MSB Mammal 55245: Holotype of Andalgalomys pearsoni dorbignyi
Arctos strives for ‘gold standard’ records that track usage of cataloged items through research activities. For example, Arctos links records to the projects that use them and to the publications that cite them. Arctos also creates reciprocal links between record data and external database resources such as GenBank. Proper linkage allows tracking of all research and derived material and data (e.g., genetic sequences) back to the original voucher specimen. Because DNA sequences deposited in GenBank may be used in many different projects, a single specimen can serve as a voucher for multiple independent scientific studies.
In addition to linking catalog records to projects and publications, Arctos also links records including observations to archival materials that provide historical context (e.g., field notes, images, correspondence, annotated maps of collecting sites). Furthermore, Arctos is rich in media and allows for relationships between media (e.g., photos take at same site but different times) or between media and other data including records, people, and collecting events.
The ability to create relationships between records in Arctos, both within and across collections, and between Arctos and external data, is one of its greatest strengths.
See some of our favorite examples of “Gold Standard Records” in Arctos.
Or click any record below to see how a specimen can be connected to publications, GenBank, media and more:
| Record in Arctos | Why We Like It |
|---|---|
| MSB:Mamm:55245 | Holotype specimen of Andalgalomys pearsoni dorbignyi (Pearson's Chaco Mouse), linked to 5 GenBank records and cited in at least 26 publications. |
| MSB:Mamm:121373 | Specimen of Euderma maculatum (Spotted Bat) used by 4 projects, is linked to 7 GenBank records, and cited in 4 publications. |
| MVZ:Mamm:27928 | Specimen of Ursus arctos (Grizzly Bear) used, along with historical correspondence in the MVZ Archives, to research the last grizzly bear in Yosemite. This specimen and associated archival materials were used in an exhibition on Yosemite at the California Historical Society. |
| MVZ:Egg:2547 | Egg specimen of Grus canadensis (Sandhill Crane), linked to a photo of the eggs, a scan of the original catalog card, and two historical photographs in the MVZ Archives. MVZ Image 8310 shows eggs in the nest in the field, and MVZ Image 8309 shows marshy habitat where the nest and eggs were found. A modern photo of the area would show how the landscape has changed over the past 85 years. Eggs are not available on loan, so these rich data increase their accessibility and value for research. |
| MVZ:Bird:134762 & MSB:Host:6746 & MSB:Para:1992 | Specimen of Eremophila alpestris (Horned Lark) in the MVZ Bird Collection, linked to a flatworm taken from this bird and deposited in the MSB Parasite Collection. The lark host is also cataloged in the MSB Host Collection, and linked back to the voucher in MVZ. The Horned Lark host is further tagged in the Robert L. Rausch Necropsy Ledger, along with another MVZ bird and two UAM bird specimens that were examined for parasites. |
| MVZ:Bird:183621 | Pipilo maculatus (Spotted Towhee), linked to an audio recording of the bird, to photos of the habitat where it was recorded and collected, and to its project. |
| UMNH:Bird:5572 & MVZ:Egg:14725 | Mounted specimen of Psiloscops flammeolus at the Natural History Museum of Utah that is the parent of eggs housed at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Record shows how specimens in different institutions are related to each other. |
| UTEP:ES:22-1609 | Fossil horse teeth from a cave in New Mexico, originally identified as Equus conversidens, were subsequently identified through molecular analysis as Haringtonhippus francisci. The specimen is linked to GenBank record and its publication. Also included are links to: the collector’s field catalog, a photograph of one of its parts, a map of the cave room where it was collected. This record demonstrates Arctos’ ability to provide an historical record of identifications and to associate media such as drawings and notes with specimen records, collection events, and agents. |
| Parka, fur | Arctos makes cultural collections available to biologists in a familiar format. This parka, constructed of fur from several species, has been made available to scientific research queries through the assignment of multiple taxonomic identifications to the object. Cultural collections hold extremely valuable and largely untapped biological resources; for instance, they may be a source of pre-industrial stable isotopes. While cultural collections may not wish to open their objects up to just any destructive sampling, they might make objects available to the right researcher using the right techniques. We like this record because a search for caesium 137-free large mammal fur or the distribution of mink in 1930 might lead a researcher to it. |
| MVZ:Herp:246033 | Holotype of Karsenia koreana, the only known extant plethodontid salamander from Asia, showing the breadth of its information, including links to citations, an NSF Project, images of the animal in life, georeference and spatial determination, links to GenBank, and attributes and parts in collection. |
| DMNS:Mamm:11098 | This chipmunk has multiple parasites, multiple publications, specimen (whole drawer) images, collecting event images, GenBank accession link, Dryad and Globi links, and is linked to a project. What's not to love? |
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