The North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences' mammal collection, curated by Lisa Gatens, contains approximately 18,000 specimens and is one of the largest regional mammal collections in the southeast. The specimens are primarily from North Carolina and the Southeastern United States. The collection contains significant historical and recent holdings of all North American orders. Holdings are especially strong in Chiroptera, Rodentia, Carnivora, Cetacea, Sirenia and Soricimorpha.
Collection materials include study skins, tanned hides, skulls, complete skeletons, and fluid-preserved material. A special collection, arranged by element (type of bone), is maintained to facilitate identification of mammal remains from zooarcheological and food habits studies. The collection contains some interesting articulated skeletons including a manatee and five great whales (Blue, Right, Humpback, Sperm and True's Beaked Whale) that are on exhibit. Our holdings of marine mammals include over 184 individuals in 27 species representing 9 families and 3 orders.
History
Early acquisitions were made by H.H. Brimley and C.S. Brimley, the Museum's cofounders and first curators. Although some specimens date to the early 20th century the collection really began to grow in the 1960s beginning with the efforts of David Adams. David Lee, former Curator of Birds, and former Museum director John Funderburg are responsible for considerable growth during the 1970s. The collection has grown steadily since the 1960s. Mary K. Clark was added to the staff as the first full-time mammal employee in 1980. A full-time collection manager was added in the late 1990s.
Staff
Care of the collection is the responsibility of the permanent staff of the mammal unit, consisting of Curator Lisa Gatens and Collection Manager Benjamin Hess. The permanent staff is often assisted by temporary staff, interns and volunteers. The mammal staff works closely with many universities, agencies and other institutions to acquire specimens for the collection.
Please direct loan or visitation inquiries to Curator of Mammals Lisa Gatens at lisa.gatens@ncdenr.gov or 919.733.7450 x727.
Staff Web Pages
- Lisa Gatens, Curator of Mammals
- Benjamin Hess, Collections Manager of Mammals
Links
- Hibernation devastation: white-nose syndrome and our bats
- Bat Conservation International
- Southeastern Bat Diversity Network
- Cetacean Society International
- Mammal Species of the World
- Manatee Information - Florida Marine Research Institute
- The American Society of Mammalogists
