Catalogue of the mammals in the collection of the Slovenian Museum of Natural History
Katalog sesalcev v zbirki Prirodoslovenga muzeja Slovenije

english
slovenian

2013

Erinaceus   Lepus   mammalian species   Oryctolagus   Slovenia   taxidermy   zoology

Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Mammals were among the first objects on display in the Provincial Museum for Carniola (established in 1821 and a direct predecessor of the Slovenian Museum of Natural History) but the collection remained small throughout the 19th century and for the majority of the 20th century. During the last three decades the Mammal Collection expanded from about 700 specimens in early 1980s to a current ca 23,000 vouchers, of which 20,195 are catalogued. The Collection is regional in its geographical scope and 17,216 museum specimens (= 85.1% of all catalogued specimens) are from the south-eastern Europe; 11,213 specimens (=55.4% of all catalogued) are from a relatively small surface area (about 2 104 km2) of Slovenia. The Collection is in a possession of what are most probably the largest samples of a rare Balkan endemic Martinos vole Dinaromys bogdanovi (216 museum specimens), and of the edible dormouse Glis glis (2244 vouchers, mainly skulls). In this paper we list and comment museum vouchers from nine mammalian orders: Lagomorpha, Erinaceomorpha, Macroscelidea, Afrosoricida, Scandentia, Hyracoidea, Didelphimorphia, Diprodontia, and Monotremata. The Museum holds 279 specimens of 23 species in 15 genera and 10 families. The great majority of specimens are lagomorphs (36.4%) and hedgehogs (57.8%). The material originates from 23 countries in five biogeographic regions: the Palaearctic (89.2% of vouchers), the Nearctic (1.1%), Ethiopian (2.9%), Oriental (1.1%), and Australian (1.1%). The majority of individuals are from Slovenia (44.4%) and from South-eastern Europe (78.0%). They were collected in 90 localities in Slovenia and 110 localities abroad; total sum is 200 localities. The majority of vouchers is preserved as a skull (84.8%) or a skin and skull. About one third (35.7%) of museum specimens are skins and 1.4% are saved also as skeletons. Further 9.4% of individuals are taxidermic mounts; these include historic specimens, and frequently lack proper labels. Only 4.0% of individuals are preserved in ethanol.

16.09.2016