Marine specimens Octopus huttoni, Cask Shell Tonna cerevisina
I was asked today whether we already have any specimens in Auckland Museum from the Kermadecs.
The answer is yes. We have nearly 6,000. This may sound like a high number, but compared with the diversity of the Kermadecs we have only a small representation in our collections.
Our specimens are organised in ‘specimen lots’ – each lot is a species from one location and may consist of one or more specimens.
We have about 1,000 lots of shallow-water molluscs and 225 lots of corals and anemones, which is a reasonable representation of the diversity of the islands for these two animal groups.
But for all other groups we have very poor records. For example we have only 35 lots of echinoderms (seastars and urchins and their friends), 24 lots of crabs and barnacles and relatives, 8 species of fish, 6 lots of bryozoans, and 5 lots of algae.
These poorly-represented groups will be where we will focus our efforts, hoping to discover new species records for New Zealand or new species yet to be described. Wish us luck!
