Vertebrate Zoology Collections Management

The NHMU fluid-preserved material represents over a third of the Vertebrate Zoology collection and is stored in a specifically designed room for fluid materials. The 12-foot tall open shelving with ~5,000 square feet of storage was specially designed for this room and each row is manually compactable. Specimens are stored in about 6,000 glass jars, storage tanks and buckets. 

The Vertebrate Zoology study skins and skeletons are stored in the biology collection storage room along with the botany, malacology, and entomology collections. To reduce the risk of pest damage and contaminating the new facility, all of the Vertebrate Zoology dry material has been cryfumigated—frozen for a minimum of 6 days at -20 degrees C—before being installed into the new cabinetry.

Watch this short clip of NHMU's Vertebrate Zoology Collections Manager describe the precautions that are taken when adding to the new collection as well as how the collection is properly maintained.