Senckenberg Natural History Collections

Museum of Zoology

Dresden


The Museum of Zoology in Dresden, with more than 6 million specimens, is one of the approximately 10 large zoological collections of Germany. The Dresden collections originate from all over the globe, and their international significance is due not least to the abundance of name-bearing types represented (holotypes, lectotypes and syntypes of some 15,000 species and subspecies; if paratypes and paralectotypes are considered, about 53,000 type specimens).
 

The Museum of Zoology with its modern research laboratories is divided into several sections, the curators of which, in addition to their research, are responsible for extensive collections. In addition, three further full-time scientists cover research fields without responsibility for collections.

The scientific work on terrestrial and freshwater animals covers all aspects of biodiversity research: taxonomy, systematics and phylogeny, anatomy, morphology and zoogeography, using both morphological and molecular-genetic methods.

The library is the largest zoological science library in Saxony, with many valuable historical items.