Caribou. Pen and ink drawing by Laura Friis.
Shipping Specimens:
Teeth & Calcified Tissue
International Requirements
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About Us

Cementum Age Analysis

Black Bear Reproductive Histories

For Hunters & Outfitters

Legal Evidence Uses

Skeletochronology

Tetracycline Biomarker
Analysis


Ovary Analysis

FAQ

Experience, Accuracy,
& Precision


Artist Laura Friis

Artist Nami Bittner

Publications

What's New?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now requires the payment of a $55U.S. import fee for all parcels of teeth sent to the laboratory for processing. In addition, CITES permits must be validated by the Customs office of the exporting country. Please see details below.

Pre-shipment Checklist for Teeth and Calcified Tissue

  • Indicate species.
  • Use the species-specific standard tooth type or indicate substitutions.
  • Bundle envelopes together in groups to match the master inventory list.
  • Enclose the master inventory list.
    • Group the species. (Fisher canines: group genders.)
    • List numbers in serial order.
    • Indicate date of kill or of extraction from live animals.
    • Indicate gender for black bears (and any species for which a gender-specific age summary will be done.)
  • Computer diskettes: send Microsoft Excel files.
  • Shipments from outside US: Enclose permits inside the package; use recommended contents description on the outside of the package.


Matson's Laboratory LLC
US Post Office address:
PO Box 308, Milltown MT 59851 USA
Physical address (for UPS, FedEx, and other couriers):
8140 Flagler Road, Milltown MT 59851 USA
Email address: gjmatson@montana.com

Description of Checklist Items:

Organize the specimens by species. Because of size and morphology differences, specimens of each species are processed separately. Package specimens of each species separately.

Matson's cementum aging models are species-specific. For example, white-tailed deer I1 and mule deer I1 are aged by different models because the teeth erupt at different ages in the two species.

Place teeth dry in small paper envelopes of approximately 8 x 14 cm (coin envelopes work well). Do not use preservative liquids, plastic bags, or vials. Put envelopes in serial order by identification number. Use rubber bands to bundle the envelopes together in groups of 10 or 20 so they will remain in serial order during transit.

Prepare an Inventory List. This list should correspond exactly to the organization of the envelopes so technicians can use it to confirm specimen identification at the start of laboratory processing. The list can be on either hard copy or diskette.

The inventory list should also include species identification of the specimens and an indication of date of kill. Exact days should be recorded for dates between February 1 and August 31.

The cementum age of an unidentified non-standard tooth type may be incorrect because the animal's age at the time of tooth eruption may differ from that of the standard type. Technicians may not always recognize a non-standard tooth, so each should be plainly designated on both the tooth envelope and on the master inventory list.

Package specimens only in containers of the strongest cardboard or, for small orders, in padded envelopes. Light cardboard cartons will often be crushed and torn during postal handling. Paper envelopes will be torn by postal service canceling machines and the contents will by lost. Pad the shipments with shipping "popcorn" or paper to help keep the envelope bundles intact.

Ship packages properly. All shipments to Matson's Lab from all countries outside the U.S. must use regular government mail services. DO NOT use any courier (Purolator, DHL, etc.) Ship to: PO Box 308, Milltown MT 59851 USA.

 

International shipments have additional requirements:

ENDANGERED OR THREATENED SPECIES (ESA) PERMITS:
Some species, the Woodland Caribou in Southeast B.C. for example, are on the U.S. Endangered or Threatened list but may not be listed in CITES appendices. Special permits are required for these species; if you have any reasonable expectation that the species in your sample may be listed, please check before continuing with shipment preparations. The permitting process may take as long as 90 days, and must be started first by Matson's Lab. Contact us first so we can apply to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the permit.

CITES PERMITS: In compliance with the International Convention for Threatened and Endangered Species (CITES), permits are required to send biological specimens to Matson's Lab for processing. Permits are required for mammals listed in CITES Appendix I or Appendix II, either in the country of origin or in the US. In addition, permits are also required for mammals resembling threatened or endangered species (for example: the North American black bear).

Please enclose the original CITES permit and first 4 copies in an envelope inside the parcel plainly marked CITES PERMIT ENCLOSED. Put the envelope in a place where it will be easily found.

WARNING: Actual quantities and species of teeth sent to Matson's Lab MUST MATCH EXACTLY the quantities and species given in the accompanying CITES permits. If these do not match, Matson's will refuse processing of the sample until corrected permits are received.

To inquire about the status of the species for which you have specimens, please contact Matson's Lab. For permits, contact your closest government wildlife management agency.

A new requirement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to collect an Import Fee became effective 20 August 2008: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will require the payment of a $55 import fee for all shipments to our laboratory from outside the U.S. Matson’s will pay the fee at the time the parcel is received, and add the amount to the laboratory processing and analysis charge.

New requirement by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for CITES species - Customs Validation at time of export: The USFWS now requires Customs validation of the CITES permit at the time of export. The validation is placed in a box in the lower portion of the permit. There are 3 ways to comply with this requirement. Matson’s will appreciate hearing from you regarding the least inconvenient way you may have found to obtain the validation.

1. Hand carry the parcel to a Customs office near a government mail postal office and obtain the validation just before mailing the parcel
2. Contact an export broker and arrange to have the broker handle the validation of the permit and mailing of the parcel
3. Contact a courier, such as FedEx, and arrange to have the courier handle the validation of the permit and mailing of the parcel

Matson’s regrets the inconvenience caused by the requirement to obtain Customs validation of the CITES permit, and is attempting to get an exemption for teeth of CITES species sent to the laboratory for age analysis. We don’t know if our effort to obtain the exemption will be successful.

IMPORTANT: The CITES permit document has a “Valid until” box in which the exporter provides the date after which the permit is no longer valid. This date must allow a minimum of four months for unexpected delays in shipping, and in processing at Matson’s Lab. For example, if the permit date is 1 January and the samples will be sent sometime during the month of January, then the “Valid until” date should be 1 April or later.

PACKAGE MARKING: Put this language on customs labels and/or an additional package label: CONTENTS DRIED SPECIMENS FOR SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS. NON-ETIOLOGIC, NON-HAZARDOUS, NON-PERISHABLE.

CARRIER: Use only government mail services because these shipments will not be delayed at the border but will automatically go to a US Postal Service office for the required US Fish & Wildlife Service inspection. Transportation may be expedited by using INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS MAIL, a category that must be specifically requested at the time of mailing. WARNING FOR PRIVATE COURIER SHIPMENTS: These shipments may be held, requiring expensive services by a custom broker to forward the shipment to Matson's Lab. Shipments are not uniformly handled. Some go through a broker and some do not. There is a chance that a broker's fee of $70-$100 will be charged. We highly discourage sending specimens by private couriers. Ship by regular government mail with permits and marking as described above. The use of mail will be more economical and faster than if the parcel is processed by a broker.

WARNING: OUTFITTERS, TAXIDERMISTS, HUNTERS: Matson's Laboratory is no longer able to process teeth received from private individuals outside the U.S. Any teeth we receive must be discarded.

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Matson's Laboratory LLC
8140 Flagler Road
PO Box 308
Milltown MT 59851
Phone/Fax (406)258-6286 | Email: ittw@montana.com

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