Paleontology Collections and Databases
GNS Science is responsible for the management and development of the National Paleontology Collection and the New Zealand Fossil Record File as part of nationally significant databases.
The National Paleontological Collection
The National Paleontological Collection (NPC) has been recognised by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology (FRST) as one of the "Nationally significant" databases and collections. It includes a large number of type and figured specimens, and comprehensive stratigraphic and geological collections of fossil taxa from New Zealand and its surrounding area (including Antarctica). It also includes extensive molluscan, foraminiferal, and palynological systematic reference collections, important historical collections and foreign reference material. The collections are used primarily for research though some of the more interesting and spectacular specimens are on display at GNS Science and at TePapa - The Museum of New Zealand
- National Paleontology Collection
- New Zealand Stratigraphic Lexicon
- New Zealand Geological Timescale
- New Zealand Fossil Spores and Pollen Catalogue
- Cenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand
The Fossil Record File
GNS Science, together with the Geoscience Society of New Zealand, jointly own and manage the New Zealand Fossil Record File (FRF). This is a register of fossil localities from New Zealand and its neighbouring islands. The FRF was established as a paper file in 1946, and is a cataloguing system unique to New Zealand. In 1970 an electronic database (FRED: fossil record electronic database) was set up to capture the data from the paper records.