Many of the world’s animal and plant species are still to be described. Year after year, researchers describe new species for science. This is the case of the species Xerocrassa edmundi Martínez–Ortí, 2006, described in the twenty-first century by Alberto Martínez Ortí.. He studied samples collected from the province of Castelló on which he based his description of this new species.
The holotype and some paratypes are conserved in the Museu Valencià d’Història Natural , while other paratypes (specimens collected at the same time as the holotype) are to be found in the Museum’s collection. This dispersion guarantees that some originals will be secure in the event of the loss or destruction of some of the samples in one particular museum. This is equivalent to a computer back-up, and this type of geographical dispersion is commonly employed to safeguard original specimens.
Type specimens are of great scientific value and are treasured as witnesses of the evolution of the elements present today in our natural diversity.
Shell of Xerocrassa edmundi MZB 2005–0549
More information: Xerocrassa edmundi