Specimen Collection

Size and scope of the collection

The collection comprises mainly coastal and estuarine fishes of South Carolina and the South Atlantic Bight. There are approximately 100,000 specimens of juveniles and adults represent 213 families with about 1,320 species. The collection also includes about 350,000 specimens of larval fishes, representing 151 families and 476 species. The larval material accounts for about 30,000 of the 40,500 lots in the collection. About 5,000 lots of marine invertebrates representing a broad array of taxonomic diversity are also housed in the collection facility. Current collecting protocol includes preservation of selected whole specimens or tissue samples in 95% ethanol or sarcosyl-urea.

Utility of the collection

The specimens housed in the collection are used in research projects at the Grice Marine Laboratory, as a reference base for the research community, and play a significant role in undergraduate and graduate instruction. Numerous publications and graduate theses have resulted from study of housed material.

Curator: Antony S. Harold, Ph.D.
Office Phone: 843.953.9180
Lab Phone: 843.953.9181
Fax: 843.953.9199
Email: harolda@cofc.edu