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Photograph?

Seems I still have lots of lessons to learn...

I wonder if the pictures you originally sent to the researcher would be enough to spark an interest at a local museum. If you tell the researcher once you have chosen a repository maybe he will respond. If not maybe the museum communicates with the researcher, you might ask them how they handle donations they don't have in hand yet.

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I was resisting it until now but this discussion has spurred me to email the aforementioned G. Beard who knows Dr Ward and runs one of the 3 museums that I would donate it to. Will report back what he says.

I am sure any of the 3 museums would accept the items I showed Dr Ward and Beard, but I am not in a hurry to do so until they get used in the study. I guess the lesson is take photos of everything before you loan them out! As it is I have no proof I ever owned that one.

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Someone reminded me that the donation I started this thread about was already posted on the forum years ago so I guess it doesn't matter if I give more details. Also the scientist will only publish a short note on it since there isn't enough material to identify it beyond shark brain case occipital region. I will add it to the gallery even though the ID will be incomplete.

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  • 1 month later...

Well I emailed both Beard and Ward and have received no reply from either of them in a month or more. I did not bombard them with emails (don't want to, shouldn't have to), but this worries me.

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i've concluded that there are 2 avenues to having a taxon published:

1. patiently accept the lengthy process, or

2. write it up yourself, as thusly motivated amateurs do at times.

weighing the options, at this point in my trajectory as an amateur, i guess i'm still willing to let the pros write up my donations as i place the highest premium on field time when life's obligations squeeze my schedule. that means my 10 year string of donations is in holding pattern. that suits me fine, i suppose, as i'm content just to be in the field and then prepping.

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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I would agree, but at this point I don't care if I never get a new taxon published.. but this lack of communication worries me. First I get a flurry of excitement, I invite the aforementioned specialists into my home to inspect my collection, one is taken, and then after a subsequent field trip, emails go unreplied to for more than a year. Should I expect zero replies to emails until such time as said specialist is ready to continue to work with me? The bac itself is no big deal, it's just one fossil and I have others of that species, it's the principle of the thing that matters to me. Do I need to make someone sign some sort of contract the next time I loan a specimen out? I would prefer there were some sort of protocol in place so that I did not have to take such defensive measures. (I should have at least photo'd the specimen but as my luck would have it that's the one I failed to photo.) He told me that I would be able to decide which museum that and any other donated specimens would go to, but so far I have made no such decision. I will not be willing to make any more donations if this is how it's going to be - I would just as soon sell them all and recover whatever dough I put into this hobby which I can hardly afford to do as it is.

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i empathize with your position. my willingness to deal with people (donations, site info) is influenced by all past interactions.

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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