Zoological collections
Bergen Museum is keeping comprehensive zoological collections and archives. These are accessible for research purposes and are extensively used by an international community of researchers in fields such as biosystematics, taxonomy, evolutionary biology, palaeoecology, archaeology. Millions of preserved specimens of invertebrates and vertebrates are kept as indispensibe research material for zoology and other research fields. Loans of reseach material or other queries concerning the collections should be addressed to the staff of the relevant collection unit.
Sperm whale skin marked by suckers from giant squid prey. Photo: E. Willassen University of Bergen
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Vertebrate collections
The vertebrate collections contain about 21.000 samples of 3.174 species. An addtional collection of vertebrate bones is kept in a separtate unit, the Ostelogical collections.
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Osteological collections
Recent and bioarchaeological bone material is collected and kept in Osteological section. The animal bones have been collected from around the country. It is the largest bone collection in Norway and one of the largest in Europe.
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Invertebrate collections
The Invertebrate collections are keeping millions of animal samples that are being used in the exploration, description, and generation og knowledge of zoological diversity. Most of the specimens are tiny and not suitable for public display. They are nevertheless important specimens for an international community of researchers in zoology.
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Entomology collections
The Entomological collections contain research material of all extant terrestrial and aquatic arthropod groups except crustaceans:Hexapoda, Myriopoda, Tardigrada, Arachnoidea and Cheliceratea.