Division of Fishes 
About
the Division of FISHES
- Research
in the Division of Fishes is directed primarily
toward systematic revisions of species, genera,
and families, and the interpretation of higher
classification and biogeography. Staff research
efforts are currently focused on the Caribbean
and Indo-Pacific freshwater and marine shore
fishes, especially blennies and gobies; beloniform,
scombroid, pleuronectiform fishes world wide;
larval fish studies, ontogeny and reproductive
morphology; and South American and African freshwater
fishes, especially characiforms and catfishes.
Osteological, myological and other studies are
being conducted as a basis for understanding
the phylogeny and higher classification among
a broad range of taxa.
Fishes Collection
Profile
- Specimen Count: 4 million
- Types: 6,290
- New Acquisitions: 17,500 |
Collections:
The Division of Fishes maintains the largest
collection of fishes in the world with over
540,000 lots - specimens of the same species
collected at the same time and place - totaling
over 4 million individual specimens. The collection
is arranged phylogenetically by family and then
alphabetically by genus and species within each
family. Over 50% of the collection has been
computer catalogued and is accessible through
a searchable database. Specimens include adult
fish as well as egg, larval and juvenile stages.
For some taxa, especially those who progress
through varied morphologies, preserved representatives
of the complete series of life stages are available.
The
majority of specimens are stored in ethanol
but the collection also includes dry skeletons
(4,800) and specially prepared (cleared and
stained) articulated skeletons (5,100) stored
in glycerin as well as histology slides and
otoliths. The collections include many rare
and important fish species, including a Coelacanth,
Latimeria chalumnae. About 20,000 or 80% of
the 26,800 known fish species are represented
in the collection, including 18,000 lots (about
86,000 specimens) of type collections representing
8,100 nominal species and including 6,290 primary
types making this the largest such collection
in the world.
The
fish collections include specimens from many
historical expeditions including marine fishes
from the Wilkes Expedition (1838) and U.S. Bureau
of Fisheries trawling expeditions conducted
by the Blake, Albatross, Fish Hawk and other
ships in the late 1800's and early 1900's as
well as North American freshwater fishes collected
during the Mississippi-Pacific Railroad and
Mexican Boundary Surveys in the 1850's and by
David Starr Jordan and his students and colleagues
(1860 to 1920). The collection has the world's
largest holdings of Indo-Pacific marine shore
fishes and extensive coverage from freshwaters
of both North and South America. In addition
to the specimens, the collection includes illustrations
and photographs (20,000 units) as well as radiographs
(5,000) of fish.
Facilities:
Specialized facilities including radiographic
and light photography systems (both digital
and film in each case), darkroom, digital imaging
and histological facilities, and sound analysis
equipment are available. A separate osteopreparatory
and marine mammal necropsy laboratory is located
at the Museum Support Center. These are supplemented
by discipline specific libraries and archives
of original illustrations, maps, and sound recordings.
Field
Work:
Staff in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology
has conducted field research on all continents
with particular emphasis throughout the Americas,
portions of Africa and Southeast Asia and adjoining
regions and across many portions of the World
Ocean. In recent years traditional forms of
specimen preparation have been supplemented
by photographic documentation of life coloration,
more encompassing anatomical preparations, and
preservation of materials for molecular studies.
Education
and Outreach:
Graduate Programs are available in conjunction
with University of Maryland and George Washington
University including formal affiliations through
the Robert
Weintraub Program in Systematics and Evolution.
Through this program GWU faculty and graduate
students work on a variety of organisms including
bacteria, protists, angiosperms, cnidarians,
mollusks, polychaete worms, arthropods, echinoderms,
dinosaurs, fish, mammals and lizards.
Staffs
in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology and
Affiliated Agencies are also active as advisors
to students throughout North America and in
some countries in Central and South America
and Europe. Students and researchers are welcome
to conduct scientific investigations using the
collections and facilities within the Department
and may borrow certain materials for loan through
their academic advisors and institutions.
Libraries:
The library holdings in Vertebrate Zoology are
divided among the four divisional libraries
with references focusing on systematics, taxonomy,
anatomy and physiology, ecology and distribution,
and evolution of their respective subject groups.
The Fishes library has over 8,000 volumes, including
106 journal subscriptions on fish biology, and
over 120,000 reprints of scientific literature
on fish taxonomy and systematics.
Programs
& Affiliates
National
Systematics Laboratory, Department of Commerce:
The National Systematics Laboratory is administered
by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center but
serves as the taxonomic research arm of NOAA
Fisheries as a whole. The Laboratory describes
and names new species, and revises existing
descriptions and names based on new information
of fishes, squids, crustaceans, and corals of
economic or ecological importance to the United
States. Because some important species are highly
migratory and many exotic species are introduced
into U.S. waters or markets, the Laboratory's
research is worldwide. Major products of this
research are worldwide and regional taxonomic
publications and identification guides. Contact:
Michael Vecchione
For
more information about the NMNH Division of
Fishes, including a complete staff listing and
research initiatives, visit the Fishes website.
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