| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 2010 |
| Authors: | M. S. L. Mills, Franke, U., Joseph, G., Miato, F., Milton, S., Monadjem, A., Oschadleus, H. D., Dean, W. R. J. |
| Journal: | Bulletin of the African Bird Club |
| Volume: | 17 |
| Pagination: | 43-53 |
| Date Published: | 2010b |
| Keywords: | Angola, Aves, cataloguing, Chiroptera, Coleura afra, databases, distribution, Emballonuridae, Epomophorus angolensis, Mammalia, natural history collections, Plerotes anchietae, Pteropodidae, Southern Africa |
| Abstract: | The bird collection housed in Lubango, Angola, contains more than 40,000 skins, representing more than 850 taxa. As part of an atlas project for Angolan birds, we visited the skin collection for two weeks in June 2008, to extract distributional information from the specimens. The skin collection is still in good condition, and the Instituto Superior da Ciências e Educa{\c c}ão (ISCED), which houses the collection, is to be commended for this. Data from labels of 15,000 skins were entered into an electronic database, including all specimens of lesser known species. The remaining 25,000 entries are being made from photographs of ‘catalogue’ cards. The most interesting specimens are four slaty egrets Egretta vinaceigula, the first records of this globally Vulnerable species in Angola. Other examples of interesting skins are illustrated in various photographs, drawing attention to the importance of the collection for systematic studies. A brief mention is also made of the mammal collection. Finally, a list of recommendations is given for the future management of the collection. |