Established in 1894, the Mammal Collection is worldwide in scope. It contains more than 230,000 specimens and is one of the most heavily used mammal collections in the world. A total of 540 primary type specimens have been catalogued.
Collection Strengths
The collection's absolute size and geographic and taxonomic representation make it one of the most significant collections for specimen-based studies in mammalogy.
Geographic Areas
- Neotropical (particularly Peru, Chile, and Colombia)
- Afro-tropics (particularly Tanzania, Madagascar, and Kenya)
- Indo-Malayan (particularly the Philippines, China, and Malaysia)
- Palearctic (particularly Egypt, Iran, and Afghanistan)
Taxonomic Strengths
All orders and all but one extant families (the monotypic bat family Craseonycteridae) are represented in The Field Museum's mammal collections.
- Rodentia
- Chiroptera
- Soricomorpha
- Carnivora
Collection Organization
The Mammal Collection is organized according to "Mammal Species of the World, 3rd ed." (Wilson and Reeder, 2005), with some modifications. However, users are cautioned that historical names may still be in use. If you do not find the taxon you seek in the main mammal collection search, try our taxonomy option to find how it might be filed within our collection. While we strive for accuracy in the data presented, we cannot guarantee it and urge users to verify all data. Currently records from Madagascar are not available.
