Transfer of UALP San Juan Vertebrate Collection to the NMMNH

The University of Arizona Laboratory of Paleontology (UALP) collected Late Cretaceous (Judithian and Lancian), early Paleocene (Puercan and Torrejonian), and early Eocene (Wasatchian) vertebrates from BLM lands of the San Juan Basin in the 1970’s from over 400 localities. Most specimens are accompanied by precise locality information based on plots on USGS 7.5’ maps. These collections were utilized in numerous theses, dissertations, and scientific publications. However, for approximately the last decade, the University of Arizona had stored the collection off campus among various facilities, making it nearly inaccessible to researchers. Ultimately, the University of Arizona (UA) agreed to transfer this collection to the NMMNH. In September 2005, a crew from the NMMNH traveled to Tucson to pack up and move this collection to Albuquerque. Specimens were stored offsite in two different storage areas; one a commercial storage facility and the other, the Duval Street garage building. A rented U-Haul truck was loaded with storage cabinets at the NMMNH and driven to Tucson. The packing and transfer of specimens were accomplished in just three days. The specimens have subsequently been cataloged into the NMMNH collection (a total of over 2,800 cataloged specimens). The locality database has also been incorporated into that of the NMMNH. In addition, the UTM coordinates have been estimated for all locality plots so that data can be easily shared between agencies and utilized for land-use decisions.