Vertebrate Collections
The Vertebrate Collections Manager position is temporarily vacant. If you need assistance, contact Elizabeth Makings, Collections Manager of vascular plants, or Dr. Jay Taylor, Associate Curator of Ornithology. The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) Biorepository Vertebrate Collections are managed by Laura Steger, NEON Environmental and Zoological Collections Manager, and Azhar Husain, NEON Cryo Collections Manager. As of January 2025, our holdings consist of:
- The ASUNHC Herpetology Collection (ASUHEC) contains approximately 38,000 specimens representing more than 900 species.
- The ASUNHC Ichthyology Collection (ASUFIC) contains approximately 22,000 lots representing more than 580 species.
- The ASUNHC Mammalogy Collection (ASUMAC) contains approximately 9,300 specimens representing more than 160 species.
- The ASUNHC Ornithology Collection (ASUORC) contains approximately 2,000 specimens representing more than 300 species
- The ASUNHC Vertebrate Tissue Collection (ASUVTC) contains approximately 2,100 samples representing more than 90 species.
- The NEON Herptile Collection contains approximately 3,000 specimens representing 150 species.
- The NEON Fish Collection contains approximately 600 specimens representing 151 species. The collection of cryo-preserved DNA extracts from fishes contains 2,600 samples representing 119 species.
- The NEON Mammal Collection contains over 3,600 vouchers representing over 100 species in the US, and is growing annually by about 600-800 vouchers. Our collection of cryo-preserved mammalian tissues and blood contains over 75,800 samples representing over 100 species in the US.
The geographic focus of the ASUNHC collections includes the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, with global representation. The geographic focus of the NEON collections is continental US, focusing on NEON-dedicated field sites. ASUNHC specimen records are publicly available on the Consortium of Vertebrate Collections Symbiota portal and NEON specimen records are publicly available on the NEON Biorepository Portal.
Access the ASUNHC Vertebrate Collection Holdings Online @ CVColl.org
Access the NEON Biorepository Holdings Online
Visit the Collection
The collections are open to visitation and use for the purposes of research, teaching, and outreach. For specimen loan and use inquiries, please complete a specimen use request form:
Request Use or Loan of ASUNHC Vertebrate Collection Specimens
Request Use or Loan of NEON Vertebrate Collection Specimens
Street Address: 734 West Alameda Drive, Tempe, AZ 85282
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, by appointment
Contribute to the Collections
Please reach out to collections staff if you are interested in pursuing research that will generate natural history specimens and/or tissue samples.