Natural history collection of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago (NMAGTT)

Ariel Dalrymple1, Lorraine Johnson2, Mike Rutherford3, Jennalee Ramnarine4, Amy Deacon1

1 The University of the West Indies, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, St. Augustine, Trinidad And Tobago; 2 National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago, Frederick Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad, Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago; 3 The University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, Glasgow, United Kingdom; 4 The University of the West Indies Zoology Museum, St. Augustine, Trinidad And Tobago

Corresponding author(s): Ariel Dalrymple (ariel_dalrymple@yahoo.com)Lorraine Johnson (lorraine.johnson@gov.tt)Mike Rutherford (mike.rutherford@glasgow.ac.uk)Jennalee Ramnarine (jennalee.ramnarine@sta.uwi.edu), Amy Deacon (amy.deacon@sta.uwi.edu)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Dalrymple A, Johnson L, Rutherford M, Ramnarine J, Deacon A (2023). Natural history collection of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago (NMAGTT). Version 1.0. Test Organization #1. Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.gbif.org/resource?r=nmagttnaturalhistorycollection&v=1.0

Abstract

This dataset contains the natural history specimens of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago. The collection is composed of 589 specimens. In 2014, the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad & Tobago transferred their off-display natural history specimens to the UWIZM. As a result, these specimens are currently stored in the Zoology Room of the UWIZM.

Keywords: Occurrence, Specimen

Project details

Project title: Improving national biodiversity data accessibility in Trinidad and Tobago
Personnel: Amy Deacon, Ariel Dalrymple, Lorraine Johnson
Funding: Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) is a multi-year programme funded by the European Union and led by GBIF with the aim of enhancing capacity for effective mobilization and use of biodiversity data in research and policy in the ‘ACP’ nations of sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. More information: https://www.gbif.org/programme/82243/bid-biodiversity-information-for-development

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.org/resource?r=nmagttnaturalhistorycollection

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: All specimens belong to Kingdom: Animalia. Specimens were identified from family – species level.
Taxonomic ranks
Class: Actinopterygii, Amphibia, Aves, Elasmobranchii, Mammalia, Reptilia, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Gastropoda

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: This collection consists of a variety of zoological specimens. It includes many from Trinidad and Tobago, as well as others from the wider Caribbean and some from the continents of North America, South America and Australia.
Coordinates: 47°0'0''S and 28°0'0''N Latitude; 82°0'0''W and 178°3'24.48''E Longitude 

Temporal coverage: January 1, 1918 - January 1, 1992

Natural collections description

Collection name: Natural history collection of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago (NMAGTT)
Specimen preservation method: Formalin
Specimen preservation method: Dried
Specimen preservation method: Alcohol

Methods

Method step description: Laboratory work:
Fluid specimens were either desiccated or poorly preserved so each specimen was dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Most of the specimens were thought to be preserved in formalin but there were no object records to confirm this. Those with remaining fluid were re-fixed in formalin and stepped up in alcohol. Careful consideration was given to whether desiccated specimens were worth rehydrating. Some were left as dried specimens while others were revived through a simple rehydration technique using the detergent Contrad 70. The general process for this was as follows:
1.	The specimen was placed in a heat-resistant container and completely covered with rehydrating fluid. 
2.	The container was covered and warmed to about 30-40°C on a hot plate. 
3.	The specimen was occasionally agitated to release gas bubbles. 
4.	When the specimen appeared to be rehydrated i.e. seen by the gradual re-expansion of cytoplasm and cell membranes, it was removed from the fluid and immersed in de-ionized water. 
5.	The specimen was rinsed in de-ionized water to remove any excess rehydrating fluid
6.	Depending on the state of the specimen at this stage, they were either re-fixed or stepped up in alcohol. 
Digitising work: 
1. Specimens in the collection were assessed for existing data (labels in jars, details in registers, etc.)
2. Identifications were confirmed or made using a variety of literature sources (scientific papers, books, online resources) 
3. Specimens were photographed and properly stored 
4. The data (information and photographs) were uploaded to the UWIZM Past Perfect database
Study extent description: Global
Sampling description: Specimens were mainly collected by hand, and brought to the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago.
Quality control description: Specimen identifications were checked by the UWIZM.

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Natural history collection of the National Museum and Art Gallery of Trinidad and Tobago (NMAGTT)
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.org/archive.do?r=nmagttnaturalhistorycollection
Publication date of data: 2023-04-19
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2023-03-17
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Gallus gallus domesticus Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed 7th June 2022. https://www.darwinfoundation.org/en/datazone/checklist?species=5091
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed 7th June 2022. https://www.itis.gov/
Catalogue of Life. Accessed 7th June 2022. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/
World Register of Marine Species. Accessed 7th June 2022. https://www.marinespecies.org/
Mollusca Base. Accessed 7th June 2022. https://www.molluscabase.org/