Short Description
The Coleoptera (beetle) collection of the Natural History Museum has just over 6 million dry-mounted specimens (whereby the specialised collections of aquatic beetles (including Dytiscidae, Elmidae, Hydraenidae, Hydrophilidae), the short-winged beetles (Staphylinidae), click beetles (Elateridae) and bark beetles (Curculionidae, Scolytinae) stand out due to their richness of types) and countless specimens fixed in liquid, are among the most important in the world.
In total, some 10,000 species are represented by types in the Coleoptera collection. As a physical database of biodiversity, this collection serves countless researchers from all over the world as a basis for studies from a wide range of disciplines, primarily in the fields of taxonomy, systematics and phylogeny. The bark beetle collection, in turn, is frequented by a large number of guest researchers due to its importance in applied research.
Contact Person
Dr. Matthias Seidel
Research Services
Visiting researchers have access to the collection and library, as well as suitable technical equipment. A stacking photography equipment of the department can also be used. If necessary, curators provide support on nature conservation and educational issues.
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
The research focus of the Coleoptera collection is currently on the taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of scarab, short-winged and aquatic beetles and, in cooperation with foreign researchers, on the phylogeny of higher systematic units based on morphological and molecular approaches. In addition, multiple expertise is made available to institutions in emerging countries (e.g. Myanmar, Vietnam) in order to facilitate structural development work, train local staff and provide logistical and scientific support for nature conservation projects.
Allocation to research infrastructure
2. Zoologische Abteilung (Entomologie), Naturhistorisches Museum Wien