The
International Thylacine Specimen Database (ITSD) ©
2006 (continued)
- Dr. Stephen Sleightholme -
Specimen type has been subdivided into
skins, “wet” specimens (organs, body parts, adults, pups), taxidermy mounts,
skulls, skeletons, skeletal units (individual bones) and mummified material.
Some sub fossil material and microscopy slides of prepared tissues are
also noted. Skins have been subdivided into complete and incomplete
and adult and juvenile. Skeletons have been subdivided into complete
and incomplete and wired and loose boxed. Skulls have been divided
into complete, cranium only or mandible only. Finally, a global reconciliation
of all specimens is provided together with three sub databases covering
skins, organs and taxidermy mounts.
The digital specimen images like the data
sets have been divided into their respective geographical regions.
The majority of the images are in JPEG format. They have been taken
at high resolution to allow for magnification of specimen detail on screen.
Where possible, specimens have been photographed in three planes.
The individual specimen number and the holding institution are noted for
each image.
.
| Dr
Stephen Sleightholme (ITSD Project Director) with the thylacine taxidermy
mounts in the Leiden Museum of Natural History (Naturalis) collection in
the Netherlands. Courtesy - Naturalis. |
|
The ITSD specimen
image bank comprises around 1700 images and forms the largest single photographic
resource of its kind anywhere in the world.
All of the specimen data within the ITSD
has been checked at source and the majority of the collections have been
visited in person. This has allowed for direct involvement by the
museum curators and university departmental heads in the overall construction
of the database.
In September 2005, the ITSD was awarded
the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales prestigious Whitley Award
for the best zoological database. |
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| A
series of CT (computerized tomography) scans of a thylacine skull (left)
from the Royal College of Surgeons (England) collection are included together
with 3D images and an animation of thylacine dentition. A "wet" specimen
of a thylacine brain (right) is also among the approximately 1700 images
within the ITSD. |
“I would like to thank all of the
curators and heads of department of the contributing museums and universities
for their dedicated help and support with the development of the International
Thylacine Specimen Database (ITSD) and without whose help this project
would not have been possible. I am deeply indebted to my dear friend
Professor Dr. Heinz Moeller, formerly Director of the Zoological Museum
and the Department of Comparative Morphology of Vertebrates at the University
of Heidelberg and an International authority on the zoology of the thylacine
for his help, guidance and direction in the completion phase of the ITSD
Project”.
Dr. Stephen Sleightholme
Project Director
International Thylacine
Specimen Database Project
Contact e-mail for all correspondence:
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