Mammal Collections in the Western Hemisphere A Survey and Directory of Existing Collections This document is also available on the home page of the American Society of Mammalogists (http://wkuweb1.wku.edu/~asm/). Corrections and additions to the directory should be sent to Mark Hafner ([email protected]) or William Gannon ([email protected]). For additional information contact: Robert M. Timm, Productions Editor Museum of Natural History University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66045-2454 Telephone: 913-864-4180 FAX: 913-864-5335 E-mail: [email protected] Published by the American Society of Mammalogists Allen Press Lawrence, Kansas ISBN 0-89338-055-5 1997 Mammal Collections in the Western Hemisphere A Survey and Directory of Existing Collections Mark S. Hafner, William L. Gannon, Jorge Salazar-Bravo, and Sergio Ticul Alvarez-Castañeda Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (MSH) Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (WLG, JSB) Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico 23000 (STA-C) May, 1997 Published by the American Society of Mammalogists i Contents INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ............................................................. 1 THE PRESENT SURVEY ............................................................................................................ 3 Purpose ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Scope ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Survey questionnaire ................................................................................................................... 4 Response .............................................................................................................................. 4 Number and geographic distribution of collections ................................................................ 4 Number of specimens and their distribution ........................................................................... 6 Taxonomic and geographic representation ............................................................................. 6 Special preparations and ancillary collections ......................................................................... 8 Frozen-tissue collections ....................................................................................................... 9 Holotypes ............................................................................................................................. 9 Use of collections .................................................................................................................. 9 Sources of support .............................................................................................................. 10 Personnel ............................................................................................................................ 11 Curatorial standards and policies ......................................................................................... 11 Catalogues .......................................................................................................................... 12 Computerization ................................................................................................................. 12 Protection of collections ...................................................................................................... 12 Loans .................................................................................................................................. 13 Accreditation ...................................................................................................................... 14 HEALTH OF THE RESOURCE ................................................................................................. 14 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... 16 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................ 16 DIRECTORY OF COLLECTIONS ............................................................................................. 17 APPENDIX I.¾Latin American collections that did not respond to this survey ........................... 73 APPENDIX II.¾Collections that have been incorporated into other collections .......................... 77 APPENDIX III.¾Bibliography of catalogues of type specimens .................................................. 79 APPENDIX IV.¾Publication series associated with collections of mammals ............................... 80 APPENDIX V.¾Basic curatorial standards for systematic collections of mammals ...................... 82 APPENDIX VI.¾Mammal collections accredited by the ASM .................................................... 84 APPENDIX VII.¾Alphabetical index of collection acronyms....................................................... 86 ii May 1997 MAMMAL COLLECTIONS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE 1 Mammal Collections in the Western Hemisphere INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Throughout its history, the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) has undertaken periodic assessments of the location, size, composition, and curatorial status of collections of Recent mammals in North America. The first such report, authored by A. Brazier Howell (1923) and published in the Journal of Mammalogy, appeared just 4 years after the ASM was founded. Howell (1923:113) stated two principal reasons for conducting his survey of mammal collections: “The larger museums are relatively sufficient unto themselves as regards research material; but the smaller ones, as well as unattached individuals, are often handicapped by their inability to secure, either by purchase or loan, specimens which they may badly need for investigations. The primary purpose in compiling this list is to indicate possible sources from which such material may be obtained. Another effect which it is hoped the appearance of this list will have is the stimulation of the interest of the small collector, the beginner and the amateur. Few will undervalue the importance of gaining recruits for the study of mammalogy...” With help from E. W. Nelson of the Bureau of Biological Survey, Howell (1923) identified 37 public and 40 private collections in North America. At that time, almost one-half of all mammal specimens in North America (defined as the United States and Canada) were housed in the United States National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D. C. (by comparison, the United States National Museum of Natural History presently holds ca. 15% of all specimens from North America). More than 2 decades after Howell’s (1923) publication, results of the second survey of collections appeared in the Journal of Mammalogy (Doutt et al., 1945). The authors of this report (J. Kenneth Doutt, A. B. Howell, and W. B. Davis) stated the following reasons for conducting their survey (Doutt et al., 1945:231): “In preparing the list we have followed Howell’s [1923] original plan to make it a roster of mammal collectors, as well as collections, and we hope that its effect may be to stimulate interest in the science of mammalogy, especially among young collectors.” By 1945, the mammal-collection resource had expanded to include 297 collections (Fig. 1), most of which contained <500 specimens. Although there was a pronounced trend away from private collections (52% were private collections in 1923, compared with 38% in 1945), the bulk of the mammalian material was still contained in a few, large collections. For example, the United States National Museum of Natural History still held ca. 25% of all mammal specimens in North America. Although Doutt et al. (1945) attempted to include Latin American collections in their survey, they received no replies from Mexican or Central American colleagues, and only a single response from South America (Escuela Agricola in El Vergel, Angol, Chile). Thus, the Doutt et al. (1945) report, like its predecessor (Howell, 1923), was restricted to the United States and Canada. 2 HAFNER, GANNON, SALAZAR-BRAVO, AND ALVAREZ-CASTAÑEDA 500 Western Hemisphere United States and Canada only 400 Number of collections 4 6 300 3 200 2 Number of specimens 100 Number of collections surveyed 1 Number of specimens (x 10 ) 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 Year of survey F IG . 1.—Historical trends in number of mammal collections and number of specimens in the collections (1922-1996). The third survey of mammal collections in North America was conducted by Sydney Anderson, J. Kenneth Doutt, and James S. Findley in 1961 (published in the Journal of Mammalogy in 1963). By 1960, the ASM was well established as a professional organization, so the goals of the collection survey shifted somewhat from recruitment of new mammalogists to use of collections and documentation of the history of the discipline (Anderson et al., 1963:473): “It is hoped that the information here compiled will aid students of mammals in using the collections and will, together with the prior surveys, help document the history of North American mammalogy.” The Anderson et al. (1963) report was based on information from 307 collections in the United States and Canada. The trend away from