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| University of Michigan |
| 1109 Geddes Avenue |
| Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1079 |
| 734-764-0476 |
 The
mammal collection of the Museum of Zoology was established in 1837,
when the State Legislature authorized the University to establish
a “cabinet of natural history” and has grown steadily
to its current size, with over 150,000 specimens.An important feature of the mammal collection at the Museum of Zoology is our emphasis on “non-traditional” specimens; that is, preparations that go beyond or replace the traditional “skin and skull.” Our fluid collection numbers over 15,000 specimens. The collection of post-cranial skeletons is also very large, over 10,000 specimens. We also maintain a very large collection of bacula and cleared and stained glandes penes, and we have over 3,000 frozen tissue specimens. Some of the most important taxonomic components of the University of Michigan mammal collection are the rodents, with over 90,000 specimens; the lagomorphs, with over 2,800 specimens; the chiroptera, with over 14,000 specimens; insectivores, with over 6,000 specimens; and North American carnivores, with over 4,000 specimens. Regionally, the specimen has very strong representation from the Americas (roughly 110,000 specimens), and Southeast Asia (roughly 6,000 specimens). The Mammal Division houses 130 primary types, including 127 holotypes and 3 neotypes. The mammal collection at Michigan was one of the first large collections in the country to computerize its catalogs. We plan on making a limited version of our catalog available through the worldwide web sometime this fall. The Mammal Division employs the services of two Curators, Dr. Philip Myers and Dr. Priscilla Tucker; a Collection Manager, Stephen Hinshaw; and one cat lover, our secretary, Beverly Dole. For information on loans of tissues and issues dealing with genetic material, e-mail inquiries are preferred and should be directed to Dr. Tucker (ptuck@umich.edu). Loan requests for other museum preparations should be sent to Dr. Myers (pmyers@umich.edu). |
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