MVZ Mammal Collection

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The MVZ mammal collection is the third largest in the United States and the largest such collection associated with an academic institution in this country. It contains approximately 196,000 skin, skull and fluid-preserved specimens. In addition to overall size, the collection ranks fourth in the number of primary type specimens it contains, with 347.

The collection is synoptic in coverage. It includes representatives of 25 of the 26 currently recognized orders, almost 60% of families, and more than 50% of the genera of Recent mammals. Rodents and bats are especially well-represented. Geographic coverage is worldwide, but strongest for western North America, i.e., the U.S. including Alaska, western Canada, and northwestern Mexico. Large and significant collections are present from Central America, South America, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.

Karyotype (chromosome) preparations are available for ca. 4,000 rodent specimens. Envelopes contain one to six slides per specimen and some are accompanied by black and white photos of chromosome spreads.

Links of Interest

Mammal Species of the World
American Society of Mammalogists
Mammalogists on Email