Florida Museum of Natural History Vertebrate Paleontology Archives

Scope, Content, and Purpose of the Collection

This archive contains numerous different forms of physical and digital materials, including field notes, general files, compact disks, 2 x 2 slides, photographs, and related materials as enumerated in the series below.

The VP collections are a major national and international natural history resource of more than one million specimens, about 60% of which have been digitally cataloged in Specify. By various metrics, including the size of collections and research done on it, the VP collections rank within the top 2 to 3 of their kind (for university-based natural history museums within the US). For a history of this program see:

The rationale and purposes of the VP Archives are to:

  1. Provide archival materials that support, enhance, and clarify the research capabilities of the VP collections and specimens contained therein.
  2. Document persons who have worked on and/or contributed to the VP collections.

The purpose of this collection is to curate (cull, conserve, aggregate, and document) all original, mostly physical, VP archival materials. We realize that the next step would be to digitize these resources. This digitization process, however, is outside the intended scope of the current effort.

Dates of Archival Collection Materials: 1904-2024

Note: These archives mostly contain materials from the 2nd half of the 20th century through the first quarter of the 21st century. It should be noted, however, that during the latter part of the first quarter of the 21st century, original physical archives (e.g., photos, slides, and documents) were replaced, either partially or entirely, with primary digital resources.

Number of Series and Files: 9 Series, containing a total of, at last update, 41 Files/Boxes and 1,006 Items

Language of Materials: English

Abstract of Archive Collection: This archive contains curated and combined physical and some digital records and materials that have mostly accumulated over the past ca. 70 years since the VP Division started at the FLMNH.

Administrative History: The Division of Vertebrate Paleontology has been, and continues to be, an active research, collections, training, education, and outreach program within the FLMNH (Department of Natural History). More relevant information about VP can be found at: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/

Acknowledgments

This archive was created, assembled, and curated from materials and resources that have been aggregated over the years by various individuals associated with the VP division and its collections. The original creation of the VP archives was led by Bruce J. MacFadden in 2024, just prior to his retirement. Dr. MacFadden also acknowledges the numerous people who have helped in the creation of the VP archives, including Alexa Neilson (student assistant), Charles O’Connor (volunteer), Jeff Gage (FLMNH Photography), and Kate Smith and Sarah Coates (UF libraries). We also hereby thank the many participants and contributors to the VP program that have chronicled their research and collections activities through their field notes, photographs, and other relevant archival materials.

Location

Florida Museum of Natural History, Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) Division, Dickinson Hall, University of Florida

Access

This collection is open to researchers and others interested in learning more about materials and documentation assembled in support of the VP Collection and the people who worked in, or contributed to, the VP Collection.

View the 119 page PDF for detailed information about our holdings: FLMNH Vertebrate Paleontology Archives

Contacts and Responsible Persons in Charge

This copy was completed in August 2024 by: