DIGITIZATION OF THE TYPE COLLECTION AT COLECCION NACIONAL DE PALEONTOLOGIA, UNAM: EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED

As part of the scientific collections of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), the Colección Nacional de Paleontología (CNP) at the Instituto de Geología, digitized the Type Collection, including type and voucher specimens of vertebrates and invertebrates. This collection contains historical specimens collected during the foundation of the first geologic institute of the country at the beginning of the XX Century. The goal of the project is to completely digitize the Type Collection, including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and microfossils to make it worldwide available via UNIPALEO and Portal de Datos Abiertos UNAM (Open Data Portal UNAM).

Within this project, a photographer, an image editing technician, and both curator and data manager are involved. Over almost six years, we have information available of 10500 specimens and images of 8000 of them. To achieve this, we follow specific procedures for data management. Also, we developed procedures for the photography and image editing depending upon the size and specimen type. This project is funded by the Instituto de Geología and the Dirección General de Repositorios Universitarios (DGRU), both of the UNAM. These data will allow scientists to describe and understand how the environment has changed along the geologic time and to answer biologic, evolutionary, climatic, geologic, etc. aspects of our world.

To the present day, the digitization of the type material continues and is one of the main projects of the CNP. In this contribution, we present the current status of this project and the work method. We make emphasis on the advances and challenges that the collection had faced.