DeLynn collection earns ASM accreditation

The Ruth DeLynn Cetacean Osteological Collection at Mote Marine Laboratory recently earned accreditation by the American Society of Mammalogists.

The exhibit is named for Longboat Key resident and Mote adjunct scientist Ruth DeLynn, who stored the collection of bones in Mote’s attic for 24 years before it received a new home at Mote’s Ann and Alfred Goldstein Marine Mammal Research and Rehabilitation Center in October 2007.

ASM promotes a greater understanding of the role of mammals in the natural world and published a Western Hemisphere director of mammal specimen collections that meet its standards for upkeep, organization, data records, accessibility and more.

The ASM described the DeLynn collection, which includes 650 bone specimens from 17 species of dolphins and whales, as “unsurpassed” in scientific value.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].