Specimen Loans

Submit loan requests via email to the Division of Fishes, Collection Manager. We encourage you to visit our online database to review our holdings before you submit your request.

Please include the following in your request email:     

• Your full name. If you are student include the full name of the permanent staff member of the institution.
• Shipping address of the institution to which the loan will be sent, along with a contact phone number and e-mail address.
• A brief description of your research problem and the type of information you are seeking.
• In an attached spreadsheet, provide either a general listing of desired species, number of  specimens you need, if the specimens need be of a certain size or sex, or collected from a particular locality or time period.  You may also request specific USNM lots. We encourage you review our online database and download records of interest directly into a spreadsheet.  

Loans requests are reviewed by our curators and collection manager, no material will be sent on loan without their authorization.  We reserve the right to deny requests.  

All borrowers must agree, in writing, to abide by the division's loan conditions. 

Primary types will be lent only if sent to and from their destination by Fed Ex or comparable air carrier service wherein the parcel is tracked throughout the entire route. We no longer hand-carry specimens on airplanes due to airline restrictions against carrying alcohol-preserved specimens AND the risk of the parcel being confiscated at an airport by security inspectors. Before designating new types from specimens on loan, check with us to determine if there are restrictions on deposition of types in the country of origin of the specimen(s).

All specimens must be maintained in the preservative indicated on the invoice.

Dissection, clearing and staining, or removing any parts of the specimens for other analytical procedures is not permitted except by prior arrangement, documented in writing. Any such preparations must be returned with the parent specimen.

Subloans of USNM material to other institutions or individuals are not permitted without prior approval from a NMNH curator or collection manager, and must be documented in writing.

We reserve the right to determine whether or not a specimen can be lent. Delicate, rare and unique specimens will be lent only in exceptional circumstances. No more than half of the holdings of a given taxon will be dispatched at any one time. If required, the remainder will be sent upon the safe return of the first loan. Identifications cannot be verified and may be incorrect or synonyms of other taxa.

Loans are made for a designated period of time, which is indicated on the invoice. Loans are considered overdue if they are not renewed or returned by the due date, and can be recalled at any time after that, without the option of further renewal. Lack of response to our inquiries about overdue loans may affect future borrowing privileges. Renewals and responses by e-mail are acceptable.

Please send a reprint of any publication citing these specimens.

In connection with this loan, adherence to all applicable laws and regulations for transport/permits and import/export requirements is required. For international loans, each party will adhere to its own country’s import/export requirements and provide the other party with whatever documentation is necessary for such compliance. For domestic shipments, the party sending the shipment will be responsible for obtaining the transport permits, if any, and or providing a copy of the same to the receiving party.

Return shipments will comply with procedures and applicable shipment restrictions set by domestic and international regulations. Consult your carriers for further information on restrictions that may apply to these shipments.

Failure to adhere to these conditions may result in the loss of borrowing privileges for the loan recipient.

The Division handles a large volume of loan and information requests, resulting in a delay of two weeks to two months before requests can be fully processed and shipped.

Identifications: We are not able to verify identifications prior to sending specimens on loan, nor do we maintain a complete history of who identified the specimens. 

Entire Taxonomic holdings: We do not lend all specimens of a given taxon at one time. 

Lots per loan: We are no longer able to fill extremely large or time-consuming requests. Typical loan requests average 15 lots or less. Tank and oversized specimens are generally not suitable for loans. Please be as conservative as possible in requesting loans or consider a site visit to our collections. 

We prefer that primary types are examined on site at our collection facilities, however we do send type material on loan when travel to the USNM is difficult or cost prohibitive. We only loan type material for a maximum of 6 months. 

You must receive Division permission before altering specimens including dissections, clearing and staining, or tissue removal. If any of the actions are required for your research, please include this in your iniitial request. If you already have USNM material on loan and would like to change the terms of your loan to include destructive analysis  you must contact the collection manager for permission.