What do we do now?

[Colin McHenry <s172579@student.uq.edu.au>]

Image the following situation...

You're working on a descriptions of extinct species X, known fron a few
incomplete specimens from a certain part of the world.  Somebody tells you
that they have found a nice specimen, which would be useful to have a look
at, but they are looking for a private sale and the specimen is unlikely to
get to a museum.  You are, however, welcome to look at it as much as you
want before it is sold.

So the question is; presuming that the specimen never makes it to a museum
collection, is any work which includes it in a description of species X
admissable for a thesis and/or a publication?  Has anybody had experience of
this sort of thing?  Are there any rules?

Feedback would be appreciated...


Colin