1 research outputs found
A portable, low-cost approach for photographing fluid preserved snake specimens- Recommendations with comments on optimizing specimen photography in Natural History collections
Access to preserved specimens in museum collections is one
of the key needs of those engaged in systematics research (e.g., Bi
et al. 2013; Rocha et al. 2014; McLean et al. 2016). Yet, sometimes
the constraints of research budgets and time prevent the optimal
use of this critical resource, resulting in project delays, incomplete information, or flawed scientific conclusions. With many
natural history museums now digitizing information related to
specimens in their collections, imaging of specimens is a logical
next step, and one of critical importance to make holdings available electronically to a broader audience (Baird 2010; Lister et al.
2011; Knight-Davis et al. 2015; Page et al. 2015).
A complete 2D image library of all specimens in a collection
may appear utopian at the moment, given the millions of specimens and lack of financial support for collections (e.g., Paknia
et al. 2015). However, outside of visiting each collection to study
individual specimens, or requesting loans of unique and valuable specimens, the lack of suitable specimen images means that
some data may simply remain unavailable to researchers who
cannot afford to obtain them. We wish to emphasize that the approach we advocate herein in no way negates the need to maintain and make accessible physical specimens in a collection. Although in rare cases where the lack of specimens is unavoidable
(e.g., Marshall and Evenhuis 2015; Pape et al. 2016), there is no replacement for examining a well-preserved specimen. Our method should be regarded as an ancillary technique, useful when it is
necessary to obtain preliminary data or when it is not possible to
examine the specimen in person, and for archival purposes