The collections at the Virginia Museum of Natural History continue to grow, in keeping with the mission and purposes of the Museum: "to interpret Virginia's natural heritage within a global context in ways that are relevant to all the citizens of the Commonwealth, . . . to preserve elements of natural history, to serve as a permanent repository for specimens, especially those of Virginia origin, and to make the natural history material and its data accessible to researchers and the public."

The collections provide the basis for both in-house research and research that extends nationally and internationally.

“Natural History collections are very important to our understanding of the world around us,” said Haley Cartmell, collections manager at VMNH.  “When specimens are well cared for and well documented, they can provide a wealth of information to researchers in such areas as climate change, biodiversity, evolution, etc. The most important parts of a natural history collection are its type specimens, which are those specimens that were used to describe and name a species and are considered to be the standard representation of that species. When researchers find what they believe to be new species, they can compare them to the type specimens of similar species in order to ensure that the find is truly something that hasn’t been described before.”

VMNH Collections Quick Facts

• The Virginia Museum of Natural History has over 10 million specimens in its collections.
• The VMNH collections include specimens in the areas of Archaeology, Bryozoans, Earth Science, Amphibians and Reptiles, Recent Invertebrates, Invertebrate Fossils, Birds, Mammals, Frozen Tissues, Plant Fossils, and Vertebrate Fossils.
• The VMNH collections include 173 type specimens.
• VMNH staff are directly responsible for the naming of 520 species new to science.
• At just 27 years old, VMNH is a youngster among natural history museums, so these already impressive statistics will only grow over time.

VMNH Research and Collections By the Numbers: February 2010

Collection Areas

(For more information about the museum collections, please contact Jill Harris, Registrar, at jill.harris@vmnh.virginia.gov.)

Archaeology
Approximately 17,000 objects in 500 lots, more than 1,700 cataloged slides

Bryozoans
Approximately 200 species and about 5,000 cataloged specimens

Earth Science
Approximately 5,000 pieces and 70,000 feet of core

Exhibits and Education
More than 3,000 items, 1,500 slides, and more than 300 taxidermy mounts

Amphibians and Reptiles
More than 10,300 cataloged specimens

Recent Invertebrates
More than 1,500,000 specimens

Invertebrate Fossils
More than 10,000,000 specimens

Birds
Approximately 11,000 skins, approximately 9,000 eggs, and about 650 nests

Mammals
More than 20,000 specimens

Frozen Tissues
More than 8,800 samples representing more than 5,500 individuals

Plant Fossils
Approximately 1,200 pieces and 212 blocks with samples

Vertebrate Fossils
More than 5,000 items and 955 unprocessed lots