Page 3 - The Freshwater Mussels of Oklahoma

This publication is the result of my interest in these organisms since coming to
Oklahoma in 1976. I hope that those of you who use its contents will have the joy of
discovery that I have had and the pleasure of sharing that joy with others.

Charles M. “Mike” Mather
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma
Chickasha, Oklahoma

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project was supported by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Science and Arts
of Oklahoma. In addition, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mr. Joseph
Bergmann without whose help in both field and academic pursuits, this manuscript would
not have been possible. Robert Howells, Caryn Vaughn and Tom Watters also have
contributed in a variety of ways to my understanding of freshwater mussels in general
and to Oklahoma’s fauna in particular. A special thanks goes out to Kelly Brown and
Mitzi Cook of the Nash Library. Their help in locating obscure literature has been
phenomenal.

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