dwarf photos on Flickr

Added as an entry to our Reptile Photograph competition. Closing date 30th April 2010. See www.reptilecentre.com/blog/2010/03/could-you-win-our-rept... for details!

Dwarfs 01 SPET by Blue Table Painting

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Dwarf hamster litter by malachismomma

Digital camera

DWARF WEDGEMUSSEL by Harvard Arts

Alasmidonta heterodon

Federally Listed as Endangered; State Listed in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont

The dwarf wedgemussel is a relatively small mussel, rarely exceeding 45 mm in length. The smooth shell is a mixture of yellow, olive, and brown. It can be hard to differentiate this species from others, but one defining characteristic is its teeth. This mussel has two lateral teeth on the right side and only one on the left, which is the exact opposite from all other mussels with lateral teeth. The dwarf wedgemussel is a filter feeder, which makes them extremely susceptible to substrate disturbances. With a historic range of 70 locations, this mussel now only inhabits roughly 20, the largest populations occurring in the Connecticut River.

Degradation of water quality in the form of floods and pollutants are the main threat to populations of this species, since they are filter feeders. Agricultural run-off has been identified as a significant threat to dwarf wedgemussel populations in Massachusetts. In 2001, more than 25 dwarf wedgemussels and hundreds of other mussels (including state-listed species) were killed in the Mill River, Massachusetts, by waste run-off from a small farm. 70% of mussels in New England are notwextinct or endangered on account of logging, river impoundments, agricultural run-off, shoreline development, silt density and other disturbances have largely eliminated the clean, swift-flowing currents that freshwater mussels rely on. This is such an immense problem, that a solution is difficult to envision. The northeast region of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has put together a dwarf wedgemussel recovery plan. This plan focuses on habitat conservation and reintroduction of the species to parts of its historic range. There is also a large effort to develop an education program which informs the public about a potential loss of species.

The Endangered Species Project: New England

Exhibition Dates: February 4 - April 14, 2019

Public Lecture and Closing Reception with the Artist: Saturday, April 13

Gallery Hours: M-F 10am - 8pm; Weekends 10am-5pm

Gallery 224 at the Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard

224 Western Ave, Allston, Massachusetts 02134

Gallery 224 at the Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard is pleased to present an exhibition of work from Montana-based potter Julia Galloway's most recent body of work, The Endangered Species Project: New England. Galloway works from each state's official list of species identified as endangered, threatened or extinct. She has created a series of covered jars, one urn for each species, illustrating the smallest Agassiz Clam Shrimp to the largest Eastern Elk.

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