Zoology Museum
The Zoology Museum has two components: the vertebrate section in rooms BI 046C, 036 and 044A and the invertebrate section in rooms BI 460, 460A-D and 460F. Both collections are used for a wide variety of teaching ranging from courses in vertebrate and invertebrate diversity through to courses in fine art and biomimicry.
There are numerous opportunities for senior undergraduate research projects and honours theses each year. Generally these projects develop from the interests of student volunteers being matched with departmental researchers in the students’ final year.
Vertebrate section
The vertebrate section holdings include the following:
- 12,000 fish specimens
- 600 amphibian specimens
- 450 reptile specimens
- 1200 bird specimens
- 2000 mammal specimens
Invertebrate section
The invertebrate section earliest material dates to the late 1800s and its greatest strengths are in material from the Calgary area, Kananaskis Valley, Waterton Lakes, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks. It also has smaller collections of material from West Africa and Central America.
The holdings include the following:
- Approximately 1.25 million specimens in alcohol
- ca. 160,000 pinned and enveloped insect specimens
- A smaller collection of dry and alcohol preserved molluscs (snails and clams)