University of Texas, Biodiversity Center, Ichthyology Collection (TNHCi)

The Texas Natural History Collections (TNHC) are administratively part of the Biodiversity Center, in the Department of Integrative Biology of the University of Texas (UT Austin). The Ichthyology Collection (TNHCi, formerly TNHC) includes over 70,000 lots that contain over 1,500,000 specimens. Most of those are “wet” collections, with specimens initially fixed in 10% formalin and permanently stored in 70% ethanol. The oldest specimens were collected in 1912 but a very strong peak in collection activity in Texas from 1950–1980 reflects the work of Dr. Clark Hubbs and his lab. More recently, collections by Dean Hendrickson’s lab and a diversity of collectors from UT Austin and other Texas academic institutions, as well as state and federal agencies (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), United States Geological Survey (USGS)) continue to contribute to growth, as does the Hendrickson Lab’s Fishes of Texas Project (www.fishesoftexas.org), primarily funded by TPWD. We have a small collection of larval fishes (in 10% formalin) from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and an osteological collection with 800 cleared and stained specimens (including all Texas species) and 500 dry skeletons. Many of the skeletal specimens originate from W. W. Dalquest (Midwestern University) and his students. Our >2,000 tissue samples in vials with 100% ethanol are stored in liquid nitrogen in the Biodiversity Center’s Genetic Resources Collection. Most are linked to whole preserved specimens. Our type specimens include 3 holotypes, 116 paratypes, and 1 allotype. Collections acquired from other institutions include that of the University of Texas at Austin’s Marine Science Institute (>3,000 lots, acquired in 1990), Midwestern University (2000, >1,400 lots), Texas Tech University (>1,300 lots, 2000), Texas A&M University Kingsville (>5,200 lots), University of Texas at Brownsville (>1,100 lots) and Lamar University (~1,200 lots). Large accessions remaining to be cataloged include (but are not limited to) collections provided by Dr. Robert Edwards (state-wide with focus on Rio Grande and coast), Dr. Tim Bonner (State-wide, with focus on Brazos), Matthew Acre (~1,800 larval specimens from the Trinity River), TPWD (state-wide), Seiji Miyazono (Pecos), Bill Birkhead (Mexico), and TCEQ (state-wide).