PALEOBOTANICAL COLLECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS: COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

Natural history collections provide a wealth of information that is critical in understanding the complex diversity of past and present organismal life. The paleobotanical collections at the University of Kansas, Division of Paleobotany, Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum (KUPB) were begun in the late 1800s, but did not become a separate division until 1995. The collections have grown considerably since then, driven by research collections and the acquisition of orphaned materials. Currently KUPB houses a diverse assemblage of period-specific specimens (~33,000) from around the world and has probably the world’s largest collection of fossil plants from Antarctica. Plant preservational modes include calcium carbonate (coal ball), silicified, and pyritic permineralizations and petrifactions, as well as compression-impression fossils and palynology samples. Ancillary materials comprise microscope slides (~37,000), cellulose acetate peel preparations (~12,000), figured negatives (~7000), palynological residues, and digital images (~25,000). This unique array of media has presented challenges in storage, preparation, and dissemination of data. Storage space was maximized with the use of a compactor system, standard collection protocol is modified according to need, and web-distributed collection information (http://paleobotany.bio.ku.edu/default.htm) was databased using FileMaker Pro®. Data available online include preservation type, taxonomic, geographic, geologic, and collector information, and captured images of figured negatives; all are searchable using a variety of parameters. Additionally, KUPB maintains an online Bibliography of Paleobotany which currently numbers ~74,000 entries. The KUPB Collections have had full-time dedicated care for over a decade and this has provided security, stability, and availability of research and teaching materials to the paleobotanical community. The value of this level of care cannot be overstated and should be a priority for those institutions housing data-rich collections. Currently we are collaborating with other paleobotanists to develop a program to digitize and connect other paleobotany collections in North America with a single search interface, as has been done for many other natural history collections.