Instructions for Specimen Submissions & Requests for Identification

How to submit your specimens to the WA Museum.

Instructions for members of the public

If you find an animal or animal parts that are in good condition and you think they may be valuable, please contact WA Museum reception first so that they can forward your query to the relevant department. The relevant curator will contact you and let you know if the specimen will be of use to the collections. If you cannot bring the specimen in immediately, wrap the specimen in newspaper and place the specimen in a sealed plastic bag (double bagged) or a sealed container and freeze. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly to avoid health issues. Fresh specimens can stay in the fridge for 2-3 days, however the sooner we have the specimen the better, so we can obtain a viable tissue sample for genetic analysis. Alternatively, you may email a digital photograph of the specimen, and we will be able to assess if it is worth bringing in for further inspection.

A specimen needs the following minimum information to be of value to the museum:

  • date collected
  • name of collector/s & contact details
  • location (accurate description or GPS reading)
  • habitat
  • how it was collected (i.e. found dead on road / hit by car / trapped etc)
  • how it died (if applicable)

Specimen identification may be requested by contacting reception, who will forward the request to the relevant department. If the specimen is required for the identification, it may need to be handed in at the Collections and Research Centre (Western Australian Museum - Welshpool), or any of our regional branches. Please indicate if you would like to be notified of the identification and provide your contact details. Our staff will respond as soon as possible with the requested identification or information.

Instructions for consultants and government collectors

For contracts concerning Terrestrial Fauna Surveys for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in Western Australia, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) requires that voucher specimens are lodged with the WA Museum and nomenclature for specimens in reports need to conform with those used by the WA Museum (http://www.epa.wa.gov.au/EPADocLib/1850_GS56.pdf). The WA Museum facilitates the submission of biological specimens for identification or registration within our collection by providing guidelines for specimen preparation and lodgement, and spreadsheet data templates for the various natural science sections of the museum. Data on registered specimens are integrated into the museum’s databases and become available to the public for background research on the occurrence of Western Australian biodiversity.

Specimens MUST be accompanied with the minimum required data in hard copy. Forms have been developed to guide you to provide the information we require when submitting specimens. Additional data or photos are welcome. To avoid the rejection of material please read the submission guidelines before bringing material to the Museum.

Before submitting specimens, contact must be made with each relevant curator/department. Please contact our reception who will link you to the relevant curator/department. The curator/department will then decide on the feasibility of submission and provide instructions for each set of specimens. Each department will decide on a case-by-case basis if they issue WAM registration numbers for specimens.

Please refer to Templates and Guidelines for submission instructions [Download 555.02 KB]

Sample Submission templates and Specimen Registration templates

Arachnids and Myriapods – Spreadsheet template [Download 42.5 KB]

Arachnids and Myriapods – Label template [Download 73 KB]

Birds, Mammals, Frogs and Reptiles – Spreadsheet template [Download 26 KB]

Crustaceans – Spreadsheet template [Download 34 KB]

Crustaceans – Label template [Download 75 KB]

Fish – Spreadsheet template [Download 24 KB]

Insects – Spreadsheet template [Download 21.5 KB]

Marine invertebrates (non-fish) – Label template [Download 77.5 KB]

Marine invertebrates (non-fish) – Spreadsheet template [Download 22 KB]

Molluscs – Spreadsheet template [Download 26 KB]

Mollusc – Label template [Download 75.5 KB]

Worms – Spreadsheet template [Download 13.96 KB]

Molecular Identifications

Molecular identifications of specimens submitted to the museum are available on an ad hoc basis and attract a fee. Please contact reception to be connected to the Manager Genetic Resources.

Database searches

All currently available database searches will be available but there will be no provision of filtered data (i.e. SRE or subterranean). All data will be raw database extractions only and will be without analysis or comment.