Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T08:17:17.689Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Guidelines for the Documentation and Care of Invertebrate Fossil Collections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2017

Russell D. White*
Affiliation:
Division of Invertebrate Paleontology, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, 170 Whitney Ave., P.O. Box 208118, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8118 USA
Get access

Extract

COLLECTIONS OF invertebrate fossils are commonly maintained in museums, at universities, and by individual researchers and interested private collectors. Twenty years ago, the Committee on North American Resources in Invertebrate Paleontology (CONARIP) estimated that there more than 550 institutions housed invertebrate paleontological macro- and micro- fossil collections (Glenister, 1977). Historically, collections have been developed, managed and maintained by paleontologists as a resource for their research (e.g., museum curator or university faculty) (Hebda, 1985). Since the early 1970s, the field of collection management has evolved and the increased professionalization of collection manager positions has been instrumental in improving the management and preservation of invertebrate fossils as well as other natural history collections (Cato, 1991; Simmons, 1993; Simmons, 1995).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 by The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ASSOCIATION OF SYSTEMATICS COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE ON COMPUTERIZATION and NETWORKING (J. GOMAN and J. HUMPHRIES (CO-CHAIRS)). 1992. An information model for biological collections: Report of the Biological Collections Data Standards Workshop, August 18–24, 1992. Association of Systematics Collections: Washington, DC. 100 pp.Google Scholar
Beers, F.W. 1871. Atlas of Franklin County, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Bartholomew, J. (ed.). 1957. The Times Atlas of the World. The Times Publishing Company LTD, London. 5 vol.Google Scholar
Bassett, M.G. (ed.). 1979. Curation of paleontological collections. Spec. Pap. Palaeont. 22. 280 pp.Google Scholar
Beelitz, P.F. 1995. Three generations of compactor storage. Curator, 38(1): 4955.Google Scholar
Berry, W.B.N. 1985. The significance of type specimens and old collections to research biological sciences, pp. 2328 in Miller, E.H. Museum Collections: Their roles and future in Biological Research. The British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria. 222 pp. Google Scholar
Blackwelder, R.A. 1967. Taxonomy: A text and reference book. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 698 pp.Google Scholar
Blum, S.D. (ed.). 1991. Guidelines and standards for fossil vertebrate databases: Results of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Workshop on Computerization (November 1-4, 1989, Austin Texas). Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York. 129 pp.Google Scholar
Brunton, C.H.C., Besterman, T.P. and Cooper, J.A. (eds.) 1985. Guidelines for the curation of geological materials. Geol. Soc. Misc. Pap. 17. 182 pp.Google Scholar
Cackett, S. 1992. Disaster planning, pp. 487490. In Manual of Curatorship (Thompson, J.M.A. (ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann, Ltd., London. 756 pp. Google Scholar
Cato, P.S. 1991. Summary of a study to evaluate collection manager type-positions. Collection Forum, 7(2):7294.Google Scholar
Cato, P.S. 1993. Institution-wide policy for sampling. Collection Forum, 9(1): 2739.Google Scholar
Cato, P.S., and Williams, S.L. 1993. Guidelines for developing policies for the management and care of natural history collections. Collection Forum. 9(2): 84107.Google Scholar
Cato, P.S., and Williams, S.L. 1995. Interaction of research, management and conservation for serving the long-term interests of natural history collections. Collection Forum, 11(1): 1627.Google Scholar
Childs, R.E. (ed.). 1994. Conservation of Geological Materials. Archetype Publications Ltd., London. 65 pp.Google Scholar
Collier, F.J., Brett-Surman, M., Florence, M.S., Ito, C.K., Knapp, E.A., Kysar, D.A., Levin, D., Purdy, R.W. and Thompson, J. W.M. 1990. Procedures in recording specimen-related data. Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, 144 pp.Google Scholar
Collins, Chris. (ed.) 1995. The Care and Conservation of Paleontological Material. Butterworth-Heinemann, Ltd., London. 139 pp.Google Scholar
Converse, H.H. 1985. Handbook of Paleo-preparation techniques. Florida State Museum (Univ. Florida), Gainesville, 123 pp.Google Scholar
Elder, A., Madsen, S., Brown, G., Herbel, C., Collins, C., Whelan, S., Wenz, C., Alderson, S., and Kronthal, L. 1997. Adhesive and consolidants in geological and paleontological conservation: A wall chart. SPNHC Leaflets, 1(2): 4.Google Scholar
Feldmann, R.M., Chapman, R.E., and Hannibal, J.T. (Eds.). 1989. Paleotechniques. The Paleontological Society, Spec. Pub. 4: 1358 Google Scholar
Feldmann, R.M., Smith, A.J. and Holland, F.D. Jr. 1996. Chapter 2, Preparation techniques, pp. 2629 in Feldmann, R.M. (ed.) Fossils of Ohio. Bull. Div. Geol. Surv., Ohio Dept. Nat. Res. 70: 1–577.Google Scholar
Fenner, D. 1992. High density mobile storage systems (compactors), pp. 235 in Rose, C.L. and de Torres, A. R. (eds.), 1992. Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and practical solutions. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Iowa City, Iowa. 346 pp. Google Scholar
French, J.H. 1861. Historical and Statistical Gazetteers of New York, 1860. R.P. Smith (Publisher), Syracuse. 752 pp.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, G.R. 1988. Documentation guidelines for the preparation and conservation of paleontological and geological specimens. Collection Forum, 4(2): 3845.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, G.R. 1995. Collection Management: A concept whose time has come! Geotimes, 40(12): 5.Google Scholar
Frizzel, D.L. 1933. Terminology of types. Amer. Midland Nat. 14(6): 637668.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glenister, B.F. (Chairman). 1977. Fossil Invertebrates-Collections in North American Resources in Invertebrate Paleontology. A Report of the Paleontological Society ad hoc Committee on North American Resources in Invertebrate Paleontology. 67 pp.Google Scholar
Grimaldi, D.A. 1993. The care and study of fossiliferous amber. Curator, 36(1): 3149.Google Scholar
Golden, J. 1992. Storage of SEM stubs, pp.271272. Rose, C.L. and de Torres, A. R. (eds.), 1992. Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and practical solutions. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Iowa City, Iowa. 346 pp. Google Scholar
Hack, H. 1925. Steiler's atlas of modern geography. Justus Perthes, Gotha (Germany) 254 pl. Google Scholar
Hebda, R.J. 1985. Museum collections and paleobiology, pp. 93112 in Miller, E.H. Museum Collections: Their roles and future in Biological Research. The British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria. 222 pp. Google Scholar
Hoagland, K.E. (ed.) 1994. Guidelines for Institutional Policies and Planning in Natural History Collection. Association of Systematic Collections, Washington, DC. 120 pp.Google Scholar
Howell, B.F. 1929. Symbols on type specimens. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 40: 215220 Google Scholar
Howie, F.M.P. 1979. Museum climatology and the conservation of paleontological material, pp. 103126. In Bassett, M.G. Curation of paleontological collections. Spec. Pap. Palaeont. 22: 1–279 Google Scholar
Howie, F.M.P. (ed.). 1992. The Care and Conservation of Geological Material. Butterworth-Heinemann, Ltd., London. 138 pp.Google Scholar
INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. 1985. International code of zoological nomenclature / adopted by the XX International union of biological sciences; Ride, W. L., Sabrosky, C. W., Bernardi, G. and Melville, R. V. (eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley. 338 pp.Google Scholar
Kaesler, R.L. 1997. The Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology: A Manifesto. J. Paleont. v.71, n.3, pp.528531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krebs, J.W., Kaesler, R.L., Bronsius, E.A., Miller, D.L. and Chang, Y.M. 1996. Paleobank, a relational database for invertebrate paleontology: The data model. Univ. Kansas. Paleont. Contrib. ns. 8: 17 Google Scholar
Kummel, B. and Raup, D. (eds). 1965. Handbook of Paleontological techniques. W.H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco. 852 pp.Google Scholar
Maclachlan, W.A., Bryant, T.W., Judkins, E.D., Koozmin, R.C., Orndorff, R.C., Hubert, M.L., Murdock, C.R., Starrat, S.W. and Le Compte, J.R. (Compilers). 1992. Stratigraphic nomenclature databases for the United States, its possessions and territories: Geologic Names Unit Lexicon (GNULEX). U.S. Geological Survey, Denver. 1 CD-ROM.Google Scholar
Malaro, M.C. 1979. Collection management policies. Museum News, 58(2): 5761.Google Scholar
Malaro, M.C. 1985. A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. 351 pp.Google Scholar
Malaro, M.C. 1989. How to protect yourself from not-so-permanent loans. Museum News, 68(5):2225.Google Scholar
Merritt, Elizabeth. 1992. Conditions on outgoing research loans. Collection Forum, 8(2): 7882.Google Scholar
Moore, B.P. and Williams, S.L., 1995. Storage Equipment, pp. 255267. In Rose, C.L., Hawks, C.A. and Genoways, H.H. (eds.). Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Iowa City, Iowa. 468 pp.Google Scholar
Moore, R.C. 1953-present. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Geological Society of America: Boulder, Colorado and The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.Google Scholar
Pickering, Jane. 1996. Disaster planning for a skeptical museum. Collection Forum, 12(1): 1420.Google Scholar
Price, J.C. and Fitzgerald, G.R. 1996. Categories of specimens: a collection management tool. Collection Forum, 12(1): 813.Google Scholar
Raphael, T. and Cumberland, D.R. Jr. 1992. Retrofitting steel storage cases: Installing new, improved gasketry, pp. 233234. In Rose, C.L., and de Torres, A.R. (eds.). Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections: Iowa City, Iowa. 346 pp. Google Scholar
Rixon, A.E. 1976. Fossil animal remains: Their preparation and conservation. Athlone Press, London. 304 pp.Google Scholar
Rose, C.L. and De Torres, A. R. (eds.), 1992. Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and practical solutions. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Iowa City, Iowa. 346 pp.Google Scholar
Rose, C.L. and Hawks, C.A. 1995. A preventive conservation approach to the storage of collections, pp. 120. In Rose, C.L, Hawks, C.A. and Genoways, H.H. (eds.). Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections: Iowa City, Iowa. 468 pp. Google Scholar
Rose, C.L., and Genoways, H.H. (eds.). 1995. Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections: Iowa City, Iowa. 448 pp.Google Scholar
Scrutton, C.T. 1979. The preparation of sections or peels of corals and stromatoporoids: A question of curatorial policy, pp. 97101. In Bassett, M.G. Curation of paleontological collections. Spec. Pap. Palaeont. 22:1–279.Google Scholar
Seltzer, L.E. (ed). 1962. The Columbia-Lippincott gazetteer of the world. Coumbia University Press, New York. 2148 pp.Google Scholar
Simmons, J.E. 1986. Formulation, implementation, and evaluation of collection management programs, p. 109110. In Waddington, Janet and Rudkin, D.M. (eds). Proceedings of the 1985 Workshop on Care and Maintenance of Natural History Collections. ROM Life Sci. Misc. Pub. 121 pp. Google Scholar
Simmons, J.E. 1993. Natural History collections management in North America. J. Biol. Curation, 1(3/4): 117.Google Scholar
Simpson, G.G. 1940. Types in modern taxonomy. Amer. J. Sci. 238(6): 413431.Google Scholar
Society For the Preservation of Natural History Collections. 1994. Guidelines for the care of natural history collections. Collection Forum, 10(1): 3240.Google Scholar
Storey, K.O. 1985. Approaches to pest management in museums. Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland (Maryland). 165 pp.Google Scholar
Strang, T.J.K. 1992. A review of published temperatures for the control of pest insects in museums. Collection Forum, 8(2): 4167.Google Scholar
Sumpter, P.S. 1991. Curation of invertebrate fossil collections at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Collection Forum, 7(1): 19.Google Scholar
Sumpter, P.S., Sheehan, , and Watkins, Rodney. 1990. Cambrian and Devonian invertebrate collections at the Milwaukee Public Museum. J. Paleont. 64(3): 486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torrens, H.S. 1974. Paleontological type specimens. Newsl. Geol. Curators Grp. 1(2): 3235.Google Scholar
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY and UNITED STATES BOARD OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES. 1985-present. The National Gazetteers of the United States of America. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 1200.Google Scholar
Van Der Reyden, D. 1995. Paper documents, pp.327-354. In Rose, C.L., Hawks, C.A. and Genoways, H.H. (eds.). Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections: Iowa City, Iowa. 468 pp.Google Scholar
Waddington, Janet. 1994. Floor loading considerations in a paleontological collection. Collection Forum. 9(2): 6569.Google Scholar
Waddington, Janet and Fenn, J. 1988. Preventive conservation of amber: Some preliminary investigations. Collection Forum, 4(2): 2531.Google Scholar
Waller, R.G. 1995. Risk management applied to preventive conservation, pp. 2027. In Rose, C.L., Hawks, C.A. and Genoways, H.H. (eds.). Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections: Iowa City, Iowa. 468 pp. Google Scholar
Webb, E.A., Patterson, C., Meaney, C.A., and Snygrove, B. 1989. Integrated pest management at the Denver Museum of Natural History. Collection Forum, 5(2): 5259.Google Scholar
White, R.D. 1995. A type catalog of fossil invertebrates (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) at the Yale Peabody Museum. Postilla, 209: 155 Google Scholar
Wilmarth, M.G. 1938. Lexicon of geologic names of the United States (including Alaska). Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. 896: 12396 Google Scholar
Wood, R.M. and Williams, S.L. 1993. An evaluation of disposable pens for permanent museum records. Curator, 36(3): 189200.Google Scholar
Yochelson, E.L. 1969. Fossils-the how and why of collecting and storing. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 82: 585602 Google Scholar
Zycherman, L.A. and Schrock, J.R. (eds). 1988. A Guide to Museum Pest Control. Association of Systematic Collections, Washington, DC. 205 pp.Google Scholar