I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
I bought a ring light, experimented with it. Now time to re-photo the type specimens for publication.
I cannot find them.
This shouldn't be hard- all specimens, drawer after drawer after drawer, are collated chronologically.
And the last drawer ends just before the capture dates of the type pair. So I'm actually missing an entire #*^%@# drawer.
I can't imagine anyone came and stole it, and I never took it out of the house.
Arrrrgggghhhh!
I cannot find them.
This shouldn't be hard- all specimens, drawer after drawer after drawer, are collated chronologically.
And the last drawer ends just before the capture dates of the type pair. So I'm actually missing an entire #*^%@# drawer.
I can't imagine anyone came and stole it, and I never took it out of the house.
Arrrrgggghhhh!
Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
!!!!!! Dude. I hope you locate them. If not, you can always just find another one and designate that as a holotype…as annoying as that might be. Or if you want, I can designate one from my collection.
- adamcotton
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Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
Presumably you put the drawer somewhere easy to access, and have just forgotten where you put it.
Hopefully you will find it soon.
Adam.
Hopefully you will find it soon.
Adam.
- livingplanet3
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Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
I hope your specimens turn up, and are simply misplaced somewhere in the house; it must be an extremely frustrating situation.
Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
Check the drawer dates. Maybe you mixed up the chronological order.
Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
Thanks guys for your compassion.
This all started actually a couple days ago when I couldn't find them.
Yesterday I made a concerted effort to find them. I went through all my NA Papilio drawers (minus the machaon-types) looking. Four times. Studied each drawer. Nothing.
As you probably observed, I was frustrated.
I've learned when something doesn't make sense, and you can't make sense of it, walk away and give it time. Last year I was re-mating two mechanical assemblies and suddenly they wouldn't go together. I pushed, I tried again, I tried and tried. I used a rubber mallet- no go. I pulled out the steel hammer and thought- wait, I'd better put this down. The next day they inexplicably slid together.
And so today. I pulled out suspect drawer #1 and looked again. No go based on chronological date. I was was looking at unique morphological characteristics when I noticed one specimen had an extra pink label. Ah hah. There must be another one- and sure there was. As it turns out, in writing the description paper I had recorded the wrong day one one specimen, and was exactly one year off on the other! There was no error in my collating- it was the human error in transcribing label to keyboard.
So I'm good. Now just have to take new photos (after all that.)
This all started actually a couple days ago when I couldn't find them.
Yesterday I made a concerted effort to find them. I went through all my NA Papilio drawers (minus the machaon-types) looking. Four times. Studied each drawer. Nothing.
As you probably observed, I was frustrated.
I've learned when something doesn't make sense, and you can't make sense of it, walk away and give it time. Last year I was re-mating two mechanical assemblies and suddenly they wouldn't go together. I pushed, I tried again, I tried and tried. I used a rubber mallet- no go. I pulled out the steel hammer and thought- wait, I'd better put this down. The next day they inexplicably slid together.
And so today. I pulled out suspect drawer #1 and looked again. No go based on chronological date. I was was looking at unique morphological characteristics when I noticed one specimen had an extra pink label. Ah hah. There must be another one- and sure there was. As it turns out, in writing the description paper I had recorded the wrong day one one specimen, and was exactly one year off on the other! There was no error in my collating- it was the human error in transcribing label to keyboard.
So I'm good. Now just have to take new photos (after all that.)
- kevinkk
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Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
I'm glad you sorted it out Chuck.
What I typically do from time to time, is rearrange things, and put them in "better" places. That's when they go missing.
What I typically do from time to time, is rearrange things, and put them in "better" places. That's when they go missing.
Re: I can't find my #@%*& type specimens!
I broke down and spent a weekend doing that last year. What a nightmare. I'd been sticking specimens wherever they fit physically, and I had taxa spread all over in the wrong places. If you want to talk about "can't find" god I had it. But I have the same problems w/ institutional collections- a taxa spread between the primary collection, a donated personally collection, pro tem, and "wherever" so it's not just me.
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