GUIDELINES FOR THE CURATION OF GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

must be used. An extendible numbering system would seem best placed to deal
with many problems. Thus an Iguanodon could be referred to as simply 19741195
and individual components 1974/195/1,2,3, etc. All bones should be so marked. It
may be better to refer to the whole as the sum of its parts, e.g. 1974119511-64.
Should any elements turn out to be from another individual, documentation can
be amended thus:
1974119511-16; 21-64 Individual 1
19741195117-20 Individual 2
4.2.2.5. Artificially derived specimens
Where a catalogued specimen is further prepared, e.g. by thin-sectioning,
development, etc., specimens may be derived from the original which themselves
require cataloguing. The original number, assigned to a single specimen will not
suffice alone for a second. It must be extended in some way (as in B4.2.2.4
above) or less usefully, given another number, always recording carefully the
original association. Complex specimen preparation may result in a wide variety
of derived specimens; see for example Rushton in Bassett, M. G. (1979).
4.2.2.6. Multi -species blocks
Many examples of this problem occur in geological curation, e.g. Chalk epifauna,
Dudley limestone, mineral associations, etc. In the last case, it will almost
certainly be impossible to point out individual 'specimens' for special numbering:
the block must be allocated one number, and each mineral noted in the
documentation. An index to mineral species is of major importance for retrieval
in such cases.
In the other examples, distinguishing between individual taxa on a single block
or specimen is simple. We do not recommend that each is given an individual
Identity Number, nor do we recommend an extended number, e.g. 1941198211:
the block may itself already bear such a number. There remains, however, the
need to point out on the block itself, each individual species: their appearance in
an index whilst necessary, is alone, not enough. We recommend therefore the use
of alphabetic suffixes, e.g. 194/198211a, lb, lc etc. where each species can be
marked with a paper tag bearing the suffix alone, either on the fossil or nearby. If
it is necessary to use the alphabet more than once, double the letters, e.g. aa, ab,
or aa, bb, etc. Do not mix upper and lower case: they are difficult to distinguish
when handwritten. Do not use the letters 'i', 'l' or '0' to avoid confusion with
numerals when handwritten.
The identity number of the whole specimen or block should be marked
according to normal practice.
THE DETAILED RECORDING OF GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS
Objective
The objective of detailed specimen recording is to provide an efficient means of
making all the information about a specimen available for use. This is achieved by