Palaeobotany

Overview

Palaeobotany groups 27 collection units from the Palaeobotany section within the ES Invertebrates and Plants Palaeobiology division (Earth Sciences), covering an estimated 409,226 individual items held across 367,021 curatorial/storage units. Material is predominantly mixed (24 of 27 collection units), whole organisms (1 of 27 collection units), and macrofossils (1 of 27 collection units). Preservation is mainly other, dried, and hand specimens.

Value

Curatorial assessment rates this product highly on Strategy/mission/research, Development potential, and Usage (avg. 4.5/5 across its top three scored dimensions), indicating it is well positioned for external licensing relative to other NHM holdings. This material already shows above-average usage/demand signals internally, suggesting a receptive external market.

Use Cases

1. training data for fossil-identification and palaeontological computer-vision models
2. reference datasets for evolutionary and stratigraphic research
3. content for natural-history media, documentaries, and museum digital exhibits
4. 3D scanning and reconstruction projects for education, VR/AR, and scientific visualisation
5. academic and institutional research licensing (biodiversity, systematics, and comparative studies)
6. new digital product development generally — this group scores well as a strong candidate for investment