Updates to the Distributional Checklist and Status of Illinois Freshwater Mussels (Mollusca: Unionidae)
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Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science received 7/10/06 (2007), Volume 100, #1, pp. 107-123 accepted 1/19/07 Updates to the Distributional Checklist and Status of Illinois Freshwater Mussels (Mollusca: Unionidae) Jeremy S. Tiemann*, Kevin S. Cummings, and Christine A. Mayer Illinois Natural History Survey, Division of Biodiversity and Ecological Entomology, 1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820 ([email protected]) *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Literature reviews and voucher specimens housed in museum collections were examined to update the distributional checklist and status of Illinois freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Unionidae). Data collected includes information for 51 species, including new drainage records for 37 species and status updates for 40 species. Also reported are corrections of seven errors from the last checklist of the freshwater mussels of Illinois. INTRODUCTION A decade has passed since Cummings and Mayer (1997) published a checklist of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Unionidae) of Illinois that summarizes the distribution and status of unionids within the state. This article is an updated contribution to that paper, and is a continuation for the preparation of a new Freshwater Mussels of Illinois. Addi- tional collecting and compilation of museum records are still needed to complete that task. METHODS The format of this paper follows Cummings and Mayer (1997). The state was divided into 25 subunits that correspond to the major rivers and drainages within and bordering Illinois (Table 1, Figure 1). Information was updated on the distribution and status of freshwater mussels in each basin with data being taken from literature reviews and voucher specimens housed in museum collections. Any records of live individuals col- lected after 1969 were considered to indicate that a given species was extant within a given drainage. The species are arranged alphabetically by genus and species within subfamilies. The new distributional data are presented by species and includes 1) state and federal status, if applicable; 2) remarks on historic and current distributions within the state; and 3) comments on new drainage or status records. Numbers following species names indicate updated drainage records, where numbers in bold designate that at least one individual of that species was collected alive in the corresponding drainage since 1970 (Table 1, Figure 1). New records for “Galena, Apple, and Plum River Drainages” (#1 in Table 1) are not current due to two ongoing studies in the Wisconsin Driftless 108 Division in northwestern Illinois: 1) freshwater mussels of the Menominee, Little Menominee, Sinsinawa, and Galena river drainages in Jo Daviess County by J.S. Tie- mann (Illinois Natural History Survey), and 2) freshwater mussels of the Apple River drainage in Jo Daviess and Carroll counties by B.E. Sietman (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) and E.A. Anderson (Illinois Department of Natural Resources). Specimens with catalogue numbers reported herein are housed in the Illinois Natural History Survey Mollusk Collection (INHS) in Champaign or the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ) in Ann Arbor; specimens without catalogue numbers were observed but not vouchered and are cited as "INHS Mollusk Collection." RESULTS Family Unionidae Subfamily Ambleminae Amblema plicata (Say, 1817), threeridge. Updated drainage records: 3, 10, 16. The threeridge is generally distributed throughout Illinois (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A live A. plicata specimen was discovered in South Branch Larry Creek (Middle Missis- sippi River tributaries), 5 mi W Ferris at the junction of Co. Rd 1100E and Co. Rd 1900N, Hancock County on 2 August 2000 (INHS 25376). One live A. plicata individual was collected in LaMoine River, 3 mi ENE Carthage, Hancock County on 2 October 1991 (Baumgardner 1995). Over a hundred live A. plicata individuals were collected in the Cache River, 1.5 mi NW Forman, Johnson County on 4-6 August 1997 (INHS Mol- lusk Collection). The threeridge has been found alive in 22 drainages in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in all 25 drainages in the state. Elliptio dilatata (Rafinesque, 1820), spike (state-threatened). Updated drainage records: 2, 11, 17, 23. The spike was historically distributed throughout Illinois, and was thought to be alive only in the Fox, Kankakee, Vermilion of the Illinois, Sangamon, Kaskaskia, and Little Wabash river drainages in the state (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A live E. dilatata specimen was discovered in the Rock River, 2 mi SE Rockton at the Hononegah Forest Preserve, Winnebago County on 25 August 2005 (INHS Mollusk Collection). Two live E. dilatata individuals were collected in the Mackinaw River, 3.5 mi NE Congerville at the Chinquapin Bluff Nature Preserve, Woodford County on 31 August 2001 (INHS 25833). A recent-dead E. dilatata specimen was found in Big Grand Pierre Creek (Ohio River tributaries), 1 mi NE Blackman Cemetery, Pope County on 15 June 2002 (INHS 27666). A live E. dilatata individual was found in the Mississippi River, Cordova, Rock Island County on 24 July 2001 (INHS Mollusk Collection). The spike has been collected alive in nine drainages in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in 21 drainages in the state. Fusconaia ebena (Lea, 1831), ebonyshell (state-threatened). Updated drainage records: 19, 22. The ebonyshell was historically distributed in the larger streams in Illinois, and was thought to be alive only in the Ohio, Mississippi, and Wabash rivers in the state (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A live F. ebena individual was collected in the Little Wabash River, 4 mi S Golden Gate at the Saxe Bridge, Wayne County on 22 August 2002 (INHS 27514). A live F. ebena specimen was found in the Illinois River, 2 mi SW Meredosia, Morgan County on 14 August 2002 (INHS 27946). The ebonyshell has been 109 collected alive in five drainages in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in 11 drainages in the state. Fusconaia flava (Rafinesque, 1820), Wabash pigtoe. Updated drainage records: 10, 17. The Wabash pigtoe is generally distributed throughout Illinois (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A live F. flava individual was discovered in the East Fork LaMoine River, 3 mi W Macomb at the Co. Rd 900N Bridge, McDonough County on 16 July 1997 (INHS 21612). A recent-dead F. flava specimen was found in Big Grand Pierre Creek (Ohio River tributaries), 1.5 mi SSE Herod near the Blackman Road Bridge, Pope County on 31 August 2000 (INHS 25207). The Wabash pigtoe has been collected alive in 16 drainages in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in 23 drainages in the state. Megalonaias nervosa (Rafinesque, 1820), washboard. Updated drainage records: 2, 10, 16. The washboard is sporadically distributed in the larger streams in Illinois (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A relict M. nervosa valve was encountered in the Rock River, Milan, Rock Island County on 16-17 May 1988 (INHS 23324). A relict M. nervosa specimen was found in the East Fork LaMoine River drainage, 3 mi WSW Bushnell at the Co. Rd 1700N Bridge, McDonough County on 31 July 1990 (Baumgardner 1995). A live M. nervosa individual was found in the Cache River, 1 mi NE Belknap, Johnson County on 26 September 1997 (INHS 21671). The washboard has been collected alive in 11 drain- ages in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in 16 drainages in the state. Plethobasus cooperianus (Lea, 1834), orangefoot pimpleback (state-endangered, feder- ally-endangered). Updated drainage record: 25. The orangefoot pimpleback is extant in what was thought to be its only know historical drainage, the Ohio River, in Illinois (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A relict P. cooperianus specimen was collected in the Wabash River, White County in 1885 (no specific locality or date data were given; INHS 22581). This individual, initially catalogued as Quadrula pustulosa, was recently trans- ferred to the INHS Mollusk Collection from the A.A. Hinkley Collection at the Univer- sity of Illinois Museum of Natural History, Champaign. The orangefoot pimpleback has been collected alive in one drainage in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in two drainages in the state. Pleurobema clava (Lamarck, 1819), clubshell (state-endangered, federally-endangered). Updated drainage records: 20, 22, 24. The clubshell was historically distributed through- out the Wabash River drainage in Illinois, and was thought to be extirpated from the state (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A relict P. clava valve was collected in the Embarras River, 1.5 mi SW Timothy, Cumberland County on 30 October 1998 (INHS 22609). A live P. clava was discovered in the North Fork Vermilion River of the Wabash River drainage (Szafoni et al. 2000). A relict P. clava valve was located in the Ohio River, Metropolis at Fort Massac State Park, Massac County on 24 September 1999 (INHS 24135). The clubshell has been collected alive in one drainage in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in four drainages in the state. Pleurobema cordatum (Rafinesque, 1820), Ohio pigtoe (state-endangered). Updated drainage record: 19. The Ohio pigtoe was historically widely distributed in the Wabash and Ohio rivers in Illinois, but is now alive only in the Ohio River in the state (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A relict P. cordatum specimen was collected in the Little Wabash 110 River, Carmi at the Ill. Rte 1 Bridge, White County on 13 August 1997 (INHS 20766). The Ohio pigtoe has been collected alive in one drainage in Illinois since 1970 and was historically present in three drainages in the state. Pleurobema rubrum (Rafinesque, 1820), pyramid pigtoe (state-extirpated). Updated drainage record: 2, 12. The pyramid pigtoe was historically known to inhabit the Ohio River drainage and the Illinois River in Illinois, and is likely extirpated from the state (Cummings and Mayer 1997). A relict P. rubrum valve was found in the Rock River, 2 mi SW Byron, Ogle County on 27 August 1996 (INHS 18829).