Bilder Myriapoda

Myriapoda

Work space Soil Macrofauna

The collection Myriapoda is one of the younger collections of the Görlitz museum. Its establishment began in connection with the profiling of the institution as soil-zoological research museum. It is based on field collections carried out by Wolfram Dunger in the course of soil-zoological, ecological research during the 1960s and 70s.

In 1979, the curator Karin Voigtländer was appointed, who has continuously expanded the collection.  In addition to our own collecting activity, new accessions also consist of material, which was deposited by diverse institutions and persons after determination at the museum.

Webmaster of the website of CIM – International Society for Myriapodology

Our work is associated with the research fields of: Biodiversity and Environment and Biodiversity, Systematics and Evolution

History

At the beginning of the 1960s it was decided, that the focus of scientific research of the museum should be taxonomy and ecology of soil-inhabiting organism groups under consideration of the specific function of a museum.
First fields of curation (Apterygota, Oribatida) were established.
In 1979, the field Myriapoda (incl. Isopoda, Lumbricidae) was added with the appointment of Karin Voigtländer. She and further scientists who joined the staff in the 1980s worked together in the  Soil Zoology Division.
In the beginning, three technical assistants pooled the work tasks (work in the collections, literature acquisition and analysis) of the whole Division.
Since 1985 the section “Myriapodology” got its own technical assistant, since 2006 as half-time position.