Z dziejów Gabinetu Zoologicznego Historyczne eksponaty kręgowców w zbiorach Muzeum i Instytutu Zoologii PAN Część 1

Iwan, Dariusz (1961– ); Cegliński, Arkadiusz; Kowalski, Hubert; Mierzwa-Szymkowiak, Dominika; Szeląg, Dariusz

doi:ISSN 0076-6372

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Title: Z dziejów Gabinetu Zoologicznego Historyczne eksponaty kręgowców w zbiorach Muzeum i Instytutu Zoologii PAN Część 1

Abstract:

The present twelfth volume of the new Memorabilia Zoologica series is a direct con-tinuation of the preceding publication, which presented the results of archival queries con-cerning historical invertebrate specimens preserved in the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (MIZ PAS). This time, the queries covered vertebrate collections: fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The current vol-ume contains only mounted birds, clutches, and nests. Bird skins will be presented in the subsequent, thirteenth volume. Once again, the focus was placed on museum and archival collections dating from 1818–1919, with particular attention to specimens originating from the Zoological Cabinet of the University of Warsaw and the Count Branicki Museum in Warsaw (merged in 1919 and transformed into the National Museum of Natural History – Zoological Department, today MIZ PAS). The catalogue prepared for this volume brings together historical zoological collections shaped through the work of prominent Polish zoologists such as Feliks Paweł Jarocki (1790–1865), Władysław Taczanowski (1819–1890), Benedykt Dybowski (1833–1930), and Jan Sztolcman (1854–1928). The MIZ PAS collection comprises specimens originating from all over the world and from various periods. Among them are, for example, predatory cats from Algeria, snakes from Guyana, marsupials from Australia, and birds from Oceania. The specimens derive primarily from scientific expeditions, donations, exchanges, and purchases. During the preparation of this catalogue, provenance research was conducted based on analyses of archival materials. Because nearly the entire archival collection of the MIZ PAS was destroyed during the World War II, carrying out such research proved to be an exceptionally difficult task. Thanks to the work and extensive queries undertaken in Polish and foreign archives, the research team succeeded in compiling a list of Warsaw’s historical vertebrate specimens. Nonetheless, it must be noted that the MIZ PAS still holds numerous specimens of unidentified provenance, which require further investigation using specialist research methods, such as genetic analyses and physicochemical studies. The results of the archival queries carried out within the project “Reconstruction and Development of the Scientific Collections of the Zoological Cabinet of the University of Warsaw: From the 18th-Century Musaeum Polonicum to the National Museum of Natural History” [Rekonstrukcja i opracowanie zbiorów naukowych Gabinetu Zoologicznego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Od XVIII-wiecznego Musaeum Polonicum do Narodowego Muzeum Przyrodniczego]” have also been made available online. To facilitate access to the information, the lists of specimens fromthe Zoological Cabinet discussed in this vol-ume are likewise available in the form of searchable databases.