The Museum of Southwestern Biology (MSB) is a research and teaching facility in the Department of Biology, University of New Mexico. MSB houses collections of vertebrates, arthropods, plants and genomic materials from the American Southwest, Central and South America, and from throughout the world. The MSB consists of ten divisions, one special program (the USGS Arid Lands Field Station) and an inter-divisional program in biodiversity informatics.

Each division or program sets its own policies for visitors, researchers and data inquiries. For further information visit the appropriate division or program web pages.

Congratulations to Chris Frazier and co-authors John Wall (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) and Sharon Grant (The Natural History Museum, London), on the publication and release of:

"Initiating a Collection Digitisation Project". This document is designed to give the reader the confidence to get started and to make the right decisions when planning a natural history collection digitisation project. The authors have years of experience working with collections and they have instilled this expertise into this paper so one can more efficiently ask the right questions and make the appropriate plans prior to committing any resources to the task. Published by Global Biodiversity Information Facility http://www.gbif.org

Congratulations to Joseph Cook and Steven MacDonald on the publication and release of their latest book:

MacDonald, S.O. and Joseph A. Cook. Recent Mammals of Alaska. 2009.

University of Alaska Press. Hardbound: 387 pages. Price: $55.00 U.S. [Amazon: $34.65].

This authoritative reference is the first comprehensive accounting of the 116 mammal species (extinct and extant) that have inhabited Alaska and adjacent waters during the last ten thousand years (the Holocene ). The book has three primary sections:  introduction and overview, individual species accounts, and appendices. Each species account includes taxonomy, common names, systematics, distribution, habitat, status, fossils and range maps. The book is generously illustrated with line drawings by W. D. Berry and others. Appendices summarize information on distribution, specimens, conservation status, introductions and translocations, island faunas, and provide an overview of the pre-Holocene fauna based on the fossil record. Recent Mammals of Alaska is the first accessible reference on this topic for scholars, wildlife managers, students, and amateur naturalists.

The 94th Annual Meeting of the ESA will be in Albuquerque this year. ESA - Annual Meeting 2009: Albuquerque, NM

Short-horned lizard Phrynosoma hernandesii (I. Murray), Organ Mountains (M. Weisenberger), Escobaria organensis (T. Todsen)

Praying Mantis (S. Davidson), Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum (I. Murray), CERIA (J. Mygatt)