Destructive Sampling and Specimen Preparation: Vertebrate Collections

Requests for destructive sampling should be made in writing to the Curator-in-charge of the collection in question. In the case of graduate students, the request should be made by the student’s academic advisor. As a minimum, the request should include the following information:

• The purpose of the research and its scientific merit
• The sampling methods to be employed
• Why the chosen protocol is the least intrusive method possible
• Evidence of the researcher’s competence with the protocol
• The specimens to be sampled
• Why the specimens in question are essential to the study

In all cases, the investigator should be able to provide reasonable assurance that the results of the study will be published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. Citation of AMNH catalog numbers in all publications is mandatory.

Type specimens are not available for destructive sampling. Specimens that are comparatively rare, both in general and in the context of AMNH collections, are unlikely to be approved for sampling unless a particularly compelling case has been made to do so.

Uncataloged material will not be made available for sampling, because of the difficulties in ensuring accurate citation and attribution of samples when study results are published. All sampled specimens must be cataloged first. The staff time and resource implications of this cataloging will be considered when assessing the proposal.

If preliminary approval is granted, the applicant will be informed of the decision and any restrictions imposed.

Examples of possible restrictions include the scope of the material to be sampled, methods of evaluation, standards for processing and documentation, and the timeframe for publication.

Conditions may also be placed on the disposition of materials resulting from the sampling, including the return of unused samples, SEM stubs, aliquots of DNA, etc.

In certain circumstances, involving particularly valuable or sensitive materials, the Division of Paleontology may require the applicant to enter into a written agreement regarding the conditions for sampling.

Failure to comply with the terms and conditions set by the Division in previous sampling may be grounds for denying new requests. Likewise, failure to abide by the terms of the current sampling may be grounds for denying future requests.

The Division does not provide sampling services. Applicants are usually expected to take the samples themselves. This will usually take place during in a visit to the collection, which must be scheduled through the usual visitor approval procedures. At least two weeks prior to a scheduled visit, the visiting researcher is required to contact the collections staff to request a staff member be assigned to review and approve specimen sampling during the visit.

While preliminary approval was granted at the time of the proposal review, final approval to sample specimens will only be given after a staff member has reviewed the specimens and sampling protocol in person with the visiting researcher during the scheduled visit.

Normally, specimens to be sampled will have been specified in the original proposal. Where this has not been done, the specimens must be selected and presented to the Curator-in-charge (or their nominee) for approval before sampling takes place. The Division may require that one of its staff be present for some or all of the sampling.

Once final approval to sample has been given during the researcher's visit, the researcher will be required to complete a form for each specimen sampled.

In some circumstances, sampling activities may be approved for specimens going on loan. In these cases, the Destructive Sampling Request will also serve as a loan request. You will be required to complete the form for each specimen to be sampled prior to the loan being sent.

Fossils frequently require additional preparation during research. Visitors to the collection, or borrowers of material, may request permission to undertake specimen preparation. This request must be in the form of a written proposal, sent to the collections staff, which addresses the following points:

• The purpose of the research and its scientific merit
• The specimen(s) to be prepared
• The proposed method of preparation
• Evidence of the researcher’s competence, or access to a trained preparator, including proven experience in preparing the material under request
• Why the specimens in question are essential to the study

Permission to prepare material must be agreed beforehand. Any preparation work is expressly forbidden unless agreed beforehand with the relevant Curator-in-charge in conjunction with the Curatorial Associate.

All products of preparation, e.g., matrix, samples, acid preparation residues, SEM stubs, thin sections, are regarded as part of the specimen and must be returned with the specimen. A fully illustrated condition and preparation report must be produced on the work undertaken on the object.

Because of limitations on staff time and resources, the Division of Paleontology does not normally undertake molding and casting for researchers outside of AMNH. Approval of such requests are at the discretion of the appropriate Curator-in-charge, in consultation with the Curatorial Associate.

Requests to mold specimens should be in the form of a written proposal, sent to the collections staff, which addresses the following points:

• The purpose of making the mold and the proposed use of the cast(s)
• The method and materials to be employed
• Evidence of the researcher’s competence, or access to a trained preparator, including proven experience in molding the material under request

Permission to mold material must be secured beforehand. Any molding of specimens is expressly forbidden unless agreed to beforehand with the relevant Curator-in-charge in conjunction with the Curatorial Associate.

The mold and one cast should be returned with the specimen at the end of the loan period.

The use of casts and molds taken must be agreed beforehand between the Division and the borrower. Casts should normally be for research or display purposes only. Permission for any other category of usage may be subject to payment of a fee to AMNH. All copyright and reproduction rights of molds and casts made from AMNH specimens remain with AMNH. Secondary creation of new casts (e.g., by creating a mold from a cast) and/or 3D scanning of a cast is prohibited without prior written permission from AMNH.

Certain categories of research (e.g. tooth micro-wear studies) require the making of temporary molds, often during the course of a visit to the collection. Such molding is subject to the same approval procedures as are used for more permanent molds, and the same restrictions on ownership and use outlined above. However, researchers may be granted an exemption from the requirement to return molds and casts to AMNH, at the discretion of the appropriate Curator-in-charge.

Preliminary approval to create dental molds during a research visit to the collections will be granted upon review of the application. All dental molding must be performed in the Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation Lab under the supervision of a preparator. The preparator will examine the specimens for suitability of molding and will give final approval to mold the specimens. The visiting researcher will be responsible for cleaning the specimen prior to and after dental molding, and returning the specimen to the collection, under the supervision of the preparator. At least two weeks prior to a scheduled visit, the visiting researcher is required to contact the collections staff so that a preparator can be assigned to work with them during their visit.