Zoology: collectors and collections

The zoological collections are of great historical importance, with unique material, including the most complete remains of the extinct dodo. Other collections include those of Charles Darwin, amassed during his voyage on The Beagle, and those of Thomas Bell and William Burchell, prolific natural historians in their own right.

The following is a list of articles detailing the lives of some of the zoologists that have contributed to the collections. Further information concerning the collections of databased material is also available.

Charles Darwin
An introduction to Darwin, and the material he collected during his voyage*
Thomas Bell
Bell's life and the important collections he gave to the Museum*
William Burchell
A brief biography of this important zoologist's life and work*

The birds collection
The collection of bird skins in zoology
The mammals collection
A unique collection including some important historical material
Extinct and endangered material
Around 2,000 specimens from species listed in the IUCN 2000 Red List

* These articles are part of the Learning more series.
They are PDF format and are usually 500kB or less in size.
To read these files you will need to download Adobe Reader
Alternatively, you can access text friendly HTML versions from Learning more

Enquiries regarding the collections should be sent to: zoology@oum.ox.ac.uk

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