Florida Biodiversity Collection

The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has three extensive collections which include more than one million cataloged, preserved invertebrates, adult fish, and larval fish. Scientists use these collections as guides as they identify animals collected during research, as sources for research material, or for educational exhibits. In a collaboration with the University of South Florida Digital Heritage & Humanities Collections, specimens from the invertebrate collection have been selected for 3-D scanning. This technology can help make specimens and information about them more widely accessible to students, teachers, and researchers. During this session, view a presentation of digitally scanned specimens displayed in 3-D.

Learning Points

What makes a specimen useful to scientists.
The features of some major groups of animals.
Specific facts about representative species of those major groups.