Petra Sierwald and Abigail Julia
Reft. 2004. The Millipede Collections of the World. Fieldiana, Zoology,
New Series No 103 (1532). 100 pages
For many conspicuous
organism groups, such as mammals and birds, the species inhabiting our planet
are known and cataloged. Specimen collections are often completely computerized
and such data are frequently available on-line. However, many of the
species-rich organism groups are very poorly known. Vast number of species
remains undiscovered. Biological specimen collections play a pivotal role in
the endeavor to discover and describe the species of living organisms on our
planet. Such collections have maintained identified material of the known fauna
and flora for more than two centuries. Furthermore, at least a good portion of
the unknown flora and fauna can be found in the unsorted and unidentified
backlog of specimen collections. For
many taxonomically neglected organism groups, such as the Myriapoda (comprising
the centipedes, millipedes, pauropods and symphylans), we do not even know
where such useful specimen collections might be located. In 1972, the 2nd International
Congress of Myriapodology recommended 'that myriapodologists throughout the
world … bring together the information needed for a world-list of collections
in this field' (Kraus, 1974).
The collections data were
generated by sending questionnaires (per mail and electronically) to well over
1,000 biological collection institutions in 143 countries. We identified 268 biological collection
institutions harboring millipede collections in 54 countries. There are also
several private collections, but we were unable to capture significant data on
those. Most collections listed here as harboring millipede collections also
house specimens of the remaining three myriapod groups, the centipedes,
pauropods and symphylans, and accordingly, this catalog will be of use for
research focusing on these groups as well. Although the catalog focuses on
collections of Recent millipede material, a preliminary list of 43 collections
containing fossil millipedes is included in the printed catalog.
Table 1 lists the
268 collections harboring millipede collections. Type holdings and approximate
size of each collection (in number of specimen lots) are indicated. The catalog
(see citation above) lists mailing addresses, name(s) of curatorial staff and
e-mail addresses if available. Of the
268 millipede collections, nine collections house more than 20,000 specimen
lots, 77 contain more than 1,000 specimen lots.
Table 2 lists
millipede species authors and the collections (by acronym) that house type
material by that particular author. Type material was reported from 89
collections, with six collections harboring more than 1,000 type lots
each. More than 21,400 type lots
(including all type categories) were reported by the collections. Table 2 is certainly not complete. The data
for this table were assembled from the returned questionnaires. The original
taxonomic literature was not consulted.
In some cases, the listed institutions may not actually house the type
material of the author, but voucher material.
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Table 1: Acronyms of biological specimen collections
harboring millipedes. T indicates type holdings. many of the museum’s
and collections listed have web sites and can be found on-line. The last column
indicates the size of the collection for collections containing more than 1,000
lots. A lot is defined as ‘all specimens belonging to a single species
collected at a single collecting event, usually the content of a 'vial' in the
identified [= formed] collection.
|
Acronym |
T |
Name of Collection, preceeded by Country Name
|
size of
collection |
|
AHBC |
|
USA,
Utah, St. George, Dixie College |
|
|
AMGS |
T |
South
Africa, Cape Province, Grahamstown, Albany Museum |
|
|
AMNH |
T |
USA, New
York, New York, American Museum of Natural History |
10,000 to
20,000 lots |
|
AMNZ |
|
New
Zealand, Auckland, Auckland War Memorial Museum, formerly the Auckland
Institute and Museum |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
AMS |
T |
Australia,
New South Wales, Sydney, Australian Museum |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
ANIC |
|
Australia,
Australian Capital Territory, Canberra City, CSIRO, Australian National
Insect Collection |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
ANSP |
T |
USA,
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences |
|
|
ARPA |
|
Private
collection of Dr. Antonio Pérez-Asso |
5,000 to
10,000 lots |
|
ASCU |
|
Australia,
New South Wales, Orange, Orange Agricultural Institute, Agricultural
Scientific Collections Unit |
|
|
AUBL |
|
Lebanon,
Beirut, University of Beirut, Museum of Natural History |
|
|
AUEM |
|
USA,
Alabama, Auburn, Auburn University |
|
|
BAMZ |
|
Bermuda,
Hamilton, Bermuda Natural History Museum and Aquarium |
|
|
BCPM |
T |
Canada,
British Columbia, Victoria, Royal British Columbia Museum [British Columbia
Provincial Museum] |
|
|
BFIC |
|
France, Brunoy, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
BMBN |
|
United
Kingdon, Brighton, Booth Museum of Natural History |
|
|
BMNH |
T |
United
Kingdom, London, The Natural History Museum [formerly British Museum (Natural
History)] |
5,000 to
10,000 lots |
|
BMSA |
|
South
Africa, Bloemfontein, National Museum Bloemfontein |
|
|
BMSC |
|
USA, New
York, Buffalo, Buffalo Museum of Science |
|
|
BMUK |
|
United
Kingdom, Bolton, Bolton Museum |
|
|
BNM |
T |
Switzerland, Chur, Bündner Natur-Museum |
|
|
BPBM |
T |
USA, Hawaii, Honolulu, Bernice P. Bishop Museum |
|
|
BYU |
|
USA,
Utah, Provo, Brigham Young University, Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum |
|
|
CAS |
T |
USA,
California, San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences |
10,000 to
20,000 lots |
|
CASM |
|
USA,
Illinois, Chicago, Chicago Academy of Sciences, Peggy Notebaert Nature
Museum, formerly Museum of Natural History |
|
|
CBFC |
|
Bolivia, La Paz, Coleccion Boliviana de Fauna |
|
|
CBMJ |
|
Japan, Chiba, Chiba Prefectural Museum |
|
|
CIBN |
|
México, La Paz, Coleccion de Aracnologia y Entomologia
del CIB (Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas), Centro de Investigaciones del
Noroeste |
|
|
CIDA |
|
USA,
Idaho, Caldwell, Albertson College, Museum of Natural History |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
CISM |
|
USA,
Michigan, Bloomfield Hills, Cranbrook Institute of Science |
|
|
CLEV |
|
USA,
Ohio, Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Natural History |
|
|
CLMP |
|
Australia,
Western Australia, Como, Department of Conservation & Land Management |
|
|
CLNP |
|
USA,
Oregon, Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park |
|
|
CLSHU |
|
China,
Baoding, Hebei, College of the Life Sciences, Hebei University |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
CMBK |
|
United
Kingdom, Bristol, The City Museum and Art Gallery |
|
|
CMNH |
|
USA,
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Natural History |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
CMNI |
|
Canada,
Ottawa, Canadian Museum of Nature, General Invertebrate Collection |
1,000 to
5,000 lots |
|
CMNZ |
T |
New
Zealand, Christchurch, Canterbury Museum |
|
|
CMUR |
|
United
Kingdom, Reading, Cole Museum, Division of Zoology, School of Animal &
Microbial Sciences, University of Reading |
|
|
CNC |
|
Canada,
Ontario, Ottawa, Canadian National Collection of Insects |
|
|
COLST |
|
USA,
Georgia, Columbus, Columbus State University |
|
|
CRICYT |
|
Argentina, Mendoza, Centro Regional de Investigaciones
Científicas y Técnicas |
|
|
CSCA |
|
USA,
California, Sacramento, California State Collection of Arthropods |
|
|
CSDS |
|
USA, California,
Baker, Desert Studies Center |
|
|
CSUC |
|
USA,
Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado State University |
|
|
CUCC |
|
USA,
South Carolina, Clemson, Clemson University |
|
|
CUIC |
|
USA, New
York, Ithaca, Cornell University |
|
|
CUMZ |
T |
United
Kingdom, Cambridge, University Museum |
|
|
DEBU |
|
Canada,
Ontario, Guelph, University of Guelph |
|
|
DENH |
|
USA, New
Hampshire, Durham, University of New Hampshire |
|
|
DMSA |
|
South
Africa, Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, Durban Natural Science Museum |
|
|
DNHC |
|
USA,
Colorado, Denver, Denver Museum of Natural History |
|
|
EIUC |
|
USA, Illinois, Charleston, Eastern Illinois University |
|
|
EMAU |
|
Germany, Greifswald, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität
Greifswald |
|
|
EMEC |
T |
USA,
California, Berkeley, University of California, Essig Museum of Entomology |
|
|
FCDA |
|
USA,
California, Fresno, Fresno County Department of Agriculture |
|
|
FCE |
|
Uruguay, Montevideo, Facultad de Ciencias |
|
|
FMNH |
T |
USA,
Illinois, Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History |
5,000 to
10,000 lots |
|
FSCA |
T |
USA,
Florida, Gainesville, Division of Plant Industry, Florida State Collection of
Arthropods |
More than
20,000 lots |
|
GCNP |
|
USA,
Arizona, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park |
|
|
GNM |
T |
Sweden, Göteborg, Naturhistoriska Museet |
More than
20,000 lots |
|
HDOA |
|