The skull of the nodosaurid Niobrarasaurus coleii (Mehl) is redescribed as the result of the discovery of additional material, including the partially crushed braincase. The bone surface shows moderate remodeling, but not to the point of sutural obliteration. The snout section suggests a long, narrow skull more similar to Pawpawsaurus than the broader Edmontonia. Nevertheless, the skull differs from other nodosaurs in the ornamentation of the bone surface and trapezoidal outline of the occipital condyle in posterior view.

The first equid remains are reported from sediments at the late Miocene Ogallala stratotype locality (Joseph R Thomasson Site 9a=JRT Site 9a) of the Prolithospermum johnstonii-Nassella pohlii Assemblage Zone in Ellis County, Kansas. The two specimens were recovered from a diatomaceous marl unit approximately in the middle of the zone and consist of a right lower fourth premolar (Rp4) and a left third metatarsal of the grazing tridactyl equid Neohipparion eurystyle. The presence of Neohipparion eurystyle within this plant assemblage zone supports the suggestion of a savanna or savanna parkland in the region during deposition of the fossils and is evidence for a Miocene Hemphillian Land Mammal Age assignment for the stratum from which the fossils were recovered. Other fossils collected from the same stratum as the horses, including diatoms, a partial frog ilium, ostracods, charophytes, sedge rhizomes, and mollusks, indicate the presence of a pond.

A new bee species of the genus Amegilla (Apinae: Anthophorini) is described and figured from western Malaysia and southern Thailand. Amegilla anekawarna Engel, new species, belongs to the zonata group of species and can be most readily confused with the widespread A. zonata (Linnaeus). The species is distinguished from A. zonata and other Southeast Asian, blue-banded Amegilla.

Eight species of mecopteroid Panorpida are known from the Lower Permian Wellington Formation of Elmo (Dickinson County), Kansas; one of those species, Permopanorpa inaequalis Tillyard, 1926, is documented for the first time from the Wellington Formation fossil insect beds of Noble County, Oklahoma. The holometabolous species (insects with complete metamorphosis) of the Wellington Formation Lower Permian fauna, which comprise 7% of the total of nearly 200 species, are listed and briefly reviewed.

In this study, a non-lethal DNA isolation technique was developed for freshwater mussels. A total of 45 Quadrula quadrula, 21 Q. metanevra, and 19 Q. pustulosa were collected from the Neosho and Verdigris Rivers in eastern Kansas. DNA was successfully isolated from 82 mussels using the non-lethal technique developed in this study. Spectrophotometer analysis of the 82 DNA samples resulted in an average DNA concentration of 488 ng/μl. Agarose gel electrophoresis of polymerase chain reaction products obtained using the purified mussel DNA demonstrated high quality, reproducible amplification products. All mussels remained alive for several months after tissue biopsy in the laboratory. A mark and recapture study was also performed to confirm survivability, thereby ensuring our procedure was non-lethal. Recapture efforts resulted in a 56% live recovery of mussels from the Neosho River and a 78% live recovery from mussels in the Verdigris River approximately four and one-half months after their release.

Bone fragments, ganoid scales and the distinctive tooth crown of a pycnodont fish (FHSM VP-16583), were recovered from a coprolite (FHSM VP-16586) collected from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member (lower Santonian) of the Niobrara Chalk in northeastern Lane County, Kansas. Pycnodonts were small to medium-sized, deep-bodied bony fish with batteries of flattened, peg-like teeth on the vomer and prearticulars that are well adapted for feeding on hard-shelled prey. The tooth and a dermal bone fragment were identified as Micropycnodon kansasensis on the basis of comparison with the holotype and other specimens. Small inoceramid fragments inside the coprolite may represent gut contents of the pycnodont, or the larger, possibly durophagous, predator. The remains of pycnodonts are rare occurrences in the Smoky Hill Chalk and are generally limited to toothplates bearing their distinctive teeth. Previous specimens recovered from the Smoky Hill Chalk have also been restricted stratigraphically to the uppermost Coniacian. FHSM VP-16583 represents the first record of this species in the Santonian.

Eight isolated teeth of the Late Cretaceous anacoracid shark, Pseudocorax laevis (Leriche), from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk in western Kansas are formally identified and described. These teeth were recovered from the bottom half of the Smoky Hill Chalk, which chronostratigraphically ranges from the Late Coniacian (ca. 87 Ma) to the late Early Santonian (ca. 85 Ma). Pseudocorax laevis was likely a small shark, measuring only about 1 m in total length. Like other anacoracids, P. laevis possibly practiced scavenging.

At low flows, ambient toxicity (measured as a reduction in Ceriodaphnia survival) was observed in two tributaries and in the main channel of Turkey Creek. Toxicity during periods of no observable stream flow was absent in Turkey Creek upstream of these sources and reduced downstream of them and a wastewater treatment plant. During stormwater runoff, ambient toxicity increased throughout Turkey Creek, but especially at the downstream sites. Toxicity was not markedly altered at the two tributary sites where there was significant toxicity under runoff and non-runoff conditions. The toxicity from the tributaries was attributed to the presence of zinc, nickel, or cadmium as implied by a follow-up analysis of a toxicity identification evaluation (TIE), known land use, and ambient water quality data. Overall, the aquatic toxicity observed in Turkey Creek is likely due to sources in the streambed, unconsolidated urban runoff, mine tailings, or synergistic effects.

Recent meteorite discoveries in Kansas suggests that many more than the 142 recorded ones are present and yet to be located. Meteorites have been recorded in two-thirds of the Kansas 105 counties, with most of them from the western part of the state. The Brenham meteorite fall at Haviland in Kiowa County is the best known and most complete recorded fall. The site has produced the world's largest oriented pallasite at 1400 pounds and countless fragments have been located and recorded. Locally meteors have been observed and heard and some of them have scattered fragments over a considerable area. The meteorites dated are about 4.6 billion years old, but the Norton County fall dated slightly more than 5 billion years, which if correct would make it one of the oldest known objects in the solar system.

Prior to 1992 all streams and Federal reservoirs in Kansas were open to mussel harvest with an approved permit. In 1992, the harvest of freshwater mussels in Kansas was limited to five species, and the streams open to harvest were limited to four rivers; all Federal reservoirs remained open. The weight of mussels harvested from Kansas streams peaked in 1996 and the harvest in reservoirs peaked in 1997. From 1997 to 2002 harvest declined steadily each year. To preserve mussel populations, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks established a 10-year moratorium on harvest of freshwater mussels in Kansas in 2003.

Although nine species of bats are considered resident in northeastern Kansas, we caught only six (198 individuals). Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) comprised 77% of the catch, and three species - hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), and eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) - were each represented by one individual. Five captures of three species were county records: red bats in Linn and Miami counties, northern myotis in Leavenworth County, and evening bats in Leavenworth and Miami counties. The mean rate of capture was 9.4 bats/net site (Species Diversity Index: SDI = 15.0) and 2.9 bats/net night (SDI = 4.9). We captured no bats at 6 of 21 net sites, whereas the greatest catch at a single location was 56 bats. The rate of catch was similar to studies in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, but the species diversity, utilizing MacArthur's diversity index, was lower (1.6 vs. 2.9 - 4.4). We obtained evidence of reproduction for the big brown bat, red bat (Lasiurus borealis), evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis), and northern myotis. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in catch of adult male and reproductive female big brown and red bats, or for all species combined (numbers of other species were too small to test). The rate of capture over 5 hours of sampling was different than random for the big brown bat (χ = 38.800; P <0.001), and for all species combined (χ = 43.228; P = 0.001), but was similar for all species combined excluding the big brown bat (χ = 8.353; P = 0.079). Captures decreased over the sampling period. The rate of capture of red and evening bats was similar in all habitats sampled (P > 0.05), whereas big brown bats were caught disproportionately often over stream versus bottomland and upland corridors (χ = 12.486; P = 0.002). At 10 sites sampled ultrasonically, we detected echolocation calls of seven species. Although we detected calls of the eastern pipistrelle and little brown myotis, these species were not captured at these 10 sites.

Skeletochronology is a method used to determine the age of an individual from bone histology. The method is based on growth lines found in cortical bone, an area until now seldom examined in mosasaurs. For the first time, diaphysial thin sections of Tylosaurus, Platecarpus and Clidastes limb bones are studied using skeletochronological techniques. Results indicate that sexual maturity in mosasaurs was reached between ages five and seven, and that the mosasaurs studied exhibit a typical sauropsid growth pattern, although their growth rates are interpreted as faster than those of extant taxa because of fully aquatic adaptations.

Disturbances by large mammals influence plant populations and ecosystem processes. In contrast, impacts on ecosystem processes at local scales by small herbivorous rodents are relatively unknown. To examine effects of the runways of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) on soil nitrogen, we collected soil cores from under runways, along the runway edges and at 0.25 and 2 m away from runways. Plant samples (both current and previous year's growth) were clipped from microsites at edges of runways and at 0.25 and 2 m away from runways. Concentrations of soil nitrate were highest along runway edges and lowest 2 m away, whereas those of ammonium were highest 0.25 m away from runways and lowest under runways and along runway edges. Biomass of plants from previous growth (litter) was higher along edges of runways than at 0.25 and 2 m from runway edges. In contrast to differences in soil nitrate and ammonium concentrations and in litter biomass among microsites, carbon: nitrogen (C:N) ratios of big bluestem and live plant biomass were similar among the three microsites. Our data suggest that prairie voles do affect nutrient dynamics and plant litter at a local scale in tallgrass prairie.

We describe the first record of Terminonaris cf. T. browni Osborn, 1904 (Reptilia: Crocodyliformes) from the Fairport Chalk Member of the Carlile Shale (Upper Cretaceous: lower Middle Turonian) in Russell County, Kansas. The specimen is a partial rostrum consisting of fused nasals with parts of co-ossified maxillae. This new fossil record is significant because it is the geologically youngest Terminonaris specimen, the first Terminonaris specimen from Kansas, the sixth known specimen of the genus, and the southernmost occurrence in North America. Because Terminonaris is thought to have been a nearshore inhabitant, its occurrence in the Fairport Chalk, which is an offshore deposit, suggests that the specimen was transported for a long distance before its deposition.

Battery production and consumption has increased ten-fold in the industrialized world since 1963; however, most of these batteries utilize hazardous materials to generate a commercially viable voltage (1.5– 12 volts). Many of these materials pose an ecological threat in that they can take decades if not centuries to biodegrade in landfills consequently allowing long-term seepage of hazardous materials into the soil and water supply. The purpose of this project was to construct an eco-friendly biodegradable battery employing aluminum and copper as an anode and cathode, and utilizing natural components for the electrolyte system and battery casing. In order to create the battery, a paper derived from cellulose grass, okra juice, and water was used to contain the citric acid-rich lemon juice electrolyte that was subsequently encased in the biodegradable plastic casing. The paper matrix was then placed between the electrodes and water was added, creating a functional, eco-friendly battery. The cells generated an average of .51 volts over a 24-hour period and an average of .50 volts when placed in circuit with a 1-watt, 10-ohm resistor. The gelatin-based, biodegradable plastic was tested and was found to completely biodegrade in 33 hours, making it the optimal eco-friendly battery.

Pholcus manueli and not P. opilionoides is the smaller of the two synanthropic Pholcus of the northeastern and midwestern United States. Figures are provided for distinguishing P. manueli from P. opilionoides, a Eurasian species sometimes confused with P. manueli.

In 1931, an oilfield geologist working in Ellsworth County discovered large bones eroding from a limestone exposure along a creek bank about two miles west of the town of Holyrood, Kansas. He notified George F. Sternberg of the remains and later that year, Sternberg and his assistant, Myrl V. Walker, collected the remains of a large, headless elasmosaur from the “Lincoln Marble (Benton).” The specimen (UNSM 50136) was sold to the University of Nebraska State Museum in 1935, where it was prepared from the remaining matrix. One of the front paddles has been on display in the UNSM since that time. Sternberg was also an accomplished photographer and took several black and white photographs of the locality. The photos were used by Harold Ehler, the grandson of the person who had leased the land at the time of the discovery, and the author to confirm the locality and stratigraphic occurrence of this relatively unknown but important specimen.