show that collections of Drosophila pseudoobscura had been made in the vicinities of Scottsbluff and Kearney, but no other Drosophila species are reported from Nebraska in their publication.

Insect Types In The Collections Of The University Of Nebraska State Museum, Martin H. Muma

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

In 1948 the insect collections at the University of Nebraska State Museum were placed in the care of the author. Prior to that date curatorial duties were assumed or assigned to full time teaching or research staff members. As would be expected under the latter circumstances, the organization of study material and types was neglected in many families and genera. Since 1948 type material, because of its intrinsic value, has received considerable attention. All primary and representative secondary types have been assembled in three museum cases and one slide cabinet for curatorial and study convenience.

A Graphic Résumé Of The Pleistocene Of Nebraska (With Notes On The Fossil Mammalian Remains), C. Bertrand Schultz, Gilbert C. Lueninghoener, W. D. Frankforter

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

I T SEEMS desirable at this time to present a graphic resume of the Nebraska Pleistocene, together with a summary of the stratigraphic sequences of the fossil vertebrates. This report is based on data taken from various publications' in addition to information gathered by the present writers during the past fifteen or more field seasons. Intensive work has been done in the past five years in connection with recovery of paleontological material in the areas where government dams are under construction (Schultz, Lueninghoener, and Frankforter, 1948; Schultz and Frankforter, 1948; Holder and Wike, 1949). The information in the present paper …

Effect Of Stubble Mulching On Number And Activity Of Earthworms, S. P. Teotia, F. L. Duley, T. M. Mccalla

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

A survey of earthworm population under different cropping systems was made under stubble mulch farming and where the residue was plowed under. The influence of earthworms on some of the important physical and biological properties of the soil was studied. Their role in the decomposition of crop residues was also determined.

Microorganisms And Soil Structure, T. M. Mccalla

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

SUMMARY

Laboratory tests were made to determine the effectiveness of different compounds and microbial groups in increasing the stability of Peorian loess lumps against the action of falling water drops. The influence of these on percolation tests in the laboratory was also determined.

Many organic substances-dextrose, sucrose, starch, peptone, cullulose, and gum arabic-did not themselves contribute directly to soil-structure stability, though these substances do furnish energy material for soil microorganisms, which can convert them readily into either microbial tissue or decomposition products that increase soil-structure stability. Lignin, proteins, oils, fats, waxes, resin, and paraffin increased the stability of lumps of …

An Annotated List Of The Orthoptera Of Nebraska Part I The Blattidae, Mantidae And Phasmidae, Harold A. Hauke

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

This paper is the first of a series on the Orthoptera of Nebraska. In 1932, while a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, the author began a taxonomic study of the Orthoptera, the result of which was an unpublished List of the Othoptera of Nebraska. The list has been studied and revised.

Preliminary Geomorphological Studies Of The Lime Creek Area & Preliminary Report On The Lime Creek Sites: New Evidence Of Early Man In Southwestern Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Gilbert C. Lueninghuener, W. D. Frankforter

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

PALEONTOLOGICAL and archaeological discoveries were made near Cambridge, Nebraska, by the University of Nebraska State Museum field party in the spring of 1947 (Schultz and Frankforter, 1948, pp. 279-280) . Fossils and artifacts were found in situ at the base of a fifty-foot terrace on Lime Creek (University of Nebraska State Museum Localities Ft-41 and Ft-42) and on Medicine Creek just below the mouth of Lime Creek (Ft-50). Lime Creek is located (Fig. 1) in southwestern Nebraska in the southeastern part of Frontier County. It is a tributary of Medicine Creek which in turn is a tributary to the Republican …

Life Histories Of North American Nuthatches, Wrens, Thrashers And Their Allies: Order Passeriformes, Arthur Cleveland Bent

Papers in Ornithology

An attempt has been made to give as full a life history as possible of the best-known subspecies of each species and to avoid duplication by writing briefly of the others and giving only the characters of the subspecies, its range, and any -habits peculiar to it. In many cases certain habits, probably common to the species as a whole, have been recorded for only one subspecies. Such habits are mentioned under the subspecies on which the observations were made. The distribution gives the range of the species as a whole, with only rough outlines of the ranges of the …

A New Sciurid Of Blancan Age From Kansas And Nebraska, Claude W. Hibbard

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The collecting of vetebrate fossils from deposits of Blancan age in Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas during the past twelve years has revealed many interesting forms. Some species have been found to have wide geographic distribution. A large sciurid related to the woodchucks has been recognized from both Kansas and Nebraska and is here described as a new genus and species.

The Goss Lemming Mouse, Synaptomys Cooperi Gossii (Goues), In Nebraska, Edson Fichter, Merle F. Hansen

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

In the course of studies on the cestode parasites of microtine rodents by one of the authors (Hansen), specimens of mice were sent to the United State National Museum where they were identified by Dr. David H. Johnson. Two of these microtines proved to be Synaptomys cooperi gossii (Coues). These specimens of Synaptomys (U.S.N.M. Nos. 282343 and 282344), collected at Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, on September 16, 1946 (male) and November 20, 1946 (female), respectively, are the first ones to be identified from Nebraska.

The Geologic History Of The Bison In The Great Plains (A Preliminary Report), C. Bertrand Schultz, W. D. Frankforter

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

THE GEOLOGIC history of the bison in North America is a subject which has received little attention to date. Osteological rather than geological problems have been the main concern of most writers who have so far published. If the geologic history of the bison is to be learned, it will be necessary to devote more time and effort in the field in determining the age of the deposits in which various specimens have been discovered and in making more extensive collections from deposits of known age. Unfortunately the majority of the type specimens have been surface finds and little attempt …

The Raccoon, A New Host For Microphallus Sp., With Additional Notes On M. Ovatus From Turtles, Robert L. Rausch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Discusses the raccoon, a new host for Microphallus sp., with additional notes on M. ovatus from turtles.

North American Prairie, J. E. Weaver

Papers of John E. Weaver (1884–1956)

From the highlands of central Mexico across the entire United States and northward into Canada extends the great mid-continental prairie. On the east it is in contact with the deciduous forest. From this central mass the prairie extends westward beyond the Rocky Mountains across Wyoming into eastern Utah, and southwestward through northern New Mexico in to northern Arizona. The Palouse Grasslands occurred in eastern Oregon and Washington, and other parts of the far Northwest. The Pacific Prairie was found in the Great Valley of California, and the-Desert Plains Grassland still occupies much of southern Arizona and New Mexico and southwestern …

Recovery Of Midwestern Prairies From Drought, John E. Weaver

Papers of John E. Weaver (1884–1956)

The long period of desiccation, which began in 1934, finally terminated in 1940. The western portion of True Prairie was greatly decimated and a veritable mosaic of types of vegetation resulted. These ranged from well-preserved relict communities of bluestems (Andropogon) to mixed stands of grasses on nearly bared soil, but included communities of western wheat grass (Agropyron smithii) , short grasses (Bouteloua gracilis and Buchloe dactyloides) , needle grass (Stipa spartea), and prairie drop seed (Sporobolus heterolepis) . These types varied in size from a few square rods to many …

Forest Sequences In The North Central State, Paul B. Sears

Papers in Ecology

This paper presents fifteen pollen profiles from as many peat deposits in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, only two of which--Bucyrus and Mud Lake (Ohio)--have been previously published. These profiles have been prepared to show only the relative fluctuations of eight forest genera and one family, Betulaceae.

A Study Of Subspecific Variation In The Richardson Pocket-Gopher (Thomomys Talpoides) In Nebraska, With Descriptions Of Two New Subspecies, Myron H. Swenk

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

There has been little published evidence of the occurrence of pocket gophers of the genus Thomomys in Nebraska.

Thomomys talpoides pierreicolus subsp. nov

Pierre Richardson Pocket-Gopher

Thomomys talpoides cheyennensis subsp. nov.

Cheyenne Richardson Pocket-Gopher

A New Fossil Bovid From Nebraska With Notice Of A New Bison Quarry In Texas, C. Bertrand Schultz

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

An interesting and unique bovid skull was reported to the staff of the University of Nebraska State Museum in 1938 by Mr. Alvin McReynolds of Nehawka, Nebraska. The specimen was found in 1933 in a ravine north of Nehawka by Messrs. Merritt and Harold Dodson, brothers. Although the skull was not in place, it appears to have been washed out of a nearby Pleistocene clay deposit by floodwaters. The specimen is well preserved and is of a dark brown, almost black color. In 1938 it was loaned to the Museum for study and photographing but was not obtained as a …

The Ancestral Ursid, Hemicyon, In Nebraska, Edwin H. Colbert

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

During the summer of 1928, a University of Nebraska State Museum field party, composed of Dr. A. L. Lugn and the writer, made a collection of upper Miocene and lower Pliocene mammals in Brown and Cherry counties, Nebraska. This collection was sponsored and made possible by the generosity of the late Hon. Charles H. Morrill.

A Shovel-Tusked Mastodon, Arnebelodon Fricki, From Kansas, Erwin Hinckley Barbour, Claude W. Hibbard

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Since the Amebelodontinae were first announced (Barbour 1927), a number of examples of the genus Amebelodon have presented themselves in various parts of Nebraska, Colorado, and in several places in Kansas. Thus its range has already been materially extended, many skeletal parts added, and the hope kindled that knowledge of this remarkable group of proboscideans is destined to be greatly enriched within the next few years. As may be seen in the accompanying lists of the known parts of Amebelodon preserved in various museums, there are already at hand the bones necessary for the assemblage of a nearly complete composite …

A New Species Of Sphenophalos From The Upper Ogallala Of Nebraska, Erwin Hinckley Barbour, C. Bertrand Schultz

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The genus Sphenophalos was described by John C. Merriam (1909, p. 319-30), who based his description on a fragmentary horn-core (Uni. of Calif. No. 11887) from the late Tertiary deposits near Thousand Creek in northern Humbolt county, Nevada. Knowledge of Sphenophalos, however, is still confined to this single, fragmented type horn-core (Frick 1937, p. 472) and other fragmental specimens (Furlong 1932, p. 27-36).

The Pipy Concretions Of The Arikaree, C. Bertrand Schultz

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The pipy concretions of the Arikaree (lower Miocene) of Nebraska and adjacent states were first described by Nelson Horatio Darton (1899, p. 743) as "characteristic layers of hard, fine-grained, dark-gray concretions, often consisting of aggregations of long, irregular, cylindrical masses" (see Figures 30, 32, 34, and 35). The individual pipes vary in diameter from a few inches to several feet, and in length from a few inches to a hundred yards or more. Tests demonstrate that pipy concretions are composed of sand cemented by calcium carbonate. When dipped in acid the cement is dissolved and the concretion is reduced to …

A Study Of The Geographical And Ecological Distribution Of The Buffy Plains Pocket Mouse (Perognathus Flavescens Flavescens), With Description Of A New Subspecies From Nebraska, Myron H. Swenk

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Buffy Plains Pocket-mouse (Perognathus flavescens flavescens) is a typical mammal of the Sandhill Region of Nebraska. Its home, like that of other species of pocket-mice, is a series of burrows in the ground, consisting of several entrance holes leading to the main 'burrow, in which is located the nest and the food storage chambers. In the Nebraska sandhills its burrows and nests are commonly placed beneath clumps of Spanish Bayonet or Prickly Pear Cactus, and the entrance holes usually are so distributed as to open from under the plant in all directions.

The writer had hoped to …

A Study Of Subspecific Variation In The Yellow Pocket-Gopher (Geomys Lutescens) In Nebraska, And Of The Geographical And Ecological Distribution Of The Variants, Myron H. Swenk

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Yellow Pocket-Gopher (Geomys lutescens) was described by Merriam (14) in 1890, as a paler and smaller subspecies of Geomys bursarius, based on "numerous specimens received from the Sand Hills of western Nebraska", and especially upon an adult Cjl type specimen (No. 23595, U. S. N. M.) collected in the sandhills along Birdwood Creek, Lincoln County, Nebraska, May 27, 1889, by A. B. Baker. Although even as late as 1931 Scheffer (17) classified Geomys lutescens as a subspecies of G. bursarius, it is without doubt specifically distinct from G. bursarius. In all of its variations …

Changes In True-Prairie Vegetation During Drought As Determined By List Quadrats, J. E. Weaver, Joseph H. Robertson, Robert L. Fowler

Papers of John E. Weaver (1884–1956)

The drought of 1934 was not only the most severe on record for the true-prairie association but was also of the earliest inception.  On June 8, Kincer ('34) stated that "pastures are the poorest ever known, and the hay crop will be extremely short, regardless of future weather."  The stress increased as the summer advanced.  Stoddart ('35) tood advantage of these conditions to investigate the relation of osmotic pressure and water content of prairie plants to environmental factors in the vicinity of Lincoln, Nebraska. Simultaneously, Nedrow ('37) was conducting trenching experiments in his study of the efficiency of absorption at …

A Study Of Local Size Variations In The Prairie Pocket-Gopher (Geomys Bursarius), With Description Of A New Subspecies From Nebraska, Myron H. Swenk

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Beginning in the fall of 1913, the writer has continuously been interested in accumulating accurate body measurements, taken in the flesh, of Nebraska pocket-gophers. As a result quite an assemblage of such data has been secured. In the case of Geomys bursarius, the bulk of these data relates to specimens trapped in the vicinity of Lincoln, Lancaster County, involving to date 48 adult and 38 immature males and 50 adult and 65 immature females. Recently these measurements have been tabulated and compared with such measurements of the species as have been recorded in the literature from other parts of …

Anatomy And Histology Of The Digestive Tract Of A Deep-Sea Fish Coelorhynchus Carminatus, Elly M. Jacobsen

University Studies (University of Nebraska) (1888–1984)

This paper deals with the anatomy and histology of the digestive tube of one of the grenadiers or rat-tails, Coelorhynchus carminatus (Goode), as classified by Jordan & Evermann (1896).1 Many studies on the structure of the digestive tracts of fishes have been made in the past, and pioneer work in the teleost group was done by Valatour in 1861, Pillet in 1894 on the Pleuronectidae, and Gulland in 1898 on the salmon. More recent studies have been made by Greene (1912) on the king salmon, Blake 2 (1930) on the sea bass, and Rogick (1931) on the minnow.

The species …