Crustacea

Giant woodlouse in a pot of strong water(?)

The crustacea (lobster-like) include not only crabs and lobsters, but also barnacles and woodlice. Naturalis has about 140,000 of them, which is one of the largest collections in this field in the world. Because of the long history of collecting and researching, the collection is rich in collection type specimens and species from all kinds of geographical areas. It is a large and active collection. Leiden's fluid collection is taxonomically arranged. The collection originating from the Zoological Museum in Amsterdam is currently being catalogued and merged with the Leiden collection.

Highlights

The crustacean collection is mainly preserved in alcohol, but there are also (often historic) dry specimens and glass preparations. The collection in Leiden collection specializes in Decadopa (crabs, lobsters and shrimp). The collection has strong global coverage, but the Indo-Pacific region is particularly well represented. The diversity known to date is often strongly represented. Therefore, this collection is intensively used by researchers from all over the world. Amsterdam, on the other hand, has a very rich history of research on the Amphipoda (copepods) and Copepoda (copepods).

from De Haan
to Holthuis

This collection is known for its rich history and the size it has acquired over time. Several books and important publications have been published about this collection and the people involved in it (e.g. Holthuis 1995; Fransen et al. 1997; Alsemgeest & Fransen 2016). Important names that have worked on this collection include Wilhem de Haan (1801-1855), Jan Adrianus Herklots (1820-1872), Johannes Govertus de Man (1850-1930), Rutgerus Horst (1849-1930), Johan Jacob Tesch (1877-1954), Gustav Albert Stiasny (1877-1946), Willem Vervoort (1917-2010), Jan Hendrik Stock (1931-1997), Lipke Bijdeley Holthuis (1921-2008) and our current researchers.

Recently

Nowadays, symbiotic relationships of shrimp are often highlighted. In addition to the countless new species that continue to be described every year, there is a lot of attention for the symbiotic relationships with their hosts, such as corals. In addition to shrimp, a lot of active research is being done on the evolutionary history and biodiversity of groundwater crustaceans. Often a very unknown group, but ecologically important due to their diversity and sometimes exclusive occurrence in freshwater caves, river bottoms and hot springs. So in our collection, which continues to grow weekly, there is still an awful lot to discover.

Centerpieces

The Japanese giant crab brought from Japan by Philipp Franz von Siebold stands out the most. Other crustaceans, in contrast, are interesting because they live on the skin of whales or moonfish. The giant woodlouse at the top of this page was caught by then-curator Lipke Bijdeley Holthuis herself near the Bahamas.