Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

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Associated Species (Specimen/Description)

Definition:

Observations:

1. For biological sciences: You may enter the binomial names (genus and species) of other specimens collected at the same time as the specimen that is the subject of the record.
   Example

   	Discipline	botany
   	Genus	Galium
   	Species	mollugo
   	Associated Species	Acer negundo

2. For Earth sciences: This field is particularly useful for documenting specimens that contain one or more secondary minerals.
   Example

   	Discipline	mineralogy
   	Species	quartz
   	Associated Species	pectolite; stilbite

3. For better search results in your database, avoid a large variety of terms; draw up an authority list and add keywords as necessary.

Entry rules:

1. Enter the full name of the associated species; do not use abbreviations.
2. If there is more than one associated species, enter the different names in decreasing order of importance, and separate each with a comma followed by a space.
   Example

   	Discipline	petrology
   	Rock Name	steatite
   	Associated Species	pyrite; galena

3. For biological sciences: Enter the scientific names of the genus and the species of associated specimens. In accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature, the first letter of the taxon of the genus is upper case while that of the species is lower case.
   Example

   	Discipline	botany
   	Genus	Luzula
   	Species	parviflora
   	Associated Species	Alnus rubra

4. If you are unsure whether your information is correct, include a space and a question mark after the name.