Collection Information
Ichthyology
Coverage- Taxonomic and Geographic
The Ichthyology Collection contains 1634 species from 239 families, in 52 orders (following Nelson, 2006).
Most of our specimens are from the freshwaters of Texas, with some marine collections from the Gulf of Mexico. Our Texas and Gulf of Mexico holdings account for 72% of our collection.
The collection also contains significant holdings from the marine and freshwaters of Mexico (2275 lots), and the freshwaters of Costa Rica (1372 lots), Venezuela (1969 lots) and Zambia (997 lots), among other countries. We have specimens from other parts of the United States as well- AK, AL, AR (393 lots), AZ, CA, CO, FL (556 lots), IL, KA, KT, LA, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OK, OR, Puerto Rico, SC, Virgin Is., WA, and WI.
Images, Distribution Maps, and Indexes to North American and Texas Freshwater Fishes
Texas drainage and aquifer maps
Texas County Highway Maps
North American Freshwater Fishes Index*
Texas Freshwater Fishes Index*
*Indices temporarily unavailable due to security issues as of 23 May 2007. Please check back later and we apologize for the inconvenience.
Type specimens
The type collection (excluding gifted specimens) includes 2 holotypes (Gambusia clarkhubbsi, and Menidia clarkhubbsi), 95 paratypes (4,037 individual specimens), and one allotype. 46 species are represented. The type specimens are housed in Fish Room 1, in a separate area from the rest of the collections. The paratypes have a red ribbon tied around the neck, the holotype a blue ribbon. Most of the older specimens are in isopropanol, and recently donated types are in 70% non-denatured ethanol. All specimens are stored in glass jars with polypropylene lids. The original card files, and type specimen literature are stored in the collection’s managers office.
Please check back in the Fall of 2010 for our type catalog.
