mammal_catalog2.xlsxExcel File of Catalogued Mammal Collections
Mammal Collection
The mammal collection is housed in Room 330 of Lappin Hall, along with bird collections. Holdings include about 1300 catalogued lots, about evenly divided between specimens of (1) skulls; (2) study skins; and (3) whole specimens in ethanol. There are about 100 lots (mostly shrews and bats) collected from the Daniel Boone National Forest in the 1980s that are uncatalogued. Most of our mammals specimens come from Kentucky. The collection is comprised of 22 families and 75 species, which are most of the species known from Kentucky. The collection is primarily the work of Dr. Les Meade, who served as the mammalogist at Morehead from the 1980s to early 2000s. In 2013-2014, the ailing collection was "rescued" by Dr. David Eisenhour, who curated and reorganized much of Dr. Meade's collections. David has recorded most of the available collection information on an Excel spreadsheet (see link above).
Geographic Area of Coverage: Primarily East Kentucky, especially in the Daniel Boone National Forest, but there are specimens from other states, including Alabama, California, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.
Time Period: There are several specimens collected by Welter from the 1930s, but most specimens were collected by Dr. Les Meade and James Kiser in the 1980s and 1990s. Dr. Les Meade taught Mammalogy and other vertebrate courses for over 20 years at Morehead State University and directed many student projects involving mammals.
Storage: All specimens are stored in Lappin Hall, room 330. This room also serves as store for bird skins and some pinned insects, research space for student-animal projects, and as a teaching lab for several courses. Study skins and skulls are stored on trays in metal cabinets (see photos above). Generally, specimens are grouped by family and species, although space limitations requires some flexibility to this procedure. Fluid-stored specimens are in 70% ethanol, and again are grouped according to family and species.
Cataloguing System: Nearly all specimens have been assigned a catalogue number. Currently, all records are stored in a card file system, arranged alphabetically by species. We recently recorded all card catalog information electronically and have made this available in an excel spreadsheet.
Time Period: There are several specimens collected by Welter from the 1930s, but most specimens were collected by Dr. Les Meade and James Kiser in the 1980s and 1990s. Dr. Les Meade taught Mammalogy and other vertebrate courses for over 20 years at Morehead State University and directed many student projects involving mammals.
Storage: All specimens are stored in Lappin Hall, room 330. This room also serves as store for bird skins and some pinned insects, research space for student-animal projects, and as a teaching lab for several courses. Study skins and skulls are stored on trays in metal cabinets (see photos above). Generally, specimens are grouped by family and species, although space limitations requires some flexibility to this procedure. Fluid-stored specimens are in 70% ethanol, and again are grouped according to family and species.
Cataloguing System: Nearly all specimens have been assigned a catalogue number. Currently, all records are stored in a card file system, arranged alphabetically by species. We recently recorded all card catalog information electronically and have made this available in an excel spreadsheet.
Last updated 10 January 2023