Collections & Loans
Collections
The Southeastern Louisiana University Vertebrate Museum is a predominantly wet collection, housing jars of preserved fishes, reptiles, and amphibians. The collection is divided into 3 sections: Ichthyology, Herpetology, and Mammalogy & Ornithology. We also have a tissue database for fishes and herps as well.
Ichthyology (Fish) Collection
The collection of fishes is the largest and fastest growing of the collections in the SLU Vertebrate Museum. We have over 7,000 lots of fishes, containing some 85,000 specimens. Our holdings are rich in native species from southern Louisiana (particularly the Florida Parishes and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin) and adjacent regions. Additionally, we have large collections of freshwater fishes from Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.
In addition to the fluid specimens, we have over 2,000 archived tissue samples from fishes for genetic analyses. Most of the tissue samples have corresponding voucher specimens archived in the collection.
Herpetology (Reptile and Amphibian) Collection
The majority of the collection consists of specimens from the southern United States, particularly southern Louisiana. We also have moderately large holdings of specimens from the western United States and the West Indies.
In addition to fluid specimens, we have a collection of amphibian and reptile tissue samples for genetic analyses. Most of these tissue samples have corresponding voucher specimens in the fluid collection. We also have a histological (slide) collection for studies of reproductive anatomy in amphibians and reptiles.
The museum is also home to the Harold A. Dundee Herpetological Library, a collection of thousands of biological books, journals, and reprints, particularly herpetological texts.
Mammalogy & Ornithology (Mammal and Bird) Collection
The museum maintains a collection of birds and mammal skins, almost exclusively from the local area. These collections have received little growth since the 1970's but we have several hundred specimens, and corresponding skulls for most of the mammal skins. We would like to collaborate with local scientists to grow this collection. Please contact danielle.wasserman@selu.edu for information and inquiries.
LOANS
Direct all loan requests to Curator Dr. Kyle Piller (kyle.piller@southeastern.edu).
Include a letter outlining the research project, specimens requested, and a detailed description of what will be done with the specimens (e.g., manipulations, dissections, microscopy).
Do not hesitate to contact the museum staff for inquiries of our holdings, but the museum holdings are uploaded to online collection repositories (listed below).
When referencing specimens from the Southeastern Louisiana University Vertebrate Museum for a manuscript, be sure that the specimens are referred to in the correct format. The prefix for catalog numbers at Southeastern is "SLU" not "Southeastern". See the ASIHStandard Symbolic Codes for Institutional Resource Collections in Herpetology & Ichthyology for standard institutional abbreviations.
