Digitization PEN: Digitizing the Fossil Insects of LA: Critical Additions to the Fossil Insect Collaborative

该项目的主要目标是将来自美国、德国和加拿大的五个昆虫化石收藏数字化。这些努力将使近27,000个新的标本记录可以在网上数字化。总体而言，这些数据将通过填补现有数据集的空白来补充之前获奖的化石昆虫合作(FIC)数字化(FIC)TCN，并使感兴趣的公众和研究界更明显地看到这些原本难以获取的集合。这些信息将有助于当前的研究，目的是在过去、现在和未来的环境中更好地了解全球最多样化的动物群体。该项目的成果将通过博物馆活动和K-12课堂规划、与当地业余古生物学家的持续合作以及FIC-TCN开发的其他教育资源(包括iDigPaleo)向公众传播。通过该奖项将被数字化的昆虫化石收藏包括来自德国渐新世Rott地层(“STATZ集合”)的压缩化石、来自加利福尼亚州中新世Barstow地层的硅化昆虫、来自加利福尼亚州兰乔拉布雷亚和McKitrick更新世沉积物的沥青保存的昆虫，以及不列颠哥伦比亚省林恩克里克的褐煤相关昆虫。值得注意的是，这些收藏基本上是历史性的，包括1819个模式标本，几十年来国际研究界一直无法进行分类重新评估。此外，在了解与全球气候变化有关的昆虫化石多样性趋势(FIC-TCN的主要研究主题)方面，Rott动物群是一个重要的校准点，而Barstow动物群在区划上是独特的，因为它包括三维硅化昆虫身体化石。数字化将涉及对10,906个标本进行编目，并选择性地对6,207个标本进行成像，以及在这次数据汇总中提供来自拉布雷亚焦油坑和博物馆的另外15,684个标本记录，所有这些都将通过生物多样性收藏数字化国家资源(http://www.idigbio.com).)在线提供

The primary goal of this project is to digitize five fossil insect collections from the United States, Germany, and Canada. These efforts will make nearly 27,000 new specimen records digitally available online. Collectively, these data will complement the previously awarded Fossil Insect Collaborative (FIC) Digitization (FIC) TCN by filling gaps in the existing dataset, and make these otherwise difficult to access collections significantly more visible to the interested public and research community. This information will facilitate current research aimed at better understanding the globally most diverse group of animals in the context of past, present, and future environments. Results of this project will be communicated to the public through museum events and K-12 classroom programming, ongoing partnership with local avocational paleontologists, and other educational resources developed by the FIC-TCN, including iDigPaleo.The fossil insect collections to be digitized through this award include compression fossils from the Oligocene Rott Formation ("Statz Collection") of Germany, silicified insects from the Miocene Barstow Formation of California, asphalt-preserved insects from the Pleistocene deposits of Rancho La Brea and McKittrick in California, and lignite-associated insects of Lynn Creek, British Columbia. Notably, these collections are largely historic in nature and include 1,819 type specimens that have been inaccessible for taxonomic re-evaluation by the international research community for decades. Further, the Rott fauna represents an important calibration point in understanding fossil insect diversity trends with respect to global climate transitions (the primary research theme of the FIC-TCN), and the Barstow fauna is taphonomically distinct, as it includes three-dimensionally silicified insect body fossils. Digitization will involve cataloging 10,906 specimens and selectively imaging 6,207 specimens, as well as making available an additional 15,684 specimen records from the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in this data aggregation, all of which will be made available online via the national resource for Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections (http://www.idigbio.com).