naming expeditions

[Barry M. OConnor]

At 4:48 PM +0800 1/28/00, Jones, Brian Dr wrote:
>Off the subject a bit - but relevant to names of expeditions:
>
>During WW2 the New Zealand Govt stationed observers on the sub-antarctic
>islands (which had been used by German surface raiders in WW1)...

A few decades ago the US Army funded a number of major surveys of small
mammals and their ectoparasites.  Results were published for some of these,
with a large number of new parasitic mites/insects described as a result.
Such things appear to be out of fashion now.  We've seen pictures of
moon-suited epidemiologists doing similar things looking for the ebola
virus, but where are the monographs from those collections?  Probably
non-existent, because nowadays, it's OK for things to go undetermined.  I'm
not sure that the specimens collected during those surveys even were saved.

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So many mites, so little time!
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Barry M. OConnor
Professor & Curator             phone: (734) 763-4354
Museum of Zoology               FAX: (734) 763-4080
University of Michigan          e-mail: bmoc at umich.edu
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079  USA