The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896. Housing some 22 million specimens, the museum features one of the finest paleontological collections in the world..
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is often underdocumented at the species level in routine monitoring and regulatory assessments, where vegetation is commonly recorded without species-level identification. Here, we present a summary of existing records and field collections made in the Pennsylvania portion of Monongahela River system. Our findings suggest that the dominant SAV in this river is hydrilla [Hydrilla verticillata (L. f.) Royle], one of the most aggressive invasive macrophytes in North America. Further, our recent collections indicate the presence of other invasives: Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L.) and curlyleaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus L.). Native species such as coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum L.) and vallisneria (Vallisneria americana Michx.) were present but not prominent in sampled locations. The documentation of H. verticillata and other non-native invasive SAV species suggests that the Monongahela River is now hosting an invasive epidemic, one that may have widespread ecological implications.
Ianthinite ([U24+(UO2)4O6(OH)4(H2O)4]·5H2O) is an exotic mineral that possesses U in both tetravalent and hexavalent xidation states and is structurally related to the U3O8 polymorphs, which are commonly encountered echnogenic materials in the nuclear fuel cycle. Despite the similarities between U3O8 and ianthinite, and he importance of ianthinite in U paragenesis, no Raman spectra have been reported for this mineral. To gain a more complete understanding of how structural attributes of ianthinite give rise to observable spectroscopic features and how these may relate to important materials in the nuclear fuel cycle, we provide for the first time, Raman spectra of ianthinite. Ianthinite readily oxidizes in ambient conditions, complicating analysis of phase-pure material. Several analytical methods are employed herein to decouple the Raman features of ianthinite from its alteration product(s). First, a simple difference spectrum is presented, then results of Raman spectroscopic mapping are employed, finally, we use a novel processing and analysis method. Each analysis method provides different insight into structural features that are unique to ianthinite, in particular, features that are attributable to U(IV) in distorted octahedral coordination in both ianthinite and U3O8 phases.
A resurvey of Phyllophaga Harris in Ames, Iowa, USA was compared with historical collections from 1992–1994 to assess long-term changes in species composition. Ten species were recorded in 2025 versus 13 in 1992–1994. Only six species, Phyllophaga balia (Say), Phyllophaga crenulata (Frölich), Phyllophaga futilis (LeConte), Phyllophaga ilicis (Knoch), Phyllophaga implicita (Horn), and Phyllophaga spreta (Horn), were shared across both survey periods. Turnover was driven largely by low-abundance species, but included a meaningful compositional shift involving a moderately abundant taxon. Phyllophaga forbesi Glasgow is recorded as a new state record. Two morphological anomalies were observed: a specimen of P. crenulata with a bifurcated protibia bearing two complete tarsi, and a male lacking genitalia.
Shifts in flowering phenology is one of the most well‐studied, ecological signs of climate change. However, the extent and magnitude of observed phenological change over time varies significantly among both species and biomes, and general ecological rules predicting long‐term phenological shifts have yet to emerge. Using 2373 herbarium records of 21 common forest understory herbaceous species with diverse bloom times in Pennsylvania, USA, we elucidate which species have adjusted their flowering times the most over the last century. Our results show that spring‐blooming forbs exhibited the strongest phenological shifts over the past century. Long‐term shifts in flowering date were significantly negatively correlated to median bloom times among species. Early spring‐blooming species flowered two days earlier per decade, while flowering time among summer‐blooming remained remarkably consistent. Many studies comparing phenological responses between early‐ and late‐season species have reported similar patterns. However, the global generality and ecological significance of this phenomenon are not yet well understood. Several mechanisms might render spring‐blooming forest understory species more vulnerable to climate change‐driven phenological shifts, including sensitivity to tree canopy leaf‐out and higher phenotypic plasticity. Such hypotheses are not mutually exclusive but require additional research to synthesize patterns and test mechanisms across spatiotemporal scales and biomes. Biogeographic investigations that determine the latitudinal extent to which disproportionately high spring‐blooming sensitivity occurs are needed. The fitness consequences of these contrasting phenological responses also remain largely unexplored. Given the ecological consequences of phenological mismatches within and between trophic layers, a holistic framework explicitly based on phenological niches that predicts phenological sensitivity among species and biomes is needed.
This issue of New Mineral Names provides selected information for the newly approved and published minerals, nomenclature, and classification changes from the period June to September 2025. All minerals presented have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature, and Classification (IMA-CNMNC).
