Bälge südostasiatischer Pittas (Pittidae)

Museum of Zoology

Ornithology

The Dresden collection of birds houses approximately 91.000 objects including whole skins, mounted specimens, skeletons, eggs, nests and feather mounts. The collections have a world-wide coverage with a strong geographical focus on Europe (regional and local series including rarity records from Saxony) East Asia (particularly China) and New Guinea. Several extinct species are represented by a number of specimens, among these Great Auk, Huia, Passenger Pigeon, Carolina Parakeet and skeletal remains of several moas. Important contributors to the Dresden collection were Adolf-Bernhard Meyer, Hugo Weigold, Carl Schneider, Ernst Bährmann, and Otto Kleinschmidt.

Research Focus

Molecular systematics of Eurasian passerines – Molecular dating – Bioacoustics – Phylogeography – Island biogeography and radiations – Secondary contact zones in the Palearctic

Our research contributes to the Research Field Biodiversity and Systematics.

Similar topics

Ornithology Research

The research focus of the ornithology division is linked to Senckenberg Research Field Biodiversity and Systematics. Cooperation projects exist with Research Field Biodiversity and Climate.

Ornithology Collection

The collection of birds houses approximately 91.000 objects that include approximately 57.000 whole skins, 7.800 mounted specimens, 3.000 skeletons, 15.000 whole clutches of eggs, 950 nests, few specimens in alcohol (< 100) and 7.000 feather mounts.

Freestock

Ornithology Team

Jubal Kenneth Bernal

Publications

SGN

Museum of Zoology

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).

A. B. Meyer-Bau, Außenansicht, Foto F. Höhler, 2003

Senckenberg Natural History Collections

Since January 1, 2009 the group formerly known as the State Natural History Collections of Dresden has been a member of the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research, together with the Zoology Museum and the Museum for Mineralogy and Geology. The roots of the Dresden Natural History Collections extend back into the 16th century.

Adrian Giacomelli

Mammalogy

Our research is mainly embedded in the research area Biodiversity and Systematics. Other research includes morphological and ecological aspects of Rodents and Carnivora (eg.. Castor fiber, Lutra lutra, Felis silvestris).

Malacology

Beside the molluscs the section in Dresden is in charge of the collections Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Crustacea, Echinodermata, and Tunicata.

Adrian Giacomelli

Molecular Laboratory

The use of molecular biological methods in state of the art evolutionary research has two major advantages: the methodology can be implemented universally in all organisms and enables insight along a long time interval of many million years.