The mammal collection at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum is one of the world's largest (the fifth largest mammal collection in North America and the third largest university collection in the world). The most common preparation type is a prepared skin, with the skull cleaned and stored in a separated container (our preparation code is SS). Second-most common is a skin with the entire skeleton cleaned and stored separately (SB). Some specimens consist only of a skull (SK) or cranium (CO). Other specimens may consist of a partial skeleton (PS), an entire skeleton (SN) or only a skin (SO). Many of our specimens are stored in alcohol (AL), or are in alcohol with the skull removed and cleaned (SA). Tissues associated with any of these preparation types are noted as a separate field in our database. Because there are active public education and exhibits programs in the KU Natural History Museum, a few of our specimens are taxidermy mounts (BM) and some are housed permanently on exhibit. Other preparation types are coded as “other” (OT). Occasionally, specimens are prepared with the baculum or os clitoris and separately stored in preserving fluid. Non-standard preparation types and additional materials are noted in a comments field in our database.<br><br> We have extensive historical collections from Central America, Mexico, and southeast, central, western regions of the United States and Alaska. We recently added outstanding collections from the Philippines and New Guinea. We anticipate continuing to maintain our strengths in these geographic regions, emphasizing bats, rodents and insectivores—current taxonomic strengths. Most of our collection consists of nicely prepared skins, skulls, and complete skeletons, with most recent specimens accompanied by tissues.<br><br> There are 135 type specimens in our collection at present. Of these, the largest number (97) are rodents. There are also 6 insectivore, 25 bat, 5 lagomorph, and 2 carnivore holotypes. Lists of the Mammalogy's type specimens have been published by Jones and Genoways (1969) and Jones et al. (1984), although several have been described since. Types have been described from Barbados, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (14 states), Mozambique, Nicaragua, Philippines, Venezuela, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and from 12 states in the U.S. All type specimens are kept in the designated \"type case\" at all times. Use of type specimens must be arranged with the curators.<br> <br> There is broad taxonomic coverage, including important holdings of Central and South American marsupials, insectivores, bats, rodents; Holarctic shrews, microtines, squirrels and North American bats, insectivores, carnivores, rodents and lagomorphs.
""" ; dcat:keyword "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeKU herpetology houses one of the largest herpetology collections in the world (340,000 specimens representing more than 5000 species from 156 countries). The KU collections include the world’s largest collection of neotropical amphibian and reptile specimens (200,000+) as well as substantial numbers of Nearctic (80,000+) and Asian (20,000+) specimens. KU holdings are particularly strong for the U.S., Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa, Rica, Haiti, the Philippines, Peru and Panama. The collection from Kansas is the state’s largest (20,000+). The type collection includes nearly 400 primary types, mostly amphibians. KU Herpetology also maintains 5000 cleared-and-stained osteological preparations, nearly 5000 dried skeletons, and one of the world’s largest collections of amphibian larvae (6000+ lots). The KU digital archive includes more than 12,000 digital images and more than 1500 acoustic recordings.
" ; dcat:keyword "Occurrence" , "Specimen" ; dcat:themeSEMC (Snow Entomological Museum Collection) comprises nearly 5 million pinned insect specimens. Our strengths are Apoidea, Neotropical Coleoptera (especially Staphylinidae, Hydrophiloidea, and Chrysomoloidea), Mecoptera, and fossil insects. We have digitized approximately 800,000 individual specimens (mostly Apoidea and Staphylinidae, Orthoptera, and various other smaller families).
""" ; dcat:keyword "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeThe R. L. McGregor Herbarium Lichen Collection houses approximately 45,000 specimens of lichens and allied fungi. The collection is focused on the Central Grassland region of North America, with specimens from the Great Plains comprising the majority of the collection.
" ; dcat:keyword "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeThe Ornithology group in the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas conducts research and provides undergraduate and graduate education on the birds of the world. Research topics include the species limits and species diversity, evolution, geography, genetics and genomics, morphology, conservation, ecology, and behavior. This work is greatly enhanced by extensive research collections of world birds, numbering more than 107,000 specimens, many of which are recently collected as part of the group's global bird sampling program.<br /> <br /> Ornithology's study skin collections total about 60,000 specimens. The historical collections are strongest for the Great Plains of the United States and for Mexico, with additional holdings from Central and South America, Borneo, and Kenya. Recent large-scale collections have built significant recent holdings from Mexico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay, Argentina, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Palau, and others. Collections of special importance include series of more than 14,000 House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), which formed the basis for landmark scientific research by Richard Johnston and his students; extensive series of several North American species (Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus, meadowlarks Sturnella spp., Horned LarkEremophila alpestris); series documenting many of the Great Plains hybrid zones; and the feathers of an extinct moa (Dinornithidae). Recent additions include extensive series from Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Paraguay, including many species otherwise poorly represented in scientific collections.<br /> <br /> The avian osteological collections are extensive, totaling over 32,500 specimens, and ranked third largest in the world (Wood and Schnell 1986). This component of the collection has important strengths from the Great Plains of the United States, Mexico, and northern South America. Important holdings include critical and unique Ecuadorian series, extensive recent Australian material, and a large series of steamer-ducks (Tachyeres sp.). Recent collecting activities have built South American skeletal holdings into an important collection, with material from poorly represented sectors such as the Atlantic Forest, the Yucatan Peninsula, Guyana, and montane Central America.<br /> <br /> Although fluid-preserved specimens were not an early focus of Ornithology activities, the collections at KU were ranked seventh in North America at the time of the last summary of anatomical holdings (Wood et al. 1982). More recently, as part of Prum's research program, these collections have grown significantly, with important holdings of suboscine passeriform birds, among other groups. Now housed with ample space and ideal storage conditions in an NSF- and State of Kansas-funded addition, this collection is seeing increased research applications.
""" ; dcat:keyword "Occurrence" , "Specimen" ; dcat:themeThe vertebrate paleontology program at the University of Kansas has, for over a century, sustained a national and international reputation. The reputation of the collection has been based more on intensive use than on sheer size. We now hold over 150,000 cataloged specimens (>75,000 are available in digital format) and around 400 publications related to our collections have been published in the last 35 years. Research strengths include: Paleozoic and Mesozoic fishes, Paleozoic tetrapods, Mesozoic marine vertebrates, Cenozoic small mammals and Natural Trap Cave fauna.
" ; dcat:keyword "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeThe University of Kansas invertebrate paleontology collection is ranked among the top 10 largest fossil invertebrate collections in the country and has over 850,000 fossil invertebrate and microfossil specimens from all over the world, including more than 8,200 type or figured specimens. These specimens have been used for research by paleontologists for over 120 years. The collection has taxonomic strengths in Cambrian trilobites from Antarctica and the Great Basin, United States; Upper Paleozoic invertebrates of the mid-continent; Cambrian soft-bodied faunas from Utah; Mesozoic cephalopods from the mid-continent. Research access to the collections is arranged on a case-by-case basis.
" ; dcat:keyword "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeThe University of Kansas Ichthyology collection contains more than 680,000 specimens of fishes from around the world and is the basis of the research and educational activities of the Division of Ichthyology. The collection has an emphasis on freshwater fishes of the central United States and also has significant marine and estuarine collections. The fish collection has representation from 3171 taxa (297 families and 1262 genera) and 79 countries including Ecuador, Fiji, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua and various marine localities. The collections and the scope of research activities in the division continue to grow due to the ongoing activities of ichthyology staff and students.</br></br> The collection is used by national and international researchers as well as by state and federal agencies. The Division of Ichthyology is designated as a Regional Center in the Midwest and Great Plains Regions (Collette & Lachner 1976, Copeia 1976: 625-642; Poss and Collette 1995, Copeia 1995: 48-70) and is among the top twenty ichthyological collections in the country. Almost 60% of the specimens in the collection are from the Great Plains Region. The collection is an important resource for anyone interested in the region's fishes. The data concerning these faunas are not extensively duplicated by other ichthyological collections.</br></br> The Ichthyology collection comprises whole, wet, voucher specimens in 70% ethanol (98%), specimens maintained as dry skeletons (0.3%) and cleared and stained preparations in glycerine (1.7%). Other ancillary collections include a large slide and digital image collection of specimens and locations (some of which are linked to specimen records through the database), a large field note collection and a map collection.</br></br> The wet specimens are housed in a state-of-the-art fluid collection facility, opened in 1996. The facility has 2,400 square feet of collection storage space on four floors and is shared with Herpetology, Mammalogy, Ornithology, Entomology and Invertebrate Zoology. The collection storage environment is maintained at 65°F year-round by an HVAC system. Specimens are housed in state of the art glassware and stainless steel tanks and protected by a sprinkler fire suppression system and UV-shielded lighting. The division has both morphological research facilities and a shared molecular systematic laboratory.
""" ; dcat:keyword "fish" , "ichthyology" , "USA" , "Kansas" , "Specify Software" , "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeThe University of Kansas Ichthyology frozen tissue collection continues to expand rapidly and has broad representation of both marine and freshwater fish diversity - 11,000 individual tissue samples from 2384 taxa (297 families and 1077 genera) and 38 countries (Australia, Belize, Ethiopia, Fiji, Nepal, Seychelles, South Africa and Tonga etc., as well as oceanic localities). The collections and the scope of research activities in the division continue to grow due to the ongoing activities of ichthyology staff and students.</br></br> The collection is used by national and international researchers as well as by state and federal agencies. The Division of Ichthyology is designated as a Regional Center in the Midwest and Great Plains Regions (Collette & Lachner 1976, Copeia 1976: 625-642; Poss and Collette 1995, Copeia 1995: 48-70) and is among the top twenty ichthyological collections in the country. Almost 60% of the specimens in the collection are from the Great Plains Region. The collection is an important resource for anyone interested in the region's fishes. The data concerning these faunas are not extensively duplicated by other ichthyological collections.</br></br> The tissue collection comprises tissue samples originally collected in liquid nitrogen, DMSO and ethanol and stored in state-of-the-art liquid nitrogen dewars at -170°C. The tissues are made up mostly of muscle tissue but also includes, liver and other internal organs, fin clips and whole specimens. A large proportion of our collection has vouchers held either at KU or at other collections. The provenance of these vouchers is indicated in the database</br></br>
""" ; dcat:keyword "fish" , "ichthyology" , "tissue" , "frozen" , "cryogenic" , "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:themeThe paleobotany collections, including several “orphaned” collections, is comprised of compression, impression, petrified, and permineralized specimens from Precambrian to Pleistocene stratigraphic horizons and from various localities around the world. The focus of the collection is currently on Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic fossils from Antarctica (Antarctic Collection), the largest collection of Antarctic fossil plants in the world. Additional material includes Pennsylvanian, Permian, and Cretaceous compression-impression specimens from several localities in eastern and central Kansas and coal balls from the Midcontinent, USA. The Division of Paleobotany was instituted in 1995 when Edith L. Taylor and Thomas N. Taylor moved to the University of Kansas, bringing their extensive collection of fossil plants with them. The Taylor Collection and the Baxter Collection of mostly Kansas coal balls formed the core of the KU Paleobotany collection, but we have acquired other so-called orphaned collections, including portions of the collections of Ted Delevoryas (Triassic of North Carolina; Jurassic of Mexico), Lawrence C. Matten (Devonian of Ireland), Gar W. Rothwell (early seed plants) and Gene Mapes (Pennsylvanian of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas).
""" ; dcat:keyword "Occurrence" , "Specimen" ; dcat:themeThe R. L. McGregor Herbarium houses approximately 400,000 vascular plant specimens. The majority of these comprise exsiccatae, but the collection also includes seed, boxed, and fluid-preserved specimens. The collection is focused on the Central Grassland region of North America, with specimens from the Great Plains comprising approximately two-thirds of the collection. Families with especially strong taxonomic and geographic representation include Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, Juncaceae, Lemnaceae, Plantaginaceae, and Poaceae.
" ; dcat:keyword "Specimen" , "Occurrence" ; dcat:theme