A Virtual Museum on the State's Fish Biodiversity
Museum collectors, determiners, curators and data managers
slide Starting over a century and half ago museum collectors, determiners, curators, and data managers began what FoTX continues. FoTX aims to bring their contributions together in a single standardized online database. of
Fishes of Texas Project dataflow
slide FoTX compiles, standardizes, and serves high quality specimen-based occurrence data and related resources from many museums and other sources, subjecting them to extensive data processing to create the most reliable source for Texas fish occurrence data. of
Specimen-based data sources
slide The initial data set includes only museum specimen-based data — the highest quality, and only verifiable source of occurrence records available. of
Specimen identification verification
slide We've visited or received specimens on loan from most of our donor institutions to verify and correct (if needed) thousands of suspicious specimen identifications. This work is ongoing and our database is updated periodically with new determinations. of
Digitization of paper ledger data
slide Museum data initially recorded in bound paper ledgers have been independently digitized at many institutions. Now projects like ours are needed to take full advantage of the huge amounts of data that exist but have never before been readily available in a standardized format. of
Data improvement efforts
slide FoTX's extensive and meticulous data improvement efforts make it the most reliable source for Texas fish occurrence data. of
Occurrence maps showing stepwise improvement
slide Occurrence maps showing stepwise improvement via our methodical data processing to eventually allow production of species distribution models. of
Statewide occurrence records map
slide The >123,000 occurrence records are from >7,500 sites covering the state and beyond. of
Example occurrence map with suspect records flagged
slide Example of an occurrence map from the website. Suspect records are never discarded, but clearly flagged until specimens can be examined and identifications and other data confirmed. of
Specimen page showing FoTX edits and verbatim data
slide Our specimen pages show FoTX edits (left) and the verbatim data (right). Records are mapped and associated images and field notes provided. Users can comment and upload relevant documentation. of
Species accounts from Texas Freshwater Fishes Project
slide The text for our species accounts is from Texas Freshwater Fishes Project, now a collaborator on this project. of
Interactive identification key
slide We provide an interactive version of a published key to the identification of Texas fishes, as well as new types of experimental, interactive and fully illustrated keys and species accounts in our Sandbox. of
Preservation of deteriorating specimens
slide A goal of the project is preservation of deteriorating specimens and associated data found in specimen jars. At TNHC we also have accepted many orphaned specimens from various institutions no longer able to care for them. of
Digitized collectors' field notes
slide We have digitized original collectors' field notes and other archived records, many not examined since deposition at donor museums, thus archiving these valuable data verification documents permanently here and making them accessible to new users. of
Photographs of specimens and museum labels
slide We also serve thousands of photographs of specimens and their original museum, collector, and determiner labels and notes. of
Joe Tomelleri fish illustrations
slide Hundreds of illustrations of Texas fish species by Joe Tomelleri are available on our species account pages. of
Live specimen photographs in natural habitats
slide We also have hundreds of photographs of live specimens in their natural habitats taken by Garold Sneegas and others. of
Slide 18
slide of
Collectors' field photographs of habitat
slide Collectors' field photographs are also available, including images of habitat, collectors, and specimens at the time of collection. of
Species distribution models
slide Our own research has used the data served here to create species distribution models that convert occurrence points to statewide probabilities of occurrence that have diverse applications. of
Red River Pupfish distribution model
slide Example of a species distribution model for the Red River Pupfish, Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis. of
Modeled fish community for Central Texas stream
slide We assembled a modeled fish community for a never-before collected Central Texas stream, then surveyed it and found the models to be good predictors of the community (with explainable differences). Now we are testing and developing methods for using models in stream bioassessment. of
Climate change effects on species distributions
slide Data and models are being used to experiment with predicting how changing climatic conditions might affect species distributions over time. of
Priority areas for conservation
slide We are also experimenting, in conjunction with our partners, with using our data and models to define priority areas for conservation. of
FoTX future plans
slide FoTX is an ambitious project with big plans for the future. Monitor our progress via our "What's New" page. of

A product of the Ichthyology Collection of the

Texas Natural History Collections

Texas Natural History Collections in the Biodiversity Center of the Department of Integrative Biology at

The University of Texas at Austin

In collaboration with, and support from

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

and others