The importance of voucher specimens, with practical guidelines for preserving specimens of the major invertebrate phyla for identification

Abstract

Voucher specimens in a broad sense are redefined as all biological specimens having the minimum information of collection locality (ideally specified by latitude, longitude, altitude) and date that are preserved to document biological research, including taxonomic research. The importance of keeping voucher specimens, and, conversely, the consequences of not so doing, are reviewed briefly. The roles of both systematists and non-systematists in cooperating to ensure that vouchers are properly preserved is emphasized. Practical guidelines, with supporting rationale, are given for non-taxonomists on how to preserve members of the major animal phyla—arthropods, molluscs, and helminths, for taxonomic study and as vouchers.