1. National Paleontological Collection
Ian Raine
Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences

2. National Paleontological Collection
Largest NZ paleontology collection
Origin c with Colonial Museum
Later NZ Geological Survey, GNS
Specimens collected in support of
geological mapping
coal and petroleum prospecting
PGST, Marsden, thesis research
Some bequests, gifts, purchases, orphans
Type specimens, reference, and general

3. National Paleontological Collection
+ Hundreds of accessions per year
+ Thousands of specimens of modern reference material

4. National Paleontological Collection
Uses
Research and consultancy in:
Taxonomy
Paleobiology
Biostratigraphy
Geological mapping
Subsurface stratigraphy for water, coal, hydrocarbons
Paleoenvironments / paleoclimates
Physical truth for observations
Preserves scarce scientific resource
Repository for type specimens (ICZN-ICBN)

5. National Paleontological Collection
Information Release
Research publications
Species lists in Fossil Record database
Loan of specimens
General information on web site

6. National Paleontological Collection
Issues
Macrofossil specimen preparation is time-consuming and not well-funded
External users lack funding
Many collection management records still paper-based
Old collections need re-curation
Reference collection needs databasing
No recent catalogues of type material
Status as national collection?