Fish Specimens

Janet Braun

doi:10.15468/r5rwxx

Fish Specimens

Citation

Braun J, King P (2018). Fish Specimens. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/r5rwxx accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-17.

Description

The collection of fishes includes over 30,000 catalogued lots representing 34 families, primarily of North American freshwater fishes. Groups best represented are North American minnows (Cyprinidae), catfishes (Ictaluridae), darters (Percidae), sunfishes (Centrarchidae), and suckers (Catostomidae).The collection dates to the 1920’s, with specimens collected by early expeditions of the Museum of Zoology and Department of Zoology under the direction of A. I. Ortenburger. The particular strength of the collection is in its holdings of extensive samples of fishes throughout the lower Great Plains, with emphasis on Oklahoma streams and reservoirs. Periods with strong collecting efforts include the 1920s, 1950s-1960s, and 1980s to the present. The collection grew substantially in recent years with the addition of long-term samples of fish from sites statewide by the late Mr. Jimmie Pigg. We continue to add actively to the holdings of the range by virtue of ongoing research by the curators and their graduate students and by continued archiving of community samples by the Department of Environmental Quality, whose employees continue the work begun by Mr. Pigg. The Division of Ichthyology houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of archived specimens of fishes for Oklahoma. These collections comprise an invaluable resource for documenting historical ranges, present distributions, and ecology of Oklahoma fishes. These collections allow analysis of range contraction, human-induced changes, and conservation status of the fish fauna of Oklahoma. The availability of long-term series provides an important opportunity to assess natural variation in fish communities. The majority of the collection is in fluid storage in archival museum jars, with limited holdings of larger specimens in steel tanks. In addition, there is a teaching collection that includes cleared and stained material, prepared skeletons, and representatives of the fish fauna world-wide both freshwater and marine.

Sampling Description

Method steps

Additional info

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Taxonomic Coverages

Geographic Coverages

North America

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Janet Braun
originator
position: Interim Curator
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman
73072
Oklahoma
US
email: jkbraun@ou.edu
homepage: http://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu

Paul King
metadata author
position: Head of IT
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman
73072
Oklahoma
US
Telephone: 405-325-1018
email: pking@ou.edu
homepage: http://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu

Sarah Sanger
point of contact
position: Information Systems Lead
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman
73072
Oklahoma
US
Telephone: 405-325-4168
email: ssanger@ou.edu
homepage: http://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu

Karen Whitecotton
point of contact
position: Registrar
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman
73072
Oklahoma
US
Telephone: 405-325-1035
email: registrar.samnoblemuseum@ou.edu
homepage: http://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu

Sara Cartwright
content provider
position: Collection Manager
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman
73072
Oklahoma
US
Telephone: 405-325-1319
email: cartwright@ou.edu
homepage: http://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu

Janet Braun
administrative point of contact
position: Interim Curator
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave.
Norman
73072
Oklahoma
US
email: jkbraun@ou.edu
homepage: http://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu