Where are types kept? When a scientist describes a new species, the specimen is called a 'type.'   Types are stored in museum and university collections all over the world. If I don't find what I'm looking for at the Museum in New York, I have to figure out where the type species might be. Sometimes I can borrow the types. Other times I have to travel to different places to study the types. If I can't find one anywhere that matches the fish I've brought back, I get closer to thinking that I've discovered a new species.