Depository of expensive fossil holotypes

[Frank Krell]

Dear Hans,
there is no requirement that you deposit your holotypes in an insitutional collection. According to Code Art. 16.4.2., you have to mention the name and location of the collection where the types are or will be deposited. That's all. It can be coll. Henderickx in Xstraat, Mol, Belgium.
However, it is highly desirable that holotypes are in a public collection (as long as it meets the criteria of Recommendation 72F). Therefore, it is a recommendation (16C) that holotypes were placed in such a collection, but not a requirement. Check the recommendations and articles in the Code at http://www.iczn.org/iczn/index.jsp?nfv=true&booksection=contents
The Code is freely available on the web now.
 
Some amber collectors I work with have stated in their will where the collection will ultimately go. This is a good way to make sure that the holotypes will not become untraceable after the collector's death. Personally, I would prefer that institutional collections would fully reimbourse the collector who wants to deposit the holotype with them, but with the pathetic budgets of many of those collections, this might rarely be possible and we have to accept that holotypes remain in private collections for the time being.
 
Problem solved?
 
Frank
 

Dr Frank-T. Krell
Head, Coleoptera Division
Head, Scarab Research Group
Editor, Systematic Entomology
Department of Entomology
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7 5BD, U.K.
Tel. +44 (0) 20 7942 5886
Fax +44 (0) 20 7942 5229
f.krell at nhm.ac.uk

 

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: Taxacom Discussion List on behalf of Hans Henderickx 
	Sent: Mon 28/11/2005 17:04 
	To: TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU 
	Cc: 
	Subject: [TAXACOM] Depository of expensive fossil holotypes
	
	

	Dear Taxacom members,
	
	I'm an independent researcher for the University of Antwerp (this
	University has no Natural History collection). Regularly I make holotype
	descriptions of new fossil beetles, pseudoscorpions and scorpions from my
	personal amber collection. Besides there scientific value, the stones have
	a significant collector gemstone value, often over 1000 eur on the market,
	and they represent an important personal investment for me. Most museums
	are not willing to pay such amounts, I have had 'offers' of 'maximum 50
	euro-there-is-no-budget). A holotype description however requires a
	depository in an official museum collection, meaning that from the date of
	publication, the described fossil is no longer my property. I used to
	solve this with the phrase "the specimen is temporarily in the collection
	of Hans Henderickx, but will subsequently be deposited in the Museum
	National etc.", allowing me to keep and study it some more for at least
	some years. With the recent description of my fossil scorpion P.
	cenozoicus gen.n. et sp.n. I encounter a problem: already after a few
	weeks the Museum requests a rapid and definite archiving of the piece in
	their collections. Since I'm working on the descriptions of several other
	of my amber fossil new species, I'm facing that in the next few years, I
	have to 'give away' the most important pieces of my amber collection, or
	stop studying and describing them. How can I solve this?