Crangonyx grandimanusBousfield, 1963, a relatively large stygobitic amphipod endemic to the Floridan aquifer, is redescribed from its holotype specimen and topotype material. In addition to the morphological redescription, genetic sequence data for sections of the nuclear 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, and mitochondrial 16S rDNA are provided from the examined topotypes. The erratum for this article can be found in  Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Vol. 60 No. 1.

Verrill described Astropecten comptus and Astropecten nitidus 100 years ago. The species have been accepted and have been reported off the east coast of North America and South America, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. The validity of the species has never been questioned. Because we had difficulty distinguishing A. comptus from A. articulatus and A. nitidus from A. cingulatus, we examined basic morphological diagnostic characteristics in astropectens of the neotype of A. articulatus, the holotype of A. cingulatus, the paralectotype of A. comptus, the holotype of A. nitidus, the holotype of A. nitidus forcipatus, and many specimens that had been identified as A. cingulatus, A. nitidus, A. articulatus, A. comptus, and other Astropecten species of the West Atlantic Region. We conclude that A. comptus is a synonym of A. articulatus and A. nitidus is a synonym of A. cingulatus. This has implications for current concepts of zoogeography and biodiversity in the region and for the phylogeny of astropectinids. The erratum for this article can be found in  Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Vol. 60 No. 2.

The endemic Lake Malaŵi cichlid genus Otopharynx is increased from 14 species to 20 by the description of six new species collected from inshore sandy or intermediate rocky/sandy areas or trawled in depths to 59 m. Otopharynx alpha is distinguished from congeners by its unique melanin pattern with suprapectoral spot discrete but supraanal and precaudal spots connected to form a stripe, and by its distinctively shaped pharyngeal bone with numerous small, crowded teeth. Otopharynx mumboensis, thought to be endemic to Mumbo Island, is separated from most congeners by a suprapectoral spot placed entirely below the upper lateral line, and from all others by the combination of 13 gill rakers, pharyngeal bone with posterior margin nearly straight, crowns of all pharyngeal teeth in the median columns broadened and flattened, head length 30.9–32.2% SL, body depth 35.5–36.1% SL, and lower jaw 35.7–36.2% HL. Otopharynx styrax has a more elongate body (depth 24.3–28.6% SL) than any congener. Otopharynx aletes can be diagnosed by the combination of a suprapectoral spot overlapping the upper lateral line, seven or eight vertical bars below the dorsal-fin base, 10 or 11 gill rakers, 34–36 scales in the lateral line, lower pharyngeal bone with molariform posteromedian teeth, and caudal peduncle length 1.6–2.0 times its depth. Otopharynx panniculus is diagnosed by the combination of a prominent square suprapectoral spot spanning subdorsal bars 3 to 4, no dorsal midline spots, 13–15 gill rakers, 31–33 scales in the lateral line, 15 or 16 dorsal-fin spines, absence of a lacrimal notch, and slightly enlarged teeth in the median columns of the lower pharyngeal bone. Otopharynx peridodekamost closely resembles O. panniculus and shares the loss of the lacrimal notch, but has 34–35 scales in the lateral line and 11–13 gill rakers. Photographs of living or freshly collected specimens of five of the new species are provided.

Museum collections are critical resources for examination of comparative anatomy, developmental biology, and life history hypotheses. Skeletal collections provide insight into spatiotemporal, species, population, and individual variation associated with environmental, social, and epidemiological history. For endangered species such as great apes, these collections provide data that are nearly impossible to replicate today. In this second in a series of articles reviewing the great ape holdings of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, we describe the Gorilla gorilla skeletal collection, comprising 16 individuals: 13 males, 2 females, and 1 of indeterminate sex. Evidence of socioecology, interindividual violence, hunting, captive management, predation, senescence, and infectious disease are present within the skeletal material. The collection exhibits possible taxonomic diversity as well. Our evaluation of the Yale Peabody Museum collection provides a baseline for future research and testable hypotheses for alternate techniques, such as isotopic analyses of dental calculus and noninvasive genetic testing. Museum collections continue to provide new insights into taxonomic and individual variation and environmental context, and ultimately allow for comparisons between modern and historical environmental and behavioral variables.

The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University has a long tradition of promoting and maintaining high standards of care for their collection of more than 13 million objects. Recently, an analysis of the current environmental conditions in the three primary museum buildings— Peabody Museum of Natural History, Kline Geology Laboratory, and the Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center—showed that the stability of environmental conditions and efficiency in air-handling systems are poorly constrained. An analysis of energy use in climate control showed that the Class of 1954 Environmental Science Center, the most modern building of the complex, is the least energy-efficient of the three and one of the least energy-efficient museum buildings at Yale University. The Yale Peabody Museum, in collaboration with the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, evaluated the current climate control strategy with an eye toward achieving a more practical and responsible approach, which considers the historic character of the buildings, high cost of climate control, and sensitivity to energy sustainability. This is a key mission of the University, as outlined in the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025. The main element in the transformation to a new strategy of climate management is the assessment of climate-related risks to collections. Our assessment indicates that degradation of chemically unstable polymers is the process that dominates loss of value of those collections due to climate- related risks. It is estimated that chemical degradation processes have approximately two orders of magnitude larger impact on collection value than the degradation of pyrite and pyrite-containing materials and even more than pest damage. Other climate-related processes are relatively negligible in effect. These findings allow us to change the strategy of climate control, giving priority to maintaining low temperature in rooms housing collections made of organic materials and relaxing the range of allowable relative humidity parameters. The new strategy includes a shift from climate control to climate management, including: dual set-point (deadband) controllers to reduce energy consumption and lower CO₂ emissions, nightly shutdowns of the air-handling system serving dry collections in a modern building, broader thermal criteria, and a reduction of the amount of fresh air introduced to the buildings. These will be implemented sequentially. Progress and outcomes will be the focus of a subsequent article.

The fossil record of turtles of the clade Testudinoidea is generally poor in South America. Fossil tortoises (Testudinidae) are known from the Late Oligocene to Holocene, but they likely arrived from Africa during the Late Eocene or Early Oligocene. The fossil record of Trachemys (Emydidae) and Rhinoclemys (Geoemydidae) is restricted to the Pleistocene, but both lineages likely arrived in multiple waves over the course of the Neogene. Our taxonomic review of 12 named fossil testudinoids finds five nomina valida, two nomina invalida, four nomina dubia, and one nomen nudum.