Large Query Warning

Queries returning more than approximately 2000 records may take a long time to finish. Be patient and do not submit the query multiple times, this will not help. Once submitted, queries may not be aborted, so you should avoid queries you know will return many records (e.g., Genus = "Rattus" or Prep Type = "Fluid" (with all other fields left blank).

Query results may be downloaded in CSV format from the Results List page but the download is limited to 2000 records-- just as the record set available online is also limited to 2000 records. If you need larger data sets, contact the appropriate department.

Simple Queries

Enter your search criteria in the query box and select the appropriate target field (Genus, Species, Country, State, Collector or Catalog Number) from the associated drop down list. For example, to find all specimens from Montana (i.e., State = "Montana"), do the following:

"AND" Queries

Form your query as above, but use more than one filter line. For example, to find all Micromys minutus from China, do the following:

"OR" Queries

Enter your query parameters on separate lines and set the target field to be the same on each line used. For example, to find all records where either "Felis" or "Lynx" appears in the Genus field, enter your query as follows:

Prep Type Queries

Any query can be further limited by specifying the desired Prep Type on the fourth row of the query form. This query will return only those records where the specimen includes the selected prep type, though all preps for those records will be viewable.

Option to Show Type Specimens Only

To show records of type specimens only, click the check box. This option can be combined with any other query type.

Ornithology Query Notes

Queries by Catalog Number and Prep Type in Ornithology are combined on a single query line. A Catalog Number query requires both the Prep Type and the Catalog Number, as shown:

To search for all records of a particular Prep Type, select it from the drop-down list and choose Prep Type (rather than Catalog Number), as shown below. Note that this query can be limited by the other three query lines as shown in "Prep Type Queries, above.

Sorting Query Results

Query results are initially sorted by Catalog Number. Clicking the column headers on the Results List page will sort results in ascending order of that field, with a secondary sort by Catalog Number. All sorting, whether by default or by clicking column headers is in ascending order. Descending order sorting is not currently available.