Collections and Collection Management Completed
The Challenge: How can we preserve and maintain evidence from our scientific past and continue to smartly expand that resource to help scientists find the answers to the questions and challenges they will face in the future?
The Science: Biological Survey Unit collections management staff take care of North American amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal specimens and their data within the National Collections at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. They identify, catalog, and data capture new collections; curate and maintain existing specimens and their data; ship and receive specimen loans for in-house research as well as research at universities and government agencies world-wide; help visiting researchers use the specimens; and answer questions from the public about wildlife.
“Vouchers,” or biological specimens, can provide a wealth of information to the scientific community about ongoing changes in the environment and the effects that those changes may be having on wildlife. Researchers and students from around the world representing academic institutions as well as Government and non-government organizations actively use these natural history collections to support their studies. The specimens provide a basis for repeatable study and proof of identity for the research material, be it measurements from a skull, nucleotides sequences from a DNA sample, or radioactive isotope levels from hair, scales, feathers or bone samples. Specimens such as these have been critically important in the past for documenting changes in diversity over time due to: loss of habitat, climate change, pressure from invasive species and have helped solve mysteries relating to the health and safety of other animals as well as humans. Specimens also help us keep tabs on where animals can be found and how that changes over time.
Specimens collected for one purpose can often be important for other, unrelated research because each specimen harbors a whole world of additional components available for study, such as DNA for molecular genetics studies, stomach contents for food habits studies, ecto- and endo-parasites, indicators of wildlife disease such as viruses or bacteria, environmental contaminants, and evidence of reproductive status, to name a few. Over time and with advances in techniques, scientists have even discovered new species that have been hiding in the jars and specimen drawers in the museum for years. Sometimes these new forms are “cryptic species” meaning they are very hard to tell apart from other closely related species using traditional morphological techniques and can only be easily told apart using techniques such as molecular sequencing or acoustical analysis of calls.
Specimen records of North American Vertebrates in the Smithsonian Institution Research Collections can be searched at http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/.
The Future: New techniques and analytical methods are continually being developed to use both the specimens and data. Contemporary studies on museum specimens now use technology such as digital X-rays, micro CAT scans, 3-D images, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), and stable isotope analysis. We can only guess what new techniques will be developed in the future. Integrative databases such as BISON (https://bison.usgs.gov) allow specimen data to be used with other geographic, geologic, physical, biological and anthropogenic databases to aid conservation and land management decisions as well as new research areas.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Preserving reptiles for research
Catalog of type specimens of recent mammals: Orders Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Functional skeletal morphology and its implications for locomotory behavior among three genera of myosoricine shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Catalog of type specimens of recent mammals: orders Didelphimorpha through Chiroptera (Excluding Rodentia) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
An investigation into the Swan Island Honduras collecting event of Tiaporus fuliginosus Cope (Reptilia: Teiidae) and its systematic status
New records of Merriam’s Shrew (Sorex merriami) from western North Dakota
Type specimens of Crotalus scutulatus (Chordata: Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae) re-examined, with new evidence after more than a century of confusion
Using hand proportions to test taxonomic boundaries within the Tupaia glis species complex (Scandentia, Tupaiidae)
Catalog of type specimens of recent mammals: Rodentia (Sciuromorpha and Castorimorpha) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Distributional records of shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) from Northern Central America with the first record of Sorex from Honduras
Crotalus aquilus in the Mexican state of Mexico consumes a diverse summer diet
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
The Challenge: How can we preserve and maintain evidence from our scientific past and continue to smartly expand that resource to help scientists find the answers to the questions and challenges they will face in the future?
The Science: Biological Survey Unit collections management staff take care of North American amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal specimens and their data within the National Collections at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. They identify, catalog, and data capture new collections; curate and maintain existing specimens and their data; ship and receive specimen loans for in-house research as well as research at universities and government agencies world-wide; help visiting researchers use the specimens; and answer questions from the public about wildlife.
“Vouchers,” or biological specimens, can provide a wealth of information to the scientific community about ongoing changes in the environment and the effects that those changes may be having on wildlife. Researchers and students from around the world representing academic institutions as well as Government and non-government organizations actively use these natural history collections to support their studies. The specimens provide a basis for repeatable study and proof of identity for the research material, be it measurements from a skull, nucleotides sequences from a DNA sample, or radioactive isotope levels from hair, scales, feathers or bone samples. Specimens such as these have been critically important in the past for documenting changes in diversity over time due to: loss of habitat, climate change, pressure from invasive species and have helped solve mysteries relating to the health and safety of other animals as well as humans. Specimens also help us keep tabs on where animals can be found and how that changes over time.
Specimens collected for one purpose can often be important for other, unrelated research because each specimen harbors a whole world of additional components available for study, such as DNA for molecular genetics studies, stomach contents for food habits studies, ecto- and endo-parasites, indicators of wildlife disease such as viruses or bacteria, environmental contaminants, and evidence of reproductive status, to name a few. Over time and with advances in techniques, scientists have even discovered new species that have been hiding in the jars and specimen drawers in the museum for years. Sometimes these new forms are “cryptic species” meaning they are very hard to tell apart from other closely related species using traditional morphological techniques and can only be easily told apart using techniques such as molecular sequencing or acoustical analysis of calls.
Specimen records of North American Vertebrates in the Smithsonian Institution Research Collections can be searched at http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/.
The Future: New techniques and analytical methods are continually being developed to use both the specimens and data. Contemporary studies on museum specimens now use technology such as digital X-rays, micro CAT scans, 3-D images, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), and stable isotope analysis. We can only guess what new techniques will be developed in the future. Integrative databases such as BISON (https://bison.usgs.gov) allow specimen data to be used with other geographic, geologic, physical, biological and anthropogenic databases to aid conservation and land management decisions as well as new research areas.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 18Preserving reptiles for research
What are voucher specimens and why do we collect them? Voucher specimens are animals and/or their parts that are deposited in a research museum to document the occurrence of a taxon at a specific location in space and time (Pleijel et al., 2008; Reynolds and McDiarmid, 2012). For field biologists, vouchers are the repeatable element of a field study as they allow other biologists, now and in the fAuthorsSteve W. Gotte, Jeremy F. Jacobs, George R. ZugCatalog of type specimens of recent mammals: Orders Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
The type collection of Recent mammals in the Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, contains 612 specimens bearing names of 604 species-group taxa of Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea as of May 2016. This catalog presents an annotated list of these holdings comprising 582 holotypes; 16 lectotypes, two of which are newly designated hereiAuthorsRobert D. Fisher, Craig A. LudwigFunctional skeletal morphology and its implications for locomotory behavior among three genera of myosoricine shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)
Myosoricinae is a small clade of shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) that is currently restricted to the African continent. Individual species have limited distributions that are often associated with higher elevations. Although the majority of species in the subfamily are considered ambulatory in their locomotory behavior, species of the myosoricine genus Surdisorex are known to be semifosAuthorsNeal Woodman, Frank A. StabileCatalog of type specimens of recent mammals: orders Didelphimorpha through Chiroptera (Excluding Rodentia) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
The type collection of Recent Mammals in the Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, contains 820 specimens bearing names of 809 species-group taxa of Didelphimorphia through Chiroptera, excluding Rodentia, as of June 2014. This catalog presents an annotated list of these holdings comprised of 788 holotypes, 26 lectotypes, 11 syntypes (22 specimens), and 4AuthorsRobert D. Fisher, Craig A. LudwigAn investigation into the Swan Island Honduras collecting event of Tiaporus fuliginosus Cope (Reptilia: Teiidae) and its systematic status
Confusion exists in the literature concerning the collecting event of the teiid lizard Tiaporus fuliginosus. We investigated the literature and documents stored at the Smithsonian Institution Archives involving the collector of those specimens in an effort to resolve that confusion. We conclude that the type series was collected on the Swan Islands of Honduras by Charles H. Townsend during 1887. WAuthorsJames R. McCranie, Steve W. GotteNew records of Merriam’s Shrew (Sorex merriami) from western North Dakota
Despite having a broad geographic distribution, Merriam's Shrew (Sorex merriami Dobson 1890) is known from a relatively few, widely-scattered localities. In North Dakota, the species was known from only a single poorly-preserved specimen collected in 1913 near Medora. We recently collected two new specimens of Merriam's Shrew from Billings and McKenzie counties in the western quarter of the state.AuthorsM. J.Shaughnessy Jr., Neal WoodmanType specimens of Crotalus scutulatus (Chordata: Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae) re-examined, with new evidence after more than a century of confusion
The original description of Crotalus scutulatus (Chordata: Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae) was published in 1861 by Robert Kennicott, who did not identify a type specimen or a type locality. We review the history of specimens purported to be the type(s) and various designations of type locality. We provide evidence that ANSP 7069 (formerly one of two specimens of USNM 5027) is the holotype and thatAuthorsMichael D. Cardwell, Steve W. Gotte, Roy W. McDiarmid, Ned Gilmore, James A. PoindexterUsing hand proportions to test taxonomic boundaries within the Tupaia glis species complex (Scandentia, Tupaiidae)
Treeshrews (order Scandentia) comprise 2 families of squirrel-sized terrestrial, arboreal, and scansorial mammals distributed throughout much of tropical South and Southeast Asia. The last comprehensive taxonomic revision of treeshrews was published in 1913, and a well-supported phylogeny clarifying relationships among all currently recognized extant species within the order has only recently beenAuthorsEric J. Sargos, Neal Woodman, Aspen T. Reese, Link E. OlsonCatalog of type specimens of recent mammals: Rodentia (Sciuromorpha and Castorimorpha) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
The type collection of Recent mammals in the Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, contains 843 specimens bearing names of 820 species group taxa of Rodentia (Sciuromorpha and Castorimorpha) as of July 2011. This catalog presents a list of these holdings, which comprise 798 holotypes, 14 lectotypes, seven syntypes (30 specimens), and one neotype. In adAuthorsRobert D. Fisher, Craig A. LudwigDistributional records of shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) from Northern Central America with the first record of Sorex from Honduras
Short term surveys for small mammals in Guatemala and Honduras during 1992–2009 provided important new records for 12 taxa of shrews from 24 localities. These locality records expand the known geographic distributions for five species and for the genus Sorex Linnaeus, 1758: the geographic range of Cryptotis goodwini Jackson, 1933, now includes the Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala, and several isolatAuthorsNeal Woodman, John O. Matson, Timothy J. McCarthy, Ralph P. Eckerlin, Walter Bulmer, Nicte Ordonez-GarzaCrotalus aquilus in the Mexican state of Mexico consumes a diverse summer diet
We report observations of the summer diet of Crotalus aquilus (Queretaro dusky rattlesnake) from an agricultural region near San Pedro de los Metates, municipality of Acambay, state of Mexico, Mexico. We recovered the remains of 12 individual prey items from 11 different snakes. Eleven of 38 (29%) snakes observed contained prey remains, including 6 mammals, 3 lizards, and 3 snakes. These observatiAuthorsE. Mociño-deloya, K. Setser, S.C. Peurach, J.M. Meik - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.