Collection

Collection managers

and taxidermists

Our people
in the collection tower

With 43 million objects, it is truly a monumental task to keep everything intact and available for scientific research. Our collection managers have that task. Below you can see who they are.

Contact

If you want to do research on a specific sub-collection, you should contact these people. For general questions about our collection you can email us.

collectie@naturalis.nl

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Entomology

The insect collection is Naturalis' largest collection, with an estimated 18 million insects.

Vertebrates

'Vertebrates' are the animals with bones. At Naturalis we have divided these into four sub-collections: Birds, Mammals, Fish and Reptiles & Amphibians.

Invertebrates

Invertebrates minus the insects. About 13 million specimens, from parasitic worms to centipedes to corals, sponges, shells and much more.

Botany

Our plant collection is enormous: 7.5 million dried plants (all digitized!) and about 275,000 plants or parts of plants in strong water. For historical reasons, the botanical collection also includes mushrooms and lichens, although this is not entirely biologically correct.

Geology

The Naturalis geological collection consists of 3,200,000 fossils and 800,000 rocks and minerals.

Taxidermists
and collectors

Our collection managers are assisted by taxidermists, supplemented by a team of freelancers and volunteers. The Naturalis project ARISE has its own collection, as a reference for all species identification.