Invertebrate Zoology - Collections

Specimens are loaned to universities, colleges, museums, and other research and educational institutions for the use of resident research staff. The loan period is usually short term, as specified on the invoice. Loan extensions are typically granted but extensions must be requested in writing before the loan expires.
If we are unfamiliar with you or your work, we may ask that you submit a written statement of your qualifications as a researcher, a description of your research project, and a list of the specimens that you wish to borrow.
We do not lend specimens to students. A student should have his/her major professor write a letter outlining the student's qualifications and briefly describing the research project. If the requested specimens are loaned, we will lend them to the institution c/o the professor, who will be responsible for the care of the material.
Fragile, unique or irreplaceable specimens will be loaned only in exceptional circumstances. We reserve the right to determine whether or not a specimen is able to travel.
Normally only a portion of the entire holdings of a species will be dispatched on loan at any one time. If required, the remainder will be sent after the safe return of the first loan. Dissection, clearing and staining, preparing for SEM examination or any other alteration of the original condition of the specimen is permitted only by prior arrangement, in writing, between the loan recipient and the responsible research scientist or collection manager. Any such preparations made must be returned with the parent specimen.
Inquiries concerning loans should be addressed to the collection manager or appropriate research scientist, and by completing the IZ Loan Request form.
Every loan is subject to specific loan conditions as itemized on the Smithsonian Institution Shipping Invoice.

To borrow specimens or to discuss deposition of specimens contact the Collections Manager or individual research scientist at:

Collection Manager .................. brightc@si.edu

IZ Loan Requests .................... izloanrequest@si.edu

Research Scientist .................... (See Staff List for email addresses)

For data requests about the taxonomic or geographic scope of our collections or specific cataloged inventoried holdings contact:

Data Manager...... wardl@si.edu

Specimens of the invertebrate taxa, maintained in the dept. collections, are acquired principally as the result of field work by members of the staff and as gifts from scientific organizations, colleagues, and private individuals. They also may be acquired though exchanges, bequests, purchase, or transfers from government agencies. Material must have adequate scientific documentation or there must be some other significant factor (e.g. rarity, exhibition quality, etc.) to justify its acquisition. In the case of donations, a signed Deed of Gift which itemizes and distinctly describes the specimens must be provided by all donors. The Deed of Gift certifies that the donor is the legal owner of the donated material, and that all specimens were legally acquired. Only invertebrate taxa are accepted for deposit, foraminifera, brachiopods and fossil corals are the concern of the Dept. of Paleobiology and insects to the Dept. of Entomology . Parasites such as acanthocephalans, nematodes, protozoans and helminths are the concern of the National Parasite Collection of the USDA.

The acquisition of specimens is usually left to the discretion of the research scientist whose area of responsibility includes the taxa in question. Specimens may be retained and accessioned based upon known or anticipated research value. Where scientific value is anticipated, the decision to keep or dispose of specimens may be deferred until the material is given further study as part of a taxonomic or other research project. Valueless specimens will not be retained, as they are too costly in terms of time required for curation, curatorial supplies used in preservation, and shelf and floor space used for storage.

We would prefer that donors notify us of their intention to donate specimens to the Museum prior to sending the specimens and prior to citing, in any publication, the Museum as the repository of the specimens.

All gifts and bequests of specimens shall be accepted on an unrestricted basis. No commitment will be made as to exhibition, attribution, or placement of the gift. No guarantee shall be made that the gift or bequest will be retained by the Museum in perpetuity. There shall be no exception to this policy unless any such restrictions or special provisions are approved in writing by the Collections Advisory Committee, the Section Head, and the Director, and a statement of approval has been filed by the Registrar. Collections of mixed quality may be accepted after consultation with the Director. Prior to the donation, the donor will be notified that we view the donation as a collection of mixed quality and that portions of the material may not be retained for the permanent collection.

Upon formal offer of a valuable collection, a review of the collection by the Collections Advisory Committee will take place. The responsible research scientist or staff person shall obtain from the donor an accurate inventory of the collection for this review. (The responsible research scientist may assist the donor with this inventory.) The donation may have tax implications for the donor. Donors are encouraged to discuss tax issues with their accountant or attorney prior to offering the collection. It is the donor's responsibility to arrange for any needed appraisal.

A research scientist shall not accept any specimens collected in violation of local, state, or Federal regulations or in violation of the Lacey Act or the Endangered Species Act. Nor shall this Museum accept any specimens or collections for which there exists reasonable proof that they were obtained illegally or unethically. Information about the scope of national and international wildlife laws can be found at the USFWS site.

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Requirements for the deposition of Incipient (Manuscript) Types
and Assignment of USNM Numbers

How to Get USNM Numbers:

As a service to the systematic community we routinely accept, catalog and curate designated type specimens for all extant invertebrate taxa (except for Insecta (includes water mites and related groups), Brachiopoda and Foraminifera, and parasitic helminths, nematodes and protozoans). We maintain extensive, fully inventoried type collections of these taxa. To ensure that the specimen data in our catalog database corresponds exactly with the published data for type specimens, we require that type specimens and all associated data be in our possession before we will assign a USNM (catalog) number. For incipient (manuscript) types, USNM catalog numbers are not assigned until the corresponding species description has been accepted for publication. We request that whenever practical, authors provide us with a copy of the first page of the editor's proofs or of the manuscript acceptance letter for our records.

When to Send Specimens to the Museum:

Please do not send your manuscript type specimen(s) to us for deposit until you have submitted your manuscript with the species description to a journal for publication. Since species names are often modified as a result of the manuscript review process we strongly recommend that you retain your specimens until your manuscript has been reviewed and you have completed any revisions required by the journal editor. This is also more convenient for you in the event that you need to be re-examine your specimens in order to respond to a reviewer's comments. As soon as you have been advised that your manuscript has been accepted, forward your specimens to us with a copy of the editor's acceptance letter and a signed Deed of Gift. As soon as we receive the specimens we will immediately provide you with USNM numbers. We can report USNM numbers to you and/or the journal editor via e-mail, fax, or regular letter.

Data Requirements for Types:

Each specimen-lot should include a legible, archival label that includes the full scientific name of the specimen(s), the exact type status, and locality and collection information. These data must correspond exactly with the data published in the species description. In addition to complete locality and collecting information for each specimen or specimen-lot we also need the following information before we can assign a USNM catalog number:

Author(s) of the species
Expected date of publication
Published title of article
Full Journal name

Complete article citation including volume number and specific page numbers and figure numbers related to the species description (if this information is available when the specimens are deposited). Therefore, we request that all donors send a reprint of their article for our library. We also use the reprint to confirm that the published taxon and locality data for the specimen corresponds with the data in our associated computer record.

For additional information or to arrange to deposit specimens in our collections, you may contact one of the research scientists or any of the following individuals:

brightc@si.edu

wardl@si.edu

walterc@si.edu

Fax #: 202-357-3043

Department of Invertebrate Zoology
National Museum of Natural History
10^th & Constitution Ave., NW
Smithsonian Institution
Washington DC 20560-0163

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