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Inventory to the James F. Lynch field notes
MVZA.MSS.0002
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Table of contents
Title: James F. Lynch field notes
Identifier/Call Number: MVZA.MSS.0002
Contributing Institution:
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
9.0 Volumes
Date: 1966-1984
Abstract: The James F. Lynch field notes include catalogues, journals, and species accounts. These field notes detail the collecting
activities of James F. Lynch from 1966-1984.
Creator:
Lynch, James F., 1942-
The collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], James F. Lynch papers, MVZA.MSS.002, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Copyright restrictions may apply. All requests to publish, quote, or reproduce must be submitted to the Museum of Vertebrate
Zoology Archives in writing for approval. Please contact the Museum Archivist for further information.
James Francis Lynch was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1942. After graduating from Harvard College in 1964 with a Bachelor
of Arts in geology, he headed to the University of California at Berkeley to pursue a PhD in the same discipline. Two years
later, however, Lynch decided to switch his degree focus to zoology, ultimately earning his PhD from Berkeley in 1974 with
his dissertation,
Ontogenetic and geographic variation in the morphology and ecology of the black salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus). Lynch was then hired in 1974 as the first staff scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies, now the
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, in Maryland. Lynch continued to work for the Smithsonian as a researcher for the
next 24 years, eventually producing over 60 scientific publications. His work included more than three decades of extensive
conservation research in Central America and Mexico. After a long battle with cancer, Lynch passed away on March 26, 1998.
Sources Consulted:
“James F. Lynch: Conservation Biology Fund.”
The Newsletter of the Herpetologists’ League 6, no. 1 (1999): 2. http://www.herpetologistsleague.org/dox/HL Communications - March 1999, Vol. 6 No.pdf.
“A Simple Bequest.” Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. http://serc.si.edu/about/history.aspx.
The James F. Lynch field note collection consists of nine bound volumes spanning the years 1966-1984. Originally maintained
by the author in three-ring field note binders, the notes were later separated and bound chronologically. The notes include
journals, catalogues, and species accounts from localities within the United States as well as abroad, including: Mexico,
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panamá, Colombia, Honduras, Puerto Rico, and the West Indies. Some of the field notes contain hand
drawings of specimens, map sketches, and photographs.
The arrangement of the collection is chronological and in its original form. The sections are bound in the order presented
in this guide.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cataloging--Specimens.
Field notes
Herpetology--Colombia.
Identification photographs
Photographs
Scientific expeditions--California
Scientific expeditions--Colombia.
Scientific illustrations (images)
University of California (1868-1952). Museum of Vertebrate Zoology