Richard L. Hoffman

Virginia Museum of Natural History

Martinsville, VA 24112

and

Joseph C. Mitchell

Department of Biology

University of Richmond

Richmond, VA 23173

Paul Randolph Burch (1898-1958) is most likely to be remembered by scientific posterity as the person who discovered and described the federally endangered "Fringed Mountain Snail" (Polygyriscus virginianus). For many years (1928-1954) Burch was professor of biology at the then Radford State Teachers College. He lays claim to our attention as an example of someone who, trained in experimental biology during his graduate school years, later renounced his academic heritage and became an enthusiastic student of Virginia's natural history with special interests in herpetology and malacology.

Born in Martinsville, Virginia, Burch earned his bachelor's degree from Randolph-Macon College, and both the M.S. (1927) and Ph. D. (1930) degrees from the University of Virginia, where he was a student of William A. Kepner and as such specialized on the physiology of cnidarians and protistans. Upon assuming professorship at Radford, his research interests took an abrupt about-face, owing possibly to the lack of expensive physiological instrumentation and concomitant opportunities for field work in a rural environment. It is not known when he became interested in herpetology, but his summers, beginning in 1936, were spent at the Mountain Lake Biological Station where he met and was strongly influenced by Emmett Reid Dunn. When the first author of this paper began work at Radford College in 1960, six years after Burch's retirement, the college library held very few herpetological reference texts, notable among them being Dunn's "Plethodontidae" and Jordan's "Manual of the Vertebrates", apparently his primary sources for identification. About the same time, Burch became interested in terrestrial and freshwater mollusks, and embarked on a project to monograph the state's fauna of these animals. He collected widely in southwestern Virginia, but owing to budgetary restraints at the college, did not enjoy the luxury of adequate storage facilities, and kept his material in an amazing array of match boxes, pill boxes, vials, shoe boxes, and everything in between. Specimens were often glued to cardboard. Although he owned a set of the Pilsbry volumes on land snails of North America, Burch relied heavily on the expertise of J. P. E. Morrison at the U. S. National Museum (now National Museum of Natural History) for identifications, and fairly complete sets of specimens were thus preserved at Washington despite the post-retirement loss of his main collection. In 1961, a substantial quantity of unionid mussel samples was found at Radford College and those lots with collection data were dispatched to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

Regrettably, the same salvation did not attend the collections of herptiles. On 28 June 1947, the first author and Hubert I. Kleinpeter visited Dr. Burch at Radford, on their way to an initial encounter with the fauna of Burkes Garden, and had the opportunity to examine the material. Although housed in a wide variety of jars - many with rusting lids - and preserved in formalin, most of the specimens were in fair to good condition and all had some kind of collection data. A list was drawn up and forms the basis for the second part of this account.

Through an inexplicable sequence of events and mistakes, the herptile collection fell into ruin after 1954. Someone had the great idea to replace the original labels with just catalog numbers, and the book containing the corresponding data naturally disappeared (if one ever existed). By the time the first author took a position at Radford in l960, virtually everything had dried up, and even those specimens which could be identified from the 1947 list were unusable and unrecoverable.

The identifications were remarkably accurate considering the reference material available to Burch at the time. Perhaps Dunn named or reviewed some specimens. The major error noted on the 1947 visit was a series of Acris crepitans from Newcastle, Craig Co., misidentified as Pseudacris brachyphona.

Burch published only three papers on Virginia herpetology. His first was on the snakes of western Virginia (Burch, 1940). In it he listed 18 species and briefly described aspects of their natural history. He used a variety of vernacular names, including striped water snake for the queen snake (Regina septemvittata), mountain blacksnake for the black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta), mountain king snake for the black king snake (Lampropeltis getula nigra), green whip snake for the rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus), and banded or mountain rattlesnake for the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). Burch recognized two forms of garter snakes, a black and green striped snake which he called the common garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) and one with "checker-board-like black and green squares on either side of the mid-dorsal line," called the spotted garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis ordinatus). He also recognized the melanistic phase of the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) as a separate subspecies, "Heterodon platirhinos niger." One of the old and long synonymized names for some of the now-recognized intergrades of milk snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum) found in the mid-Atlantic states, L. clericus, first proposed by Spencer F. Baird and Charles Girard in 1853, was used by Burch for a specimen or specimens with a "black chain on a red background, each linked with white." Although most of Burch's names and ecological information are outdated, this publication was one of the first to describe some of the biology of the snakes of Virginia. It was also the first publication in which the black king snake was listed as a member of Virginia's herpetofauna, not being listed in E. R. Dunn's last checklist (Dunn, 1936). His observations were based on the specimens in his collection at Radford State Teachers College.

Burch's article on frogs and toads (Burch, 1947) was a popular account of 16 species then recognized as occurring in the Commonwealth. Outdated vernacular names included common toad for the American toad (Bufo americanus), mountain swamp tree frog for the mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris brachyphona), eastern swamp tree frog for the upland chorus frog (Pseudacris nigrita = P. triseriata), tree toad for the eastern gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor), and eastern tree frog for the green tree frog (Hyla cinerea). Burch, as did others prior to the 1960s, recognized all leopard frogs as Rana pipiens.

The only truly scientific paper Burch wrote was on the diet of the greater siren (Siren lacertina) with John Thornton Wood (Burch and Wood, 1955). Burch identified the five species of mollusks found in the stomach of an adult specimen from Norfolk.

P. R. Burch is remembered from the brief visit in 1947 as a most cordial and helpful host, thin of stature and nervous of manner, who even insisted that his two unexpected visitors share his evening meal. Within a few more years, his nervousness had progressed to a condition like "stage fright." After so many years of teaching, Burch found it almost impossible to face a classroom of students, a major factor leading to his retirement at the young age of 56. He took up residence in a trailer park in Florida, and died there in 1954.

It has been a common event in American academic history that biologists (or even an entire department) built up collections of diverse natural history objects (from local to world-wide in scope), only to have the material lost through neglect or outright discard by subsequent personnel. Frequently, specimens of great scientific value, sometimes irreplaceable, were thus removed from the reservoir of scientific documentation. No further specimens of Necturus maculosus have been found in the New River, nor additional Opheodrys vernalis taken at Mountain Lake, since the loss of the original Burch vouchers. Collections of amphibians and reptiles with their attending data should be salvaged when and wherever possible and donated to institutions with a long history of properly curating specimens, such as established natural history museums. College teaching collections should be combed at every opportunity to seek out specimens representing county records and other important locality vouchers. This also includes those specimens, such as gravid females and specimens with stomach contents, that can provide information on the life histories and ecological relationships of these animals. The history of amphibian and reptile collections in colleges and universities in Virginia is one of neglect and, in some cases, as exemplified in this report, complete loss. Experiences such as these suggest that the only specimens that should be maintained in such institutions are those without collection data used for teaching.

Annotated List of Specimens

The complete list of the amphibians and reptiles in Burch's collection at Radford is reproduced below. We have included all information available on each species and noted which constituted county records or other significant collections. Numbers in parentheses refer to number of specimens. Currently recognized common and scientific names are used, although Burch used the accepted names for most species in the 1940s.

Ambystoma maculatum (Spotted Salamander) - Montgomery Co., Radford, 15 March 1945; Augusta Co., Blue Hollow near Stuart's Draft (2), P. R. Burch and L. G. Carr.

Ambystoma opacum (Marbled Salamander) - Louisa Co., Waldrop, P. R. Burch (2). Second record for Louisa County (Tobey, 1985).

Amphiuma means (Two-toed Amphiuma) - James City Co., Williamsburg, D. W. Davis. First record for the Williamsburg area; other records in James City County (J.C. Mitchell and C.A. Pague, unpublished) and City of Newport News (Tobey, 1985).

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis (Eastern Hellbender) - Montgomery Co., Little River Dam near Radford, P. R. Burch. During the Depression years, Burch apparently had no compunction about exploiting this species commercially. He related that he captured, preserved, and sold hellbenders to "Turtox" (a biological supply firm in Chicago) in 55 gallon-drum lots! Most of these were captured at the Little River power dam just southwest of Radford, but despite such depletion, the species was still reasonably common at that site during the 1960s.

Desmognathus auriculatus (Southern Dusky Salamander) - Norfolk Co. (= City of Chesapeake).

Desmognathus fuscus fuscus (Northern Dusky Salamander) - Bland Co., Ceres, Audrey Smith; Brunswick Co., Seward Forest near Triplet; Giles Co., Mountain Lake; Grayson Co., Whitetop Mountain.

Desmognathus monticola monticola (Appalachian Seal Salamander) - Bland Co., Ceres, Audrey Smith; Giles Co., Eggleston (4).

Desmognathus quadramaculatus (Black-bellied Salamander) - Grayson Co., Whitetop Mountain; Montgomery Co., Plum Creek near Radford (many!).

Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Mountain Dusky Salamander) - Grayson Co., Whitetop Mountain.

Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander) - Montgomery Co., Radford.

Eurycea longicauda longicauda (Long-tailed Salamander) - Pulaski Co.

Eurycea longicauda guttolineata (Three-lined Salamander) - Brunswick Co., Seward Forest near Triplet, "5-4-41," P. R. Burch.

Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus (Northern Spring Salamander) -Giles Co., Eggleston.

Hemidactylium scutatum (Four-toed Salamander) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake; King William Co., Aylett. First record for King William County (Tobey, 1985; J.C. Mitchell and C.A. Pague, unpublished).

Necturus maculosus maculosus (Mudpuppy) - Pulaski Co., Towles Ferry. Hoffman (1984) discussed the origin of this specimen and noted that it represented the only record of this species in the New River drainage.

Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens (Red-spotted Newt) - Montgomery Co., U.S. Rt. 11 at Elliston, P. R. Burch.

Plethodon cinereus (Red-backed Salamander) - Norfolk Co. (= City of Chesapeake); Giles Co.; Montgomery Co.; Pulaski Co.

Plethodon glutinosus (Slimy Salamander) - Montgomery Co., Plum Creek near Radford. The true identification of this specimen is unknown, as this area is in the contact zone between the northern slimy salamander (P. glutinosus) and the white-spotted slimy salamander (P. cylindraceus) (Highton et al., 1989).

Pseudotriton montanus montanus (Eastern Mud Salamander) - King William Co., Aylett. First county record (Tobey, 1985) and first record for the lower part of the county (J.C. Mitchell and C.A. Pague, unpublished).

Pseudotriton ruber ruber (Northern Red Salamander) - Floyd Co., Copper Hill, Hazel Poff; Grayson Co., Whitetop Mountain; Pulaski Co., Belspring, George Wood, 1933. First record for Pulaski County according to Tobey (1985) but J.C. Mitchell and C.A. Pague (unpublished) list three locations.

Acris crepitans crepitans (Northern Cricket Frog) - Craig Co., Craig Creek at Newcastle. First county record and westernmost record in Virginia (Tobey, 1985; J.C. Mitchell and C.A. Pague, unpublished).

Bufo americanus americanus (American Toad) - Montgomery Co., Radford.

Bufo woodhousii fowleri (Fowler's Toad) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake (identified by E. R. Dunn).

Hyla versicolor (Eastern Gray Treefrog) - Montgomery Co., Radford.

Pseudacris crucifer crucifer (Spring Peeper) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake.

Pseudacris triseriata feriarum (Upland Chorus Frog) - Louisa Co., Waldrop.

Rana clamitans melanota (Green Frog) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake; Louisa Co., Waldrop.

Rana palustris (Pickerel Frog) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake Biological Station, July 1934.

Rana sylvaticus (Wood Frog) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake, 1935; Louisa Co., Waldrop, September 1941 (kodachrome slide). First record for Louisa County (Tobey, 1985; J.C. Mitchell and C.A. Pague, unpublished).

Rana sphenocephala (Southern Leopard Frog) - Louisa Co., Waldrop.

Scaphiopus holbrookii (Spadefoot Toad) - Montgomery Co., Radford.

Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle) - Montgomery Co., Radford. The specimen exhibited a large, dark marking on the plastron.

Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrum (Eastern Mud Turtle) - Louisa County.

Sternotherus odoratus (Stinkpot) - Montgomery Co., Radford (2). First record for Montgomery County (Mitchell, in press).

Terrapene carolina carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) - Montgomery Co., Radford, 1930.

Cnemidophorus sexlineatus sexlineatus (Six-lined Racerunner) - Pittsylvania Co., Danville, J. Platt. Second record for Pittsylvania County and first for the Danville area (Mitchell, in press).

Eumeces fasciatus (Five-lined Skink) - Rockbridge Co., Goshen Pass, P. R. Burch.

Eumeces laticeps (Broad-headed Skink) - Pittsylvania Co., Chatham, M. McDowell.

Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus (Northern Fence Lizard) - Montgomery Co., Radford, 1929.

Scincella lateralis (Ground Skink) - Norfolk Co. (= City of Chesapeake).

Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen (Northern Copperhead) - Pulaski Co., Draper, Gilmer and P. R. Burch.

Carphophis amoenus amoenus (Eastern Worm Snake) - Montgomery Co., Radford; Pulaski Co., Belspring.

Coluber constrictor constrictor (Northern Black Racer) - Montgomery Co., Radford, P. R. Burch, 1934; Pulaski Co., Belspring.

Crotalus horridus horridus (Timber Rattlesnake) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake Biological Station, 1934.

Diadophis punctatus edwardsii (Northern Ringneck Snake) - Montgomery Co., Radford (3), P. R. Burch.

Elaphe guttata guttata (Corn Snake) - Roanoke Co., Hollins, "10/29," H. Thompson.

Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta (Black Rat Snake) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake Biological Station, 1934; Pulaski County.

Heterodon platirhinos (Eastern Hognose Snake) - Pulaski Co., Lowman's Ferry (patterned), Towle's Ferry (melanistic), A. K. Eagle.

Lampropeltis getula getula (Eastern King Snake) - Pittsylvania Co., Chatham. First record for Pittsylvania County (Mitchell, in press).

Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum (Eastern Milk Snake) - Montgomery Co., Radford (2 juveniles), 1932, Ingles Mountain (1 adult).

Nerodia sipedon sipedon (Northern Water Snake) - Floyd Co., Sower's Mill; Giles Co., Mountain Lake, 1934; Montgomery Co., Radford, 1930.

Opheodrys vernalis (Smooth Green Snake) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake Biological Station. This record may have been the unvouchered record for the station in Tobey (1985) and Mitchell (in press).

Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus (Northern Pine Snake) - Craig Co., Newcastle. This is the second record for Craig County (Mitchell, in press).

Regina septemvittata (Queen Snake) - Pulaski Co., Belspring (3), 1931.

Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (Eastern Garter Snake) - Giles Co., Mountain Lake; Montgomery Co., Connelly's Run, Radford, R. L. Covey.

Literature Cited

Burch, P. R. 1940. Snakes of the Allegheny Plateau of Virginia. Virginia J. Sci. 1(2-3):35-40. (reprinted in Virginia Wildlife 1940, 9(2):66-70).

Burch, P. R. 1947. Virginia animals everyone should know, the frogs and toads. Virginia Wildlife 8(1):5-7.

Burch, P. R. and J. T. Wood. 1955. The salamander Siren lacertina feeding on clams and snails. Copeia 1955(3):255-256.

Dunn, E. R. 1936. List of Virginia amphibians and reptiles. Mimeographed. Haverford, PA. 5 pp.

Highton, R., G. C. Maha, and L. R. Maxson. 1989. Biochemical evolution in the slimy salamanders of the Plethodon glutinosus complex in the eastern United States. Illinois Biol. Monogr. 57:1-153.

Hoffman, R. L. 1984. Necturus maculosus in the New River? Catesbeiana 4:11.

Mitchell, J. C. in press. The Reptiles of Virginia. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C.

Tobey, F. J., Jr. 1985. Virginia's amphibians and reptiles, a distributional survey. VA Herpetol. Soc., Purcellville, VA. 114 pp.