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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">I wouldn't want to rely on GBIF or
similar web-portals, as they mirror only the smaller proportions
of collections, why are already databased, and thus underestimates
actual number of objects stored in collections (especially in
insect collections as Doug pointed out). Second, because
US-collections are leading in digitisation efforts, this might
lead to misinterpretations if you compare collections on global
scale (In Europe, only Paris, London & Leiden had major
programmes for mass digitisation, if I am right).<br>
<br>
Also the Wikipedia link might be misleading in some respect: e.g
German Collections like Senckenberg institutes are mentioned
separately, and also our "museum" - which is rather a compound of
single museums and collections united under one administrative
head, including the Botanical Garden & Botanical Collection in
Munich - appear as separate institutions. This may lead to
underestimation of actual size of collections and objects stored
in collections.<br>
<br>
In fact, the Bavarian Natural History Collections united under the
SNSB holds 35-40 mio objects (mineralogy, palaeontology, geology,
botany, anthropology & zooarchaeology, zoology + regional
natural history museums such as Juramuseum Eichstätt which is
famous for the archaeopteryx, or Meteorite Impact Rieskratermuseum
in Nördlingen). Zoological Collections of ZSM alone hold ~ 25 mio
objects, 13 mio alone in the butterfly collection (which is the
largest in the world). In fact, we are one of the largest
collections Germany, but hardly anyone knows ... <br>
<br>
Dirk<br>
<br>
<br>
Am 28.01.2015 um 00:13 schrieb Doug Yanega:<br>
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/27/15 12:50 PM, Christopher Kemp
wrote:<br>
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<div>I don't know if this is empirically known or somewhat
debatable, but I'm trying to make a list of the top 5
natural history collections in the US, and in the world. So,
two lists. And I mean in terms of size, or number of
specimens. Please weigh in. I'm assuming NMNH, AMNH, the
Field for the US, but who's next? And in the world, I just
don't know: the NMNH, the BMNH, the AMNH? I don't know.
Share your thoughts. I'm at <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:cjkemp@gmail.com">cjkemp@gmail.com</a>, or
respond on the listserv.</div>
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The numbers are empirically known, though lists tend to be
compiled by discipline. Using absolute numbers will be very
misleading, and heavily bias your list towards
arthropod-containing collections (e.g., our collection of 3
million places us around #20 in terms of the size of North
American insect collections, for example; however, you won't find
very many collections that have no insects but still have over 3
million specimens). Number of types will also be highest in
insect-containing collections, as well.<br>
<br>
I'm trying to recall the last time I saw a printed ranking of
collections, and drawing a blank; however, the NMNH, AMNH, FMNH,
LACM, and CAS are what I recall as the largest US collections, but
there are others like the MCZ, Peabody, Carnegie, Bishop, and
ANSP. You can look up virtually all major collections in Wikipedia
for very up-to-date counts of holdings (<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_List-5Fof-5Fnatural-5Fhistory-5Fmuseums-5Fin-5Fthe-5FUnited-5FStates&d=AwMC-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=myvO-IsV_QaaN3EHvqE5Bx2De42llbeBeyYTzvumYJU&s=szR9bCje6egBBC1qphUuVAaNn0GQu45nso8-7-RDoKs&e=">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_history_museums_in_the_United_States</a>
for the US, and <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_List-5Fof-5Fnatural-5Fhistory-5Fmuseums&d=AwMC-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=myvO-IsV_QaaN3EHvqE5Bx2De42llbeBeyYTzvumYJU&s=ida5A6DumJmZHvhtnrqdNeMMZhCE9DCNmO9w0XG2JqY&e=">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_history_museums</a>
for worldwide), and derive rankings yourself. <br>
<br>
I just checked the museums I recalled above, and they are indeed
all quite large: NMNH - 126 million; LACM - 35 million; AMNH - 32
million; CAS - 26 million; FMNH - 24 million; Carnegie - 22
million; MCZ - 21 million; ANSP - 17 million; Peabody - 12
million. The Bishop Museum entry doesn't give their entire
holdings, but their insect collection alone is 13.5 million. If
all of the University of California's collections were housed
together (UC Riverside, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, primarily) we'd
also be on that list, with between 15-18 million as a group. I am
not sure if any stand-alone herbaria qualify for inclusion, though
many of the collections above include plant specimens. I believe
that Paris is the all-around largest, by a significant margin, but
the Wikipedia entry gives no estimate of their collection size.
The NHM in London claims only 80 million, which seems lower to me
than I would have supposed.<br>
<br>
Hope this helps,<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cache.ucr.edu_-7Eheraty_yanega.html&d=AwMC-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=myvO-IsV_QaaN3EHvqE5Bx2De42llbeBeyYTzvumYJU&s=WgQG8FoSu-ep4dNTC11Q7XttcfVxmy9gt3CSuQoiPno&e=">http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Dirk Neumann
Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
Postanschrift:
Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Labor
Münchhausenstr. 21
81247 München
Besuchen Sie unsere Sammlung:
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---------
Dirk Neumann
Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de
postal address:
Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
Dirk Neumann, Section Ichthyology / DNA-Lab
Muenchhausenstr. 21
81247 Munich (Germany)
Visit our section at:
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