Imaging Procedures: Vertebrate Paleontology Collections

If the specimens are to be CT scanned at a facility outside of AMNH, they will be shipped in their CT mounts and should not be unpacked before scanning.

Follow these steps and record your progress using  this checklist. 

• Email to request permission to scan Division of Paleontology specimens from the relevant Curator-in-Charge. 
• Review and sign the user agreement below. Museum Research Associates must also sign the user agreement. Please read the terms and conditions carefully. 

User Agreement - 3D Scans VP

• Contact the Vertebrate Paleontology scanning staff and include the following in your email: 
  
  • Loan approval and/or scanning approval
  • Signed user agreements from each person who will have access to the data. 
  • Include details of your scanning project e.g. scanning date, list of AMNH specimens to be scanned and the relevant elements
• Fill out the Vertebrate Paleontology CT scan form at least two weeks in advance of your scanning date once the VP scanning staff has responded. The loan will not be shipped until the online form has been completed and approved. 

If the specimens are to be scanned at MIF at AMNH (by external researchers or non-Resident AMNH Research Associates), we require a minimum of three weeks’ notice in advance of the scanning date in order to prepare the loan. If you anticipate scanning multiple specimens, we will require a longer lead time. Scanning at MIF is done only by, for, or in conjunction with AMNH research staff.  Time slots on the micro-CT scanner at the AMNH are assigned to curators; occasionally, a curator may elect to provide some of their hours to a visiting researcher to scan AMNH specimens here, for collaborative research or for other purposes determined in advance by the pertinent curator. Please contact the relevant Curator-in-charge or the curator that you are collaborating with on research. Please note that it is only in exceptional circumstances that time on the AMNH scanner is granted to external researchers.

Follow these steps and record your progress using  this checklist.  

• Email to request permission to scan Division of Paleontology specimens from the relevant Curator-in-Charge. 
• Review and sign the user agreement below. Museum Research Associates must also sign the user agreement. Please read the terms and conditions carefully. 

User Agreement - 3D Scans VP

• Contact the staff at the Microscopy and Imaging Facility (MIF) to arrange a scanning date.
• Then contact the Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) scanning staff, including the following in your email:
  
  • Loan and scanning approval
  • Signed user agreements from each person who will have access to the data. 
  • Include details of your scanning project e.g. scanning date, list of AMNH specimens to be scanned and the relevant elements
  • The Microscopy and Imaging Facility (MIF) requires a minimum of three weeks' notice in advance of the scanning date in order to prepare the loan. If you anticipate scanning multiple specimens, we will require a longer lead time.
• Once the VP scanning staff has reviewed and approved your request, fill out the Vertebrate Paleontology CT scan format least two weeks in advance of your scanning date. The technicians at the MIF will check to see that the form has been completed prior to the commencement of your scanning appointment.
• If scanning VP specimens, they will be given to you in a CT mount. You may not unpack the specimens from their mount(s) until you have returned them to the relevant staff member in the Division.

Follow these steps and record your progress using  this checklist. 

• Email to apply for a loan from the relevant Curator-in-charge, requesting permission to scan Division of Paleontology specimens. In your email, include:
  
  • Your intent to scan the specimens
  • Scanning methods/technology
  • List the specimens requested in the body of the email, not as an attachment. Please be specific about the specimens you have chosen; due to the amount of time we require to prepare specimens for loan, we expect you to choose which specimens to scan in advance of your loan request. Please list the catalog number, taxon and element. 
• Review and sign the user agreement once you've received approval from the Curator-in-Charge.  If you require more space to list all the specimens, write "see attached" in the relevant fields and attach the list to the user agreement as a single pdf.

User Agreement - 3D Scans VP

• Once your loan and request to scan specimens have been approved, contact the Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) scanning staff and include the following your email: 
  
  • Loan and scanning approval 
  • Signed user agreements from each person who will have access to the data. 
  • Details of the specimens you wish to scan e.g. relevant elements, catalog numbers, taxa.
• Once the VP scanning staff has reviewed and approved your request, fill out the Vertebrate Paleontology CT scan form at least two weeks in advance of your scanning date. 

Follow these steps and record your progress using  this checklist. 

• Email the relevant Curator-in-Charge to indicate your interest in scanning specimens at the same time you schedule your visit. 
  
  • For the vast majority of visits, permission to surface scan specific specimens cannot be given prior to your visit. Instead, we ask that you build in time at the start of your visit to examine and select specimens that you will scan.
• Contact the Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) scanning staff to notify them of your intention to scan specimens and the dates of your visit, once your visit has been approved by the Curator-in-Charge. 
• Once you are at the Museum and have selected specimens to scan, email the Curator-in-Charge asking for permission to scan the specimens. Describe the technology to be used, and list the specimens by catalog number, taxon and element in the body of the email, not as an attachment.
• Review and sign the user agreement once you've received permission to scan the specimens from the Curator-in-Charge. If you require more space to list all the specimens, write "see attached" in the relevant fields and attach the list to the user agreement in a single pdf. Each person who will have access to the data must sign a separate user agreement. 

User Agreement - 3D Scans VP

• Contact the VP scanning staff, forwarding the scanning, forwarding the scanning approval email, and signed user agreement in a single email. Attach all user agreements to the email you will forward from the Curator-in-Charge to the VP scanning staff.

All specimens sent out on loan are assigned AMNH catalog numbers. If you are scanning a specimen at AMNH and it has a field number (e.g. PB-458) or a Frick number (e.g. CLAR-45-7896), but does not have an AMNH catalog number, please contact a staff member prior to scanning, for assignment of a catalog number. No specimens will be loaned for external scanning without prior assignment of a catalog number.

Using an example number of "12345": 

Fossil Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds: AMNH FARB 12345
Fossil Fish: AMNH FF 12345
Fossil Mammals:
 

• If the specimen was part of the Frick collection: AMNH F:AM 12345
• If the specimen was not part of the Frick collection: AMNH FM 67890

Fossil Plants: AMNH FP 12345

Please contact a staff member if you have any questions.

Prior to scanning a specimen, if scanning has been approved by the pertinent Curator-in-Charge, you will be required to complete, sign, and return the user agreement, including “Terms and Conditions for Scans of AMNH Specimens”, via email to VP scanning staff. Please read the user agreement carefully.

User Agreement - 3D Scans VP

When publishing results from your research, you must cite attribution to AMNH and cite AMNH catalog numbers, according to the guidelines above and in the Terms and Conditions for AMNH Specimen Scans.

Publication of scans and related data from AMNH's Paleontology specimens is expressly permitted only in peer-reviewed academic publications that allow AMNH to retain copyright of those data.

We only permit using Morphosource.org as an online repository for hosting scans of AMNH specimens. When using Morphosource.org, select “AMNH Vert Paleo” as the specimen’s organization. Do not modify information in the ownership and permissions section as they have already been set according to AMNH requirements. Creative Commons licensing is not allowed for AMNH specimens, unless separately agreed upon by the Museum in advance and in writing. All AMNH VP scans should be saved with the following settings in the Ownership and Permissions section:

Publication status: Restricted Download or Private (Open Download is prohibited for AMNH VP scans)
Download reviewer: [email protected]
IP holder: American Museum of Natural History
Copyright statement: In Copyright
License: none (i.e., leave blank)
MorphoSource agreement type: Standard
Permits commercial use: Commercial use not permitted
Permits 3D use: 3D printing prohibited
Required archival of published derivatives: On MorphoSource only
Funding attribution: data contributors are free to acknowledge appropriate grants
Publisher: NA
Cite as: NA
 

Transfer of both the raw data and pre-processed data (e.g. tiff, jpeg, dicom files) to AMNH must take place no later than one year from the scanning date, as detailed in the “Terms and Conditions for Scans of AMNH Specimens”.

For AMNH specimens borrowed and scanned at an external institution, the Museum will not use those scans and accompanying data, except for internal/archival use, for a period of three years from the scanning date unless otherwise agreed upon with the borrower. However, AMNH (or other AMNH-approved entities) is in no way limited or restricted from creating their own scans from the same specimens in that time period.

There is no embargo on AMNH’s use of any scans or data created from a Museum specimen at the MIF scanning facility at the American Museum of Natural History. 

Use of images of AMNH specimens is for scientific research only. Images may not be used for commercial purposes without advanced written consent from AMNH. Please contact the Curator-in-Charge if you wish to publish images for commercial use.