National Museums Scotland
Dried molluscs in the National Museums Scotland collections
Multiple collections within the Natural Sciences Collection of National Museums Scotland could potentially be of use for ocean acidification research. They can be grouped into:
- Survey collections - historical and recent
- Non-survey collections that have come from individual collectors
Overview
Organisms included:
A variety of marine invertebrates, including:
- cephalopods and other molluscs
- amphipods
- echiurid worms
- forams
- hydroids
- polychaete worms
- sipunculid worms
- sponges
- tardigrades
Number of specimens:
Up to 1 million marine invertebrate specimens, including approximately 130,000 mollusc lots.
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Historical survey collections
Get a brief summary of National Museums Scotland collections from the 1840s Rattlesnake expedition and the Scotia expedition that took place in the early 1900s.
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Recent survey collections
National Museums Scotland has nine recent survey collections that could be useful for ocean acidification research. Find out more.
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Non-survey collections
Specimens from individual collectors are generally less suited to non-systematic investigations than those in the survey collections. However the Richie and Stephens Collection of hydroids, echiurids and sipunculids, and the Bruce Foraminifera Collection, are worthy of a special mention.
Curation and collection management
Organisation:
British specimens are ordered systematically by Biocode, following the Species Directory of the Marine Fauna and Flora. This is available on request from the curators.
Preservation:
- Most of the marine invertebrate collections are preserved in alcohol (formalin fixed).
- There is a comprehensive collection of microscope slides including Morgan Tardigrades, Ried Amphipoda and various sponge collections.
Destructive sampling:
Information on National Museums Scotland’s destructive sampling policy is available from the appropriate curator.
Database information:
- The website is under construction and likely to be available from 2011. Contact the curators at National Museums Scotland for the electronic collection catalogue.
Additional resources
A published inventory of the biological samples and data undertaken on behalf of Scottish Natural Heritage is available as a PDF document from the curators at the National Museum of Scotland:
An Inventory of Sample Material and Unpublished Data Relating to Marine Biology in Scotland by Susan Chambers, Louise Allcock and Sankurie Pye (March 1999)
The inventory covers all British institutions that hold specimens or relevant data, including:
- universities
- national, regional and local museums
- botanical gardens
- local authorities
- marine laboratories