ZOOLOGY COLLECTIONS - MOLLUSKS & OTHER INVERTEBRATES
The 46,000+ lots of Mollusca are represented by 800,000 cataloged specimens, including 287 primary types. This collection is one of the most significant in the Zoology Section and within the top 15 North American museums. Dating back to the early 1900s, it arose from the collecting efforts of one of the museum's founders, Junius Henderson. The mollusc collection is worldwide in scope, about half marine species, a quarter freshwater species, and the remainder terrestrial forms.
The non-mollusc Invertebrates collection (excluding insects & spiders, which are housed in the Entomology Section) includes marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms. Over 2,900 lots representing 20,000+ specimens of invertebrates have been cataloged. Some of these are used for teaching, although the vast majority of the collection is used for research. The Invertebrates collection is particularly strong with leeches, crayfishes and other freshwater invertebrates of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions.
Curator Robert Guralnick focuses his research on freshwater mollusks of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region. Shi-Kuei Wu, Curator Emeritus, has continued developing the mollusc collection the past 25 years, focusing his research on the gastropods of Great Plains region. Please contact Robert Guralnick or collections manager Gene Hall with any questions about the collection's specimens and database.
