Paleonet: Number of fossils in US museum collections

[Hulbert,Richard C,JR]

I have been asked by  a neontological colleague involved in "big data" initiatives and grant funding for an estimate of the total number of all fossil specimens contained in US museum collections (including uncurated specimens). If you know of a citable reference for such an estimate, please either send directly to me <rhulbert at flmnh.ufl.edu> or share with the group.

Thanks,

Richard

Dr. Richard C. Hulbert Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager
Florida Museum of Natural History
Dickinson Hall, University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7800 USA