MUSEUM 



In August 1964, Building 305 was set aside 

 as a scientific museunn to maintain the valuable 

 collections of biological specimens and statis- 

 tical material in systematic order and to 

 provide educational displays for the numerous 

 school children, students, and teachers who 

 visit the Laboratory each year. Laboratory 

 furniture, including sink, was installed in 

 the preparation room of the museum. Sea 

 water, distilled water, and compressed air 

 were piped in. Shelves were built in one of the 

 wings for fish, plankton, microslide, shrimp, 

 and estuarine collections. Another wing has 

 about 300 cu. ft. of IBM cards, containing 

 shrimp-landing statistics, that will be trans- 

 ferred eventually to magnetic tape to make 

 room for storage. 



Six display cases (each with six adjustable 

 shelves) were received in April 1965. In this 

 display section, 84 species of fish are now 

 on exhibit; each case shows the types of fish 

 caught at different depths. 



The estuarine section displays specimens 

 (crustaceans, fish, nnoUusks, and coastal 

 plants) from the bays and estuaries and growth 



series of the southern quahog, scallop, and 

 dosinia. 



In the fish reference collection, 47 families 

 comprising several specimens of 142 different 

 species are arranged in phylogenetic order. 

 All have been cataloged, showing the number 

 of specimens in each jar, the cruise data, 

 and time and place of capture. 



About 7,000 plankton samples are stored in 

 chronological order, and are in the process 

 of being cataloged. 



About 3,000 slides containing ovarian sec- 

 tions of penaeid shrimp have been stored and 

 are also being cataloged. 



About 2,500 shrimp and 5,000 estuarine 

 specimens are stored in the museum. 



The shell collection consists of moUusks 

 from the Gulf of Mexico area, principally 

 from the vicinity of Galveston. Forty- seven 

 families are represented, comprising several 

 specimens of 83 different species. These 

 specimens are in phylogenetic order by 

 families and are cataloged. Each specimen 

 is labeled with scientific name, common name, 

 range, date, and location; collector, catalog 



Figure 46. — Shell display section In museum. 

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