[Taxacom] Accessing type specimens

Sun Nov 29 23:40:20 CST 2009

it goes without saying that images are not always sufficient for ID, not 
to mention that a specimen is often taken as a thank you for the 
taxonomist work and help, to be added to the collection.

But, images prove to be useful

Fabian Haas

John Grehan wrote:
> Electronic images may provide a potential supplement, but not
> necessarily unambiguous solutions. I had a situation where I could not
> directly access the type for a moth species  (due to my inability to
> travel, not a restriction by the institution) but I received an image of
> the genitalic region. However, the relatively low magnification did not
> allow definitive confidence of the represented species in comparison
> with specimens in my possession. As it turned out, subsequent specimens
> obtained through colleagues conformed exactly to the type and so
> corroborated the species in question, but in the absence of those
> specimens there would have remained uncertainty and potential error.
>
> John Grehan  
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
> [mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] On Behalf Of Fabian Haas
> Sent: Friday, November 27, 2009 2:27 AM
> To: Richard Pyle
> Cc: 'TAXACOM'
> Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Accessing type specimens
>
> Dear All,
>
> good to hear that some one is writing such stories. Another one, how
> technology is helping taxonomy, is it makes things much faster, and
> relieves you from quarantine and possible ABS issues.
>
> At icipe, we have to id some insects which might be of quarantine
> relevance, though mostly dead. Sending images clearly avoids that. We
> also avoid drafting loan and material transfer agreements, when we have
> to send things abroad. These make the legal way more and more
> complicated for us, many developing countries are trying to restrict the
> exhange of material, for the fear of possible products, all in teh wake
> of Access and Benefit Sharing discussions in the CBD. So with digital
> images you are much safer.
>
> Best
> Fabian
>
>
>
> Richard Pyle wrote:
>   
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I've been in contact with a writer doing a story on how technology can
>>     
>
>   
>> assist taxonomy.  One of the things he wants to understand better is 
>> the difficulties associated with accessing type specimens.  In 
>> particular, he's interested in these two questions:
>>
>> (a) why the need to examine type specimens slows down the process of 
>> taxonomy; and
>>
>> (b) why museums seem reluctant (if they do) to send type specimens all
>>     
>
>   
>> over the place to people.
>>
>> We all know the importance of examining type specimens when trying to 
>> determine whether something is a new species and/or when conducting 
>> taxonomic work (and so does he). But he's trying to make sure he 
>> understands correctly what the difficulties are in doing so.  On the 
>> first question, I was able to give him my own perspective for the 
>> groups I work on (fish type specimens are scattered all over the 
>> planet), but it would be good to get a broader spectrum of input & 
>> experience on that.  For example, I know there have been threads on 
>> Taxacom before about accessing types in private collections, etc.
>>
>> As for the second question, I explained to him that many Museums are 
>> (and always have been) hesitant to send type specimens on loan, for 
>> fear they may be lost, damaged, or never returned.  However, it has 
>> also been my sense that this trend of reluctance has been increasing 
>> in recent years.  In particular, I recall after the anthrax scare
>>     
> (soon after 9/11), the U.S.
>   
>> postal service began irradiating mail, and (I think) some Museums
>>     
> (e.g.
>   
>> Smithsonian) stopped sending type specimens (all specimens?) for a 
>> while.  I don't have any objective data to support my sense of the 
>> increasing trend of reluctance to send type specimens around the 
>> world, so I wanted to find out if others have detected the same trend 
>> over the last 10-20 years, and how this has affected the pace of
>>     
> taxonomy.
>   
>> Many thanks in advance!
>>
>> Aloha,
>> Rich
>>
>> Richard L. Pyle, PhD
>> Database Coordinator for Natural Sciences
>>   and Associate Zoologist in Ichthyology Department of Natural 
>> Sciences, Bishop Museum
>> 1525 Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817
>> Ph: (808)848-4115, Fax: (808)847-8252
>> email: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org
>> http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/staff/pylerichard.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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>>
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>>     
> these methods:
>   
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>>
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>>   
>>     
>
>   

-- 

**********************************************************
fhaas at icipe.org, Extension -2052

The African Insect Taxonomy Toolkit AITT 
http://taxonomy.icipe.org

Dr. Fabian Haas
Insect Taxonomist and ABS Specialist
ICIPE - African Insect Science for Food and Health
Duduville Campus, Kasarani
P.O. Box 30772 - 00100
N A I R O B I
Kenya

Telephone No. 	+254 (0)20 8632000
Fax No.	+254 (0)20 8632001
Cell Phone	+254 (0)728 132868

This position is supported by CIM, the Centre for International Migration www.cimonline.de