[Nhcoll-l] Catalog numbers for split lots

[Hannu Saarenmaa]

Hi Angela & Co

I cannot comment on fish.  But this is a common case in botany. It is 
about so-called *multi-gatherings*.  It happens that on one herbarium 
sheet several specimens may have been attached. Which may belong to 
different species (!).  When we digitize these, what do we do?

My first advice is to split them apart and attach them to different 
sheets. But that is a bit risky and could lead to a loss of the 
gathering history.

What we do in practice is to attach on the herbarium sheet multiple 
identifiers (on QR codes).   None of the original identifiers will be 
repeated but all will be preserved.   In other words, each specimen can 
carry multiple identifiers.  This is not difficult, but normal in a 
situation when an old (unsorted) collection is being digitized.  I do 
not know if this would work for fish (in liquid jars).

So my advice is abandon all old identifiers and assign a new identifier 
for each newly digitized specimen.  But also do keep the old 
identifier.  Every specimen can carry multiple identifiers.

Thanks for a good question.  We meet this every day when digitizing an 
old herbarium.

Hannu,
CEO of Bioshare Digitization, www.bioshare.com

On 2024-01-25 00:21, Angela Hornsby wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> We have a fish lot that was originally IDed to genus and cataloged as 
> such.  A researcher has followed up and IDed all individuals to 
> species, splitting cleanly into new lots.  Is there a standard guiding 
> which (if any) of these new lots should carry the original catalog 
> number and which should receive a new one?  This catalog series is 
> strictly integers, so I can't assign 123A, 123B, etc. without changing 
> the series format and affecting other things (working in Arctos).
>
> Thanks for your thoughts.
>
> -- 
> Angela Hornsby, Ph.D.
> Zoological Collections Manager (MMNH / JFBM)
> Bell Museum
> University of Minnesota
> https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/zoological-collections/
>
>
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-- 
Hannu Saarenmaa, CEO
Bioshare Digitizationwww.bioshare.com
--Branch of Sertifer Consulting Oy Ltd
Kappalaisentie 2, 82900 Ilomantsi, Finland
Tel +358-401750427hannu at bioshare.com
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