Rudolph Arndt was a professor at Stockton State College (now Stockton University) in New Jersey. He and his students collected reptiles, amphibians, and fishes up and down the east coast from the 1970s to the 2000s. In 2004, the Museum acquired the specimens that were collected.

Herbert D. Athearn, of Cleveland, Tennessee, collected and exchanged freshwater mollusks specimens from 1940 until about 2006. He collected extensively in the northeastern and southeastern United States. He created the Museum of Fluviatile Mollusks in his own home and this mollusk collection was the largest privately held collection of freshwater mollusks in the country. It was acquired by the Museum in 2007.

Joseph R. Bailey was a zoology professor at Duke University for several decades. He co-authored the book Amphibians and reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia.  Dr. Bailey’s extensive field notes include observations about fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, and cover decades from the 1940s to the 1990s.

Edward F. Menhinick was a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for over 40 years.  His book The freshwater fishes of North Carolina is a standard resource for fishery biologists.  He mentored hundreds of students who helped him collect fishes and insects throughout the state. His field notes span the years 1963-1996.

William M. Palmer worked at the Museum and collected extensively for decades. He was a co-author on Amphibians and reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia and, with Alvin Braswell, co-author of Reptiles of North Carolina. His meticulous field notes cover observations made between 1964 and 2000.