Duke University Primate Center Paleontological Collection Use Policies

The Duke Primate Center houses a one-of-a-kind paleontological collection that is the result of 40 years of work by Dr. Elwyn L. Simons. These collections have been and are still the basis of an active program of long-term, large-scale research by Dr. Simons as PI and his collaborating colleagues.

The collections (fossil, osteological, anatomical) at the Duke University Primate Center are available for examination by qualified researchers (professionals or students that they sponsor). Requests to study DPC materials should be addressed in writing to the collections' Curator, Prithijit Chatrath, and copied to Dr. Elwyn Simons. These requests will be responded to in writing. In order to avoid any confusion, all researchers should print out and keep on file a copy of DPC collections policies when they initiate their study. Written requests (hard copy--not email--from a professional scientist on institutional letterhead, and signed by the professional) to study the materials should include the following information:

• Researcher's, name, position, institution and up-to-date contact information including phone number (home and work) and email address.
• *The subsection of the collection that the researcher wishes to examine. Specific taxa should be listed, and once the study is underway, the researcher must provide Prithijit Chatrath and Dr. Elwyn Simons with the specimen numbers of all of the items under study. (Permission to study one part of the collection does not automatically authorize use of other parts.)
• The exact time frame during which the researcher wishes to examine the materials.
• **If the researcher wishes to remove any of the specimens from Duke, the details of such a loan must be outlined using a DPC loan slip in consultation with the Curator and Dr. Simons. Researchers should be aware of, and abide by, the deadline by which all specimens must be returned to Duke. It is the responsibility of the researcher to keep the DPC Curator abreast of any changes in address, other contact information, and/or academic institution. Should a researcher's academic affiliation change, a new loan/study agreement will have to be arranged.
• In order to keep research material in the collection available for the maximum number of projects and researchers, each study based on specimens in the collection should be clearly defined with finite goals that can be achieved in two years or less. Should any of the goals of the project change during the course of research, these new goals must be approved in writing. (The researcher is required to submit a new written request for approval to the Curator, copied to Dr. Elwyn Simons.) Note that this will not automatically extend the allotted period of time by which the research should be completed.
• Finally, researchers should be aware that our colleagues in Egypt and Madagascar have established regulations about study and publication on fossils from their respective countries--please be sure to discuss these important regulations with the collections Curator, as well as with Dr. Simons prior to initiation of research.
• Research requests should include a statement that prospective researchers have read in their entirety, and agree to abide by these policies.

*Since this collection is an active research collection (unlike many collections at museums), the PI, Dr. Elwyn Simons, reserves the right to set aside certain specimens and/or taxa for personal research or research by his graduate students and colleagues who collaborate on the active programs of field work and research at the DPC.
**Likewise, since many of the L-41 primates are extremely fragile and are subject to irreparable damage by water or humidity, and due to the value of all original primate specimens in the collection, these specimens must be studied in house at Duke University and cannot be sent out on loan unless special arrangements are made.

Visits to the DPC Paleontological Division

Researchers interested in visiting the DPC and examining the collections should contact Prithijit Chatrath at (919) 489-3364 or pchatrat@duke.edu. Prior to arranging a visit to study DPC specimens, requests to study materials must be submitted in writing (see above). Visits should be scheduled around those time periods when senior staff are overseas on expeditions or otherwise unavailable to facilitate research on these important materials. It is the responsibility of the researcher to be aware of the schedule of field research by DPC staff. Work in the vertebrate paleontology lab at the Primate Center should, whenever possible, be conducted during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am until 5 pm). Only if absolutely unavoidable, weekend access can be arranged. Researchers requiring assistance from the DPC preparator or research assistant should be prepared to pay professional rates for such services.

Limitations On Use of Collections

Since these are active research collections and are predominantly grant funded, and timely, high-quality publication facilitates renewed funding for future field work, it is expected that scientists who have been given options to study and/or describe fossils from the collection, whether taxonomically or morphologically, have their work in press within a two year period from the time of assignment of the option. Should research take longer than this the researcher will be asked to drop the project. Extension requests, including reasonable justification for extensions, should be submitted in writing to the Curator, Prithijit Chatrath, and copied to Dr. Elwyn Simons. A final decision regarding extensions will be provided to the requesting researcher in writing, after consultation with outside colleagues in Dr. Simons' research group.

A copy of any manuscript resulting from research on DPC materials should be sent to Prithijit Chatrath, and to Dr. Elwyn Simons for review prior to submission for publication. Once published, the final version of any manuscript based on DPC materials should be sent to Mr. Chatrath and to Dr. Simons. All Primate Center publications must have a DPC publication number. Please contact Dr. Elwyn Simons (919) 419-9355, or esimons@duke.edu, to secure a number for your publication.

Due to the extremely fragile and irreplaceable nature of the collections housed at the Duke Primate Center, they are not suitable for handling during teaching. Whenever possible instructors should make use of the casts available for purchase from the DPC for teaching purposes. Duke University graduate instructor's requests for teaching materials including original specimens will be carefully considered on a case by case basis by the DPC Curator in consultation with Dr. Elwyn Simons.

Material loaned to researchers should not be used for teaching. Likewise DPC material should not be altered, prepared, cast, sublet to others, or destructively examined for any reason. Additionally, DPC specimens may not be molded and cast by outside parties to facilitate exchange or sale with individuals, companies, or academic institutions. The DPC Paleontological Division retains all copyrights and distribution rights to replicas of these specimens.

A limited number of cadavers are available for purchase by accredited academic institutions. Contact Mr. Chatrath for pricing information.

It is imperative that, in order for conflicts of research interest to be avoided, invitations of collaboration on research involving DPC material must be discussed with DPC Paleontology senior staff who will be responsible for making such arrangements.

Once researchers have been granted written permission to study materials housed at the DPC, such permissions are non-transferrable. When at Duke researchers must record their name, the taxa under study, the time period that they will be at the lab, their up-to-date contact information, and their institutional affiliation in our guest book. Should the researcher need an outside assistant, DPC staff must be made aware of the assistant's name, contact information, and institutional affiliation. Specimens removed from drawers must be returned to their designated drawer each day. Researchers should not rearrange specimens in the collection (they are carefully arranged according to taxonomic designation). Permission to photograph specimens must be granted in writing and negatives (or copies) will be retained in DPC files as part of the permanent collection. DPC retains all copyrights to photos/slides/movies or digital reproductions of DPC specimens. To protect university property, access to the Curator's office and the paleontology laboratory's computer is by request only.

Important considerations for Duke BAA graduate students and faculty

Should Duke BAA graduate students, or faculty initiate a study on specimens in the DPC collections, they will be held to the same standards and policies as outside researchers. As is expected of all researchers, any Duke BAA graduate students and faculty who are granted permission to study primate specimens in the collection must do so in close collaboration and consultation with Dr. Elwyn Simons, as the primates are his and his colleagues’ primary topic of research and area of expertise. Also, certain fossils are presently allocated for doctoral dissertation research.

Should a student be granted written permission to dissect one or more of the cadavers in the collection, extreme care must be taken. Permission to dissect does not entail ownership of the specimen(s). Dissected specimens should either be carefully preserved for examination by future researchers or should be skeletonized and returned to the collection. The cadavers at the Primate Center are of extremely rare and endangered species and are, thus, not a renewable resource. Every part of these specimens has scientific value and should be treated as such and retained in the collection, where possible. No skeletal material should ever be discarded or incinerated. Note that we may not be able honor every request to dissect PC specimens, as a certain number of intact specimens must be retained in the collection.

In general taxonomic descriptions of vertebrate fossils are not likely to be considered acceptable as the only subject material in dissertations. Special agreements for dissertation work or other long-term projects involving the collections can be arranged, but must be carefully outlined and agreed to in writing. Simply because a BAA student has used DPC materials for her or his dissertation research does not entitle indefinite access to the specimens, and/or control over future research by others on these specimens. When Duke BAA graduate students leave Duke University, they must--at that time--arrange a new agreement to continue research on DPC specimens under study (see institutional change regulation above).

Failure to comply with any of the important limitations and policies regarding use of the collections outlined above will negatively affect future use of DPC materials.

DPC Paleontology Contact Information

All research requests should be sent to:

Mr. Prithijit Chatrath, Curator
Division of Vertebrate Paleontology
Duke University Primate Center
3705 Erwin Road
Durham, NC 27705

And copied to:

Dr. Elwyn L. Simons
Scientific Director
Duke University Primate Center
3705 Erwin Road
Durham, NC 27705

Mr. Chatrath can be reached at (919) 489-3364 extension 227 or via email at pchatrat@duke.edu.
Dr. Simons can be reached by phone at (919) 419-9355 or via email at esimons@duke.edu.
Remember that all research requests should submitted in hard copy form, NOT via email.