Collection Use Policies

NOTE: We wish to encourage use of the collection and have consulted with several other similar institutions to make sure these policies are not restrictive.

The collections housed at the DLC Division of Fossil Primates (DFP) include published and unpublished material. Published specimens are, of course, available for study by qualified researchers (professionals and graduate students). Some of the unpublished material has been allocated to particular researchers, but much more is available for study by request. Requests to study DFP materials should be made by printing and filling out the research request form on this site and sending it to the collections Curator (see address below). Research cannot be initiated until this form is received, reviewed by the DFP research committee, and responded to in writing. Requests should include:

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 (or specimens) that the researcher wishes to examine. If this is unpublished material it is important for the DFP research committee to ensure that it is not already under study by another researcher.
Date(s) when the researcher wishes to examine the materials.
If the researcher wishes to borrow specimens, a DFP loan slip should be filled out. Should a researcher's academic affiliation change, the Curator should be informed.
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 completed as efficiently as possible.
Please include an abstract regarding your research aims as well as proposed collaborators. If you are a student researcher, please list the name of your faculty advisor, or project supervisor.
Research requests should include a statement that prospective researchers have read in their entirety, and agree to abide by, these policies.

Visits to the DLC Division of Fossil Primates

Researchers interested in visiting the DFP and examining the collections should contact the Curator, Prithijit Chatrath, at (919) 416-8420 extension 22 or prithijit.chatrath(at)duke.edu. Visits should be scheduled when senior staff are not overseas on expeditions or otherwise unavailable to facilitate research access. It is the responsibility of the researcher to be aware of the schedule of field research by DFP staff. Research visits to the vertebrate paleontology lab at the Division of Fossil Primates should be conducted during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am until 5 pm).

Limitations On Use of Collections

Many of the L-41 primates and other vertebrates 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 should be studied in house at Duke University and cannot be sent out on loan unless special arrangements are made.

All publications resulting from research on the collections should have a DLC publication number and acknowledge appropriate grants and agencies. Please send a copy of the manuscript to us prior to submission for assignment of a publication number, to verify specimen numbers, to check for conformity with international agreements, and to assure that all funding sources are acknowledged. Please note: Due to the current contractual agreement with the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, all type specimens must be assigned an Egyptian Geological Museum (CGM) specimen number and returned to Egypt. Therefore, if you plan to name a type, please alert the Curator. Contracts require that specimens based on Duke fossils should include as an author at least one person chosen from oversease projects. Any co-authors not previously affiliated with a research project must be approved by the DFP research committee. Once your research is published, six copies should be sent to us for deposit with the collections and to be shared with our international collaborators as appropriate.

Material loaned to researchers should not be used for teaching. Likewise DFP material on loan should not be transferred to others or molded/cast without prior written permission. Molds and a copy of any casts made should be returned to the Division.

In order to avoid conflicts of research interest, research proposals will be reviewed and, where appropriate, approved by the DFP research committee.

DLC Division of Fossil Primates Contact Information

All research requests should be sent to:

Mr. Prithijit Chatrath, Curator
Division of Fossil Primates
Duke University Lemur Center
1013 Broad Street
Durham, NC 27705

Mr. Chatrath can be reached at (919) 416-8420 extension 22 or via email at prithijit.chatrat(at)duke.edu.
Remember that all research requests should be submitted in hard copy form via the US Postal Service, NOT via email. Research cannot commence until written approval is provided by the Curator.

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