Publish before they perish: Dealing with privately-owned specimens in palaeontology

Abstract

The question of whether it should be permissible to publish palaeontological specimens kept in private collections is a contentious issue. Many colleagues and scientific journals tend to reject publication of such specimens, mainly based on two objections: that private collectors fail to collect or keep important contextual data, and that such specimens are in permanent danger of being lost to science, endangering the repeatability of results. I argue here that both of these arguments are fallacious, as they are a) not only applicable to specimens in private collections, but also to material in many public collections, and b) scientific importance and repeatability of results does not entirely depend on contextual data and availability of actual specimens. More importantly, however, this issue touches on a more essential principle in science in general, the incorporation of all available data - and not only a selection - in hypothesis formation. Thus, I consider proper publication and detailed documentation of data gained from privately-owned specimens to be preferable over willfully ignoring relevant scientific data simply on the basis of the repository of the respective specimens.