Northern Territory Fish Specimen Records from Museum Collections

Over 1.2 million natural history specimens form the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory's collections, with ichthyology data contributed to national and international biodiversity networks. This dataset specifically details fish specimens collected from the Northern Territory and surrounding regions. The museum provides this data to the Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums and subsequently to OBIS Australia.

Use Cases

• Analyze species_distribution across the Northern Territory using specimen collection_location data.
• Study taxonomic_diversity and species_richness within the ichthyology collection records.
• Map historical specimen_collection_dates to investigate temporal trends in fish biodiversity.
• Validate and augment species_occurrence data from OBIS with detailed museum specimen records.

Strengths

• Collection includes an estimated 1.2 million natural history specimens.
• Data is aggregated into national (OZCAM) and international (OBIS) biodiversity data portals.

Limitations

• Exact row count and specific column schema for the ichthyology subset are unknown.
• Geographic coverage is focused on the Northern Territory of Australia, limiting broader applicability.

Provenance

Source

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) Ichthyology collections.

Collection Method

Physical collection and curation of fish specimens, with data shared via OZCAM.

Geography

Northern Territory, Australia, and the surrounding region.