Location and specimen deposition of Kinorhyncha were analysed for the time period 1863–2020 based on data generated from the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). From at least 11,760 specimens collected during this time period according to the scientific literature from all fields of research, 41 % were deposited in a reference collection, 21 % in a personal collection, and for 38 % it is unknown whether or not they were deposited at all. Whereas no type material was mentioned in publications to have been deposited in a reference collection before 1938, the situation improved in the 1960s–1980s with most specimens deposited. The most recent time period 2011–2020 suffered again from a low deposition rate of 55 % for the material of new species as types plus 15 % as non-types and an overall deposition rate of 42 % for types plus non-types of new and known species. This is the first time that the deposition behaviour is documented for an entire animal group for all fields of research over a time period of 158 years. The implications for kinorhynch research and for zoological science at large are discussed. The results presented are regarded as a wake-up call for scientists to consider their current deposition behaviour, to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, funding and permitting bodies, as well as journal editors to tighten their deposition requirements, and to the funding bodies to provide funding for the deposition of specimens as soon as ever possible in order to keep the loss of the cultural heritage in natural history to a minimum. |
