The current holdings of the Tulane University Mammal collection number 9,400 catalogued specimens representing 19 extant orders and 62 families. Although the majority of the collection is from North America (Louisiana, the southeastern United States, North-central Texas, and Grand Canyon) the scope of the collection is worldwide, with important research collections from West Africa, Thailand, Colombia, and Australia. Most specimens consist of standard museum skin, skull, and postcranial skeletal material with accompanying data as described in Documentation standards for automatic data processing in Mammalogy. Ver. 2.0. (Amer. Soc. of Mammalogists, 1996). The collection is especially noteworthy in the high number of specimens with postcranial skeletal material, including series of specimens from single localities. There is a small fluid-preserved collection (+ 500).

The mammal collection's history began in concert with the other Tulane vertebrate collections as part of a public display museum in the late- 1890s (see History of Collection). Much of the material in those early days consisted of taxidermy mounts with little associated data. The current collection's genesis as a high quality research collection came during the mid-1960s, when Dr. Royal D. Suttkus gathered existing specimens, added several thousand new specimens and established appropriate curatorial practices and policies. In 1968-1969, Suttkus, Dr. Clyde Jones and several curatorial assistants catalogued 4,100 specimens, including Jones' large collection of mammals from West Africa. The organization of the mammal collection coincided with the development of the F. Edward Hébert Riverside Research Laboratories in Belle Chasse, thus ensuring a stable housing facility (see Museum History).

The growth in quality and quantity of specimens throughout the 1970s to today was, and still is, due to in large part to the dedication and efforts of Drs. Suttkus and Jones, who have published nearly 20 journal articles based mostly or wholely on specimens deposited in the collection. Included among these are ecological and zoogeographic studies on small mammals from the Grand Canyon, North-central Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Africa. Drs. Suttkus and Jones continue to make new collections and publish on specimens housed in the collection.

In 1991, Dr. Craig S. Hood, a mammalogist at Loyola University New Orleans, was appointed as Adjunct Curator of Mammals. During 1995-96, Hood and a curatorial assistant initiated a major project to organize and catalog approximately 4,000 uncataloged specimens. By January 1997, about half of the uncataloged material has been curated and installed.

The collection data are not presently computerized, however, the moderate size (9,400 cataloged, 600 uncataloged specimens), well- maintained serial catalog, and systematic organization of the collection makes a computerization project a realistic goal to achieve. Curatorial goals to develop the collection as a research and educational resource are focused on completing the cataloging project, computerizing the collection data and making the collection more widely known to the scientific community. The collection is an outstanding and valuable research resource that should be utilized by professional systematists, ecologists, and natural resource managers.

Inquiries, loans, and/or visitations to the collection can be arranged through Nelson Rios (nelson@museum.tulane.edu) at (504) 394-1711 or Craig Hood (chood@beta.loyno.edu) at (504) 865-2193.