Collections Improvement of Vertebrate Fossils at the Denver Museum of Natural History

丹佛自然历史博物馆（DMNH）的脊椎动物化石（VF）是研究西部内陆地区生命史的重要资源。藏品中约有37,000个标本，包括52个全模标本和许多具有重要科学意义的新生代和中生代标本组合。亮点包括恐龙和哺乳动物骨骼化石，北美早期人类遗址的原始福尔松野牛和登特猛犸象遗骸，大平原渐新世和中新世的收藏品，以及越来越多的侏罗纪，古近纪和更新世的收藏品。大部分藏品是在1947年之前收集的，但过去三年的野外工作增加了大约5500个标本。1989年，DMNH的地球科学系开始努力改善收集的条件并增加其用于科学研究的可用性。在过去三年中，部分藏品被放置在新的钢柜中，5 000个新标本被编目，大约3 000个标本被输入计算机化数据库。此外，DMNH还购买了新的研究和收藏管理设备和用品，增加了专门从事古生物学的长期工作人员的数量，从1988年的0.33 FTE增加到4.25 FTE，建造了一个新的实验室，并将VF藏品的存储空间增加了一倍多。虽然最近DMNH的支助大大改善了藏品的状况，但大约四分之三的藏品状况仍很差。大部分旧藏品都没有得到妥善的管理。其中约80%从未被编目或清点，70%被安置在拥挤的木柜或不稳定的钢架中。几乎所有的旧集合仍然有原始的字段标签和与之相关的杂项注释。虽然大部分的藏品已经准备好了，但许多标本已经破损，需要修复和保护。这个DMNH项目将对旧馆藏进行编目、计算机化和修复，使它们更容易用于研究，并允许其持续增长。主要需求是节省空间的橱柜和压实机、计算机硬件、手动叉车，以及额外的人员，以便在两年的时间内将整个脊椎动物化石收藏提高到现代标准。

The collection of vertebrate fossils (VF) at the Denver Museum of Natural History (DMNH) is an important resource for research on the history of life in the Western Interior region. There are approximately 37,000 specimens in the collection, including 52 holotypes and a number of scientifically important assemblages from the Cenozoic and Mesozoic. Highlights include fossil dinosaur and mammal skeletons, the original Folsom Bison and Dent mammoth remains from early human sites in North America, Oligocene and Miocene collections from the Great Plains, and growing Jurassic, Paleogene, and Pleistocene collections. Most of the collection was amassed prior to 1947, but field work over the past three years has added about 5,500 specimens. In 1989, the Department of Earth Sciences (DES) at DMNH began efforts to improve the condition of the collection and increase its availability for scientific research. In the past three years, part of the collection has been placed in new steel cabinets, 5,000 new specimens have been cataloged, and approximately 3,000 specimens have been entered into a computerized data base. In addition, DMNH has purchased new research and collection management equipment and supplies, increased the number of permanent staff dedicated to paleontology from 0.33 FTE in 1988 to 4.25 FTE, constructed a new laboratory, and more than doubled the storage space for the VF collections. Although recent DMNH support has improved the condition of the collections considerably, approximately three-fourths remain in poor condition. The bulk of the older collections have not been properly curated. Approximately 80% of them have never been cataloged or inventoried and 70% are housed in overcrowded conditions within wooden cabinetry or unstable steel shelving. Almost all of the older collections still have original field labels and miscellaneous notes associated with them. Although most of the collection has been prepared, many specimens are broken and in need of repair and conservation. This DMNH project will catalog, computerize and restore the older collections to make them more available for research and allow for continued growth. Primary needs are for space efficient cabinets and compactors, computer hardware, an hand-operated forklift, and additional personnel to curate and computerize specimens over two years to bring the entire vertebrate fossil collection up to modern standards.