SIGNIFY: A Digital Archive of Singapore’s Historical Biodiversity

SIGNIFY: A Digital Archive of Singapore’s Historical Biodiversity is an initiative of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) at the National University of Singapore. The project receives generous support from Mr Terence Anthony McNeice (in honour of Sir Percy McNeice), the Lee Foundation and Mr Goh Geok Khim. The project will digitise and document approximately 10,000 historically-important specimens collected from Singapore over the last 200 years that are currently housed in museums worldwide with an emphasis on type specimens – the exemplars on which scientific names are based. Such specimens are essential to studying and distinguishing species. This information is in turn necessary to further our understanding of Singapore’s natural heritage as well as its natural environment, starting from the most fundamental knowledge of the island’s biodiversity, to the most cutting-edge, such as studying the species of corals that may be used in mitigating the climate crisis. All of these depend on us knowing as much as possible about species – how to tell one from another, where they are found and their role in the environment.

Beyond ensuring the digital availability of these historically-important specimens, SIGNIFY will also foster research collaborations between the institutions holding this material and LKCNHM (which will also umbrella other research centres in Singapore). All digitised material resulting from this project will be freely and openly available via the web platforms of partner institutions as well as through the SIGNIFY website. Each digitised specimen will include not just high-resolution images but also accompanying metadata, and where possible, the histories associated with it.

A digitised image of the type specimen of the mangrove pit viper, which is the first snake in Singapore to be given a scientific name, that is currently housed at the Natural History Museum, London. (Credit: SIGNIFY)

Biodiversity science is a global endeavour but the material which form its foundation are spread across institutions worldwide because of intentional design and historical circumstances. Although this decentralisation has caused challenges for research activity, the dispersal of specimens across museums has been vital in ensuring the long-term survivability of material that originated in Singapore. The island’s biodiverse riches are safely deposited across the globe.

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