Myriapoda

Collection

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.

The collection is online available via  webapplication  of  Edaphobase.

A detailed description of the collection can be found in the Schubartiana:

The collection Myriapoda of the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz
KARIN VOIGTLÄNDER & PETER DECKER
Volume 10 – 2022, pages 33–53, full text PDF

Diplopoda, Chilopoda

The collections Diplopoda and Chilopoada incorporate approx. 190.000 determined and digitally registered individuals. Over a long period of time they were concentrated on Central European species with few exceptions.
Some particularly large series are a specific feature of the collections, which have served as the basis for comprehensive taxonomical and population-ecological studies. In recent time the scope of the collections has been enlarged to the Mediterranean and Alpine regions.

Historically valuable parts of the collection

The collection from the first half of the 20th century by Prof. Dr Paul Buchner consists of 51 diplopod and 35 chilopod species with more than 1000 individuals from Ischia, Italy. It is especially mentionable, because it was determined by the ‘ex-master’ of Myriapodology, Dr Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff.
Furthermore a collection by Verhoeff himself exists, which was purchased by the Museum Erfurt in 1943. In 1974, this collection came to our museum. It consists of 43 diplopod and 36 chilopod species (approx. 500 individuals) from different areas of Central Europe. Unfortunately, the specimens have only insufficient geographic data and are undated. However, as they were determined by Verhoeff, both collections are of great interest for the special subject and can contribute to the comprehension of some of his species concepts

Symphyla

Only a relatively small part of the Symphyla material is determined up to the species (adult individuals).
From the appr. 15 local species are 6 species of Scolopendrellidae and one species of Scutigerellidae in the collection. Another part is determined on family level. The largest amount are undetermined juvenile examples. The determined material is digital registered, the undetermined part in an accessions catalogue.

Pauropoda

The collection of Pauropoda contains the material from all projects carried out since the 60th years. It is undermined with small exceptions and registered in an accessions catalogue

Lumbricidae

The collection Lumbricidae contains with 15.800 individuals from 20 species all in the area frequent species in partly large series (digital registered). Material from foreign countries is seldom.

The collection is more orientated on ecological questions than on taxonomical and will follow this tendency also prospective.
The faunistical aspect should play a higher rule in future than before. 

Isopoda

 Material of high amount (appr. 9.000 individuals) came into the collection Isopoda during diverse projects of the museum. Appr. 2.700 specimens are determined and belong to 22 local distributed species.

Historical important is material collected by Prof. Dr. Paul Buchner with 200 collection numbers from Ischia, Italy as well as a small collection done  by  Dr. Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff confirmed by 13 species from different parts of the world.