-
From China to Nottingham: The making of Dinosaurs of China
Smith, A. S., Wang, Q., Evans, R.‘Dinosaurs of China: Ground Shakers to Feathered Flyers’ was an exhibition of Chinese dinosaur fossils and casts that provided visitors with a unique opportunity to explore the scientific evidence that connects large, scaly ground-shaking dinosaurs to their feathered relatives – modern birds. The main exhibition at the Nottingham Natural History Museum, Wollaton Hall, included original…
-
Demystifying CITES: UK museums and commercial use of Annex A specimens
Jennings, R.CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) aims to ensure that trade in wild animals and plants is sustainable and does not endanger wild populations. It is implemented through national legislation that regulates international trade and commercial use. Most museums with natural science collections will have some CITES-listed specimens.…
-
Taxonomic revision of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschkas’ Glass Models of Invertebrates 1888 Catalogue, with correction of authorities
Callaghan, E., Egger, B., Doyle, H., Reynaud, E. G.The glass models of invertebrates crafted by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka were made between 1863 and 1889. Production ceased when the glassmakers turned their attention to what is now known as the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, created for the Harvard Museum of Natural History. More than 130 years have passed since…
-
Silver and nickel pins in entomology: historical attempts at combating corrosion problems in insect collections
Hancock, G. E., Ryder, S.We describe some examples of silver and nickel entomological pins and provide the context for their promotion and use. Insects pinned with these silver pins have been identified and an example of subsequent corrosion illustrated. The aim is to highlight the possible existence of silver in this context, which generally has not been considered in…
-
Minority Taxa, Marginalised Collections: A focus on Fungi
Smith, N.Minority taxa, such as fungi, algae, lichens, ferns, and mosses, are taxa that receive a disproportionately small amount of public and curatorial interest. Whilst present in museums, they often form only a small part of an overall collection and possess characteristics that present barriers to engagement and, as such, are more likely than others to…
-
Flecs: a novel LEGO® tool for bound herbarium clamping
Dupont, S., Prakash, R.A discussion of some of the current methods used for keeping herbaria volumes open during conservation and digitisation are discussed, and a solution to the physical challenges of digitising bound herbarium volumes with restricted opening capabilities is presented. The Flexible LEGO Clamping System (Flecs) is a collapsible page clamping system capable of holding open herbarium…
-
Anthrenus species (Coleoptera; Dermestidae) found in UK museums with special reference to A. museorum Linnaeus, 1761, the museum beetle
Holloway, G. J., Pinniger, D. B.An important component of integrated pest management in natural history museums is the identification of pest insects. A small number of Anthrenus spp. can be encountered including A. verbasci, varied carpet beetle, and A. sarnicus, Guernsey carpet beetle. A species that would reasonably be expected to be found in natural history museums is A. museorum,…
-
Cleaning Osteological Specimens with Beetles of the genus Dermestes Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)
Muñoz-Saba, Y., Sánchez-Nivicela, J. C., Sierra-Durán, C. M., Vieda-Ortega, J. C., Amat-García, G., Munoz, R., Casallas-Pabón, D., Calvo-Roa, N.Within many biological collections around the world, it is known that Dermestes beetles are used in the preparation of osteological material, as part of the collection management protocols. Despite the fact that the use of these beetles is common, management so that the yield of a colony is optimal is not entirely clarified. In this…
-
Weep no more: conservation of an iron-nickel meteorite from Canyon Diablo, Arizona
Allington-Jones, L.This article documents the treatment of a fragment of the asteroid that created the Barringer meteor crater, officially known as the Canyon Diablo Meteorite. This includes investigations into the condition of the specimen, evaluation of techniques used in meteorite and archaeological iron conservation, and the eventual treatment with tannic acid of an NHMUK specimen. Read…
-
Cleaning historical tick specimens using an ultrasonic cleaner
Chitimia-Dobler, L., Dunlop, J. A.A method is described for cleaning ticks (Arachnida: Ixodida) preserved for decades in 70% ethanol using an ultrasonic cleaner. The advantages of this approach are that it is relatively inexpensive and does not involve the use of chemical reagents other than ethanol, such as when preparing ticks for scanning electron microscopy or as slide preparations.…
-
NatSCA 2019 AGM and Minutes
Minutes from the 2nd of May 2019 NatSCA AGM at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. Read more
