Type: INT 97-16 NSF/Tokyo Report: **Type Specimens in Japanese Fish
Collections**

Exposure: Public NSF

Org: INT

Date: 5/21/97

Replaces: None

The National Science Foundation\'s offices in Tokyo and in Paris
periodically report on developments abroad that are related to the
Foundation\'s mission. These documents present facts for the use of NSF
program managers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF
policy.

Special Scientific Report #97-11 (May 06, 1997)

**Research Report:**

**Type Specimens in Japanese Fish Collections**

The following report was prepared by ***Dr. William N. Eschmeyer***,
Department of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, San
Francisco, CA 94118 U.S.A. ***Dr. Eschmeyer*** visited Japan from March
22 - April 14, 1997 as a **Visiting Research Fellow (short-term) under
the sponsorship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
(JSPS)**. Dr. Keiichi Matsuura, Fish Section, Department of Zoology,
National Science Museum Tokyo 169, Japan, served as host scientist for
***Dr. Eschmeyer. Dr. Eschmeyer*** may be reached via email at:
weschmeyer@calacademy.org.

**a. Academic activities:**

The primary purposes of the 21-day JSPS visiting fellowship were to (1)
record the location of type specimens of fishes in major Japanese
museums and university collections, (2) publicize the availability of an
extensive, worldwide database of information on fishes (see
http://www.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/species) prepared under
my direction, and (3) to examine possibilities for future collaboration
in electronic innovation for handling ichthyological information. The
fellowship provided travel and living expenses.

Five museums were visited to examine type specimens \-- the original
specimens used by the original author in providing the first description
of a species; subsequent workers frequently have to re-examine these
specimens, but finding where the specimens are located (which museum) is
often very difficult. I have visited many museums around the world, and
this fellowship allowed me to trace/confirm the whereabouts of many type
specimens held in Japan. I visited the following institutions: National
Science Museum, Tokyo; University of Tokyo, Kyoto University (both the
main campus and the Maizuru campus where the collection is housed),
Kochi University, and Hokkaido University at the Hakodate campus.
Working from printouts prepared before the trip and with a laptop
computer, I was able to confirm the presence of most type specimens, and
from information in the database was able to find additional type
specimens that were not recognized as such. Types for approximately 500
species were examined (or noted as apparently lost). New information
from the trip has now been entered in the databases.

The second objective was to inform Japanese ichthyologists and their
students of the availability of the databases for fishes that are on the
WWW site of the California Academy of Sciences. Although this site
contains a database of the genera of fishes (also published and known to
Japanese ichthyologists), the addition of the species database was made
in late 1996. This database contains information on the more than 50,000
named species of fishes (about half are valid for a total of about
25,000 actual species). This database is very useful to many that need
information about fishes, but it is especially valuable for
ichthyological studies, especially on systematics of fishes. At four
locations I made slide-assisted talks to groups from 8 to over 40
attendees in order to discuss the development of the databases, their
availability, and how the \"gopher\" search programs work. At locations
where WWW access was available, we did computer demonstrations.

The third objective was to discuss, especially with my host scientist,
possibilities for future collaboration. Dr. Matsuura is interested in
continuing to trace type specimens in Japan. I will be providing him
with printouts from the database of all species described by Japanese
scientists, and updated printouts will be provided to the museums
visited (and there will be some follow-up effort at some museums). On a
larger scale, we discussed the possibility of developing other databases
that might be used by Japanese scientists. Especially promising is to
download a database of all species that occur in Japan as a framework
for an electronic version of the fishes of Japan; Japanese scientists
and educators could expand this by the addition of color figures,
distribution maps, and other information in Japanese. It was decided
that we would continue these discussions in the fall of 1997 after
publication of the information in the databases.

In addition to meeting the objectives, extensive personal contact was
made with many ichthyologists, students, and even a visit with Emperor
Akihito (who researches and publishes in fish systematics). Ichthyology
is a cooperative field \-- sharing information and specimens, and
personal contact is extremely valuable. The people that assisted me at
each museum I visited were very gracious hosts, and social activities
were many, including excellent food.

**b. Impressions and thoughts on the present state of science in Japan
in ichthyology:**

The type specimens housed around the world are \"international\"
specimens \-- they are the most important specimens any museum keeps,
and they are for use by the international community. Museums need to
know what specimens they have. On a global basis, the Japanese
collections are about average or below average in their record keeping
of type specimens held, but this should improve after information about
my fellowship is available. As collections become computerized, more of
the missing type specimens in Japan probably will be found. A major
problem almost unique to Japan is that historically there have been a
number of private collections, held in small university departments or
museums or even personal residences or the Tokyo fish market. I was
pleased to see efforts being made to move private collections to stable
museums, and this applies especially to type specimens. Primary type
specimens generally are not held in private collections in other
countries, and, typically, small university and museum collections in
most countries do not keep primary type specimens, but deposit them in a
few stable centers. Computerization of fish collections is being done
around the world, with some collections fully \"computerized\" and
others not so. Three of the collections I visited were computerized.

Japan has some extremely valuable general fish collections that have
been accumulated in recent times from around the world, especially
deep-sea and oceanic collections. These are being used by scientists
worldwide, and more publicity (such as an article in press on Japanese
collection building by Dr. Matsuura) would encourage greater use.

Japan has many ichthyologists (probably more per capita than any
country) and a long history of significant contributions to the field.
The Japanese scientists use modern methods, and are utilizing many
techniques, including molecular ones. I especially was impressed with
the students I met and befriended. At Hakodate, the concentration of
graduate students in ichthyology is larger than at any other location in
the world. Most ichthyologists in Japan appear to have email and WWW
access, but some did not (although most expect access in the near
future). Many Japanese read English, but students should be encouraged
to learn to speak English \-- those who can speak English tend to be the
ones asked to attend world workshops and conferences where English is
typically the primary language for the meeting, and these persons tend
to have a greater impact on their field.

Japan has many distinguished ichthyologists producing excellent studies.
Theses of students are first-rate, involving current methods, and most
are published shortly after completion. Japanese ichthyologists now work
on worldwide taxa, whereas in earlier times they tended to work on
regional issues. They have excellent journals, especially the Japanese
Journal of Ichthyology. I was surprised at the large number of works in
Japanese on fishes, particularly semi-popular treatments with excellent
photography, for the Japanese market. Almost certainly, the Japanese
general public knows more about fishes than any other culture (because
of diet and long fishing history), and Japanese ichthyologists make
substantial contributions to the public knowledge of ichthyology \[and
this is why a regional electronic database of fishes might have
considerable educational value.\]

**c. Comments or suggestions to JSPS concerning the Fellowship
program:**

The short-term program in which I participated is truly excellent. The
application process is simple, and a decision on funding is made very
quickly. The funding is generous, and reporting requirements are
minimal. The support of Dr. Matsuura (my host scientist) was superb, and
I could not have accomplished the goals without his help, so the
host-scientist system worked well for my fellowship. Information
provided, such as the booklet, \"Japan, your traveling companion\" was
very useful. The insurance coverage was reassuring, but not used in my
case.

**d. Other comments:**

The cooperation of ichthyologists in Japan at my several stops was
exceptional, and it would be difficult for a non-Japanese-speaking
scientist to work in Japan without such generous support. The trip was a
very successful one for me, with many new acquaintances and many fond
memories.