The group Cnidaria ("nettles") includes jellyfish, anemones, hydroids and coral, but coral is the most represented part of the collection at Naturalis. It primarily includes many Indo-Pacific species by expeditions of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as the Siboga expedition, and more recent expeditions. There is also a lot of (Dutch) Caribbean material. Taxonomically, there is great coverage due to active research on soft corals and stony corals. In the past, much research has also been done on the other groups within the nettles. The collection is currently being rearranged; the intended arrangement will assume the larger taxonomic groups within corals.
Diversity
Naturalis' nettle animal collection contains about 85,000 specimens and is still growing. During expeditions and targeted research, new species are still being discovered and included in the collection. By the way, new species can certainly be discovered in the collection itself as well! Our collection has great coverage in the number of species. The collection is arranged taxonomically. Most specimens come from the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean regions such as from the former colonies and the Caribbean Netherlands. The collection still grows because of regular expeditions. The nettle collection has different ways of preservation, there are dry objects, animals on alcohol or other liquid, tissue samples, as well as glass preparations and SEM stubs.
History
The nettle collection contains a wide variety of species unknown to many. The collection is colorful in that colors from groups of anemones and soft corals are often well preserved. The collection is also rich in type specimens due to a long history of research. Especially since the beginning of the 20th century, much attention has been paid to these collections by such notable names as Gustav Albert Stiasny (1877-1946), Hilbrand Boschma (1893-1976), Jakob Verseveldt (1903-1987), Willem Vervoort (1917-2010), Maya Borel Best, Koos den Hartog (1942-2000), Leen van Ofwegen (1953-2021) and our current researchers.
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